Quote:
Originally Posted by Zigūr
So that part of him which was "High" was capable of desiring the Ring and recognising its power, but as a "Middle Man" he lacked the wisdom and spiritual stature to perceive its evil, reject it and overcome temptation until the bitter end.
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Isildur was not a Middle Man by a long shot and we are all familiar with his story of how he decided to keep the Ring against other counsel [Sil, p. 366]. Also the Numenoreans were High Men all and Sauron corrupted most of the island. They were in the habit of performing human sacrifices, tending to take the Faithful as those sacrifices, and they were against the Valar and the Elves who were always for them.
Boromir may not have been able to perceive its evil, but that would only make him less responsible than a High Man who would, like him, want the Ring, like his father. I'm just saying even the High Men could not all reject it and overcome its temptation and the only two that I know of who did were Faramir and Aragorn. Perhaps Elendil would have destroyed it had he lived, but I'm not sure. However, maybe temperament has a role to play in this as Boromir and Isildur seemed to have a fiery temperament and perhaps Elendil like Aragorn and Faramir would have rejected it.