If Denethor hadn't committed suicide

[Sarumian]

Originally Posted by Faramir Jones

That said, I agree that Denethor's refusal to continue to fight Sauron even if he so despaired - something which Boromir, for all his faults, would have done - in favor of killing himself, and his attempted murder of Faramir, was inexcusable and a gross breach of his duty as a ruler.

Oh, he had a good excuse - he went mad.

Honestly, I can't totally agree with the idea that Denethor's motives were merely political and lacked of moral dimension. While he was moving towards tyranny under the influence of The Ring, he never reached that point actually and, it seems, was a leader respected by people of Condor. He also was able to raise two outstanding sons whose moral consistency is out of any doubt. Finally, had he been morally indifferent, Denethor would definitely have fallen like Saurian.

The problem of Denethor was, as it looks to me, his attitude - too local and too class-bound. That's why his morality was finally subjugated to the question of his social (and political) STATUS, something that lies in the realm of The Ring. The corrupting power of the latter is not able to sweep away true differences but can deceive one's perception...