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Hungry Ghoul
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Re: The Blue Wizards
To come back to the old question when Saruman reached the point of no-return-evil, this Gandalf-quote about the Orthanc-palantķr seems interesting:
<blockquote>
Quote:<hr> But there is nothing that Sauron cannot turn to evil uses. Alas for Saruman! It was his downfall, as I now perceive. Perilous to us all are the devices of an art deeper than we possess ourselves. Yet he must bear the blame. Fool! to keep it secret, for his own profit. No word did he ever speak of it to any of the Council. [....]. But alone it could do nothing but see small images of things far off and days remote. Very useful, no doubt, that was to Saruman; yet it seems that he was not content. Further and further abroad he gazed,
until he cast his gaze upon Barad-dūr. Then he was caught! [...]ever since he has been persuaded from afar, and daunted when persuasion would not serve... (stresses mine) <hr></blockquote>
It must indeed have been, as pointed out far earlier by Underhill, the image of Barad-Dūr and Sauron's might in the palantķr which led Saruman to malicious imitation of the Dark Lord. I just remembered this nice discussion when I came upon this quote lately.
<h6>'I will keep my heart from you / To keep you safe / I will wipe every tear / Of your frozen heart / I will always be there / Though from a distance / And though my heart shall bleed / My love shall never blacken.'</p>