Quote:
Originally Posted by Inziladun
Why would the Valar have sent the Istari in such a form as could disintegrate prior to their being able to complete their mission?
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Maybe for the same reasons why they sent them in human bodies in the first place, to experience the world from a human perspective, to share all the bodily experiences, the pains and limitations that humans face: "clad in bodies of as of Men, real and not feigned, but subject to the fears and pains and weariness of earth, able to hunger and thirst and be slain" (Unfinished Tales). Maybe the finite lifespan also added a bit of pressure to their mission, that they cannot wait and stay idle indefinitely. They have a purpose and must act. Of course they were still extremely long-lived and had ample time, maybe their bodies would only have died after 10 000 years - its all speculative of course.
I have wondered about the quote you mentioned:
"because of their noble spirits they did not die, and aged only by the cares and labours of many long years.".
But I have always interpreted that quote to mean that the bodies of the Istari did not die during a specific time (from the in-universe-writers perspective, almost 2000 years, from their arrival in Lindon until the War of the Ring). A normal human being would have died during that time period, but the Istari did not, because of their spirits. They survived for 2000 years, for 2000 years their spirits powered their human bodies. At least thats how I have always understood that quote. The quote does not state that the Istari will
never die of old age. Just that they did not die of old age during a specific timespan, but that does not mean that they will not, eventually, die.
If their bodies are unable to die of old age, then how do you explain the aging process? Is the mentioned aging just cosmetic? Will it stop at some point? Then why did Tolkien mention it at all? Of course one could argue that the Elves also aged (and even grew beards and developed signs of old age, for example Cirdan), but were still immortal (except for the inevitable "fading" of their bodies). But the elven aging process (beyond maturity) seems to be more a physical manifestation of psychological experiences and trauma. Maybe the aging of the Istari worked in a similar way?