THE RING and corruption

[Dininziliel]

So much to say and I want to keep it simple!

While reading the last 3-4 posts, Bilbo's road song sprang to mind--"The road goes ever on and on ... where many paths and errands meet ... and wither then? ..." Suddenly, it had a new twist to it.

Addiction is one form of evil (a very popular one for this era [img]smilies/evil.gif[/img] ). Abusive relationships is one form of evil. Shaving the truth for personal gain is one form of evil. Taking the easy way out of unpleasantness. Carrying a burden far beyond one's capacity over a long period of time ... There are myriad forms of temptation, and they all lead to Rome (Mordor, for our purposes here [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] ) The song stays the same no matter who's on stage; the same principle is at work and bent on one single outcome.

Boromir, because of his despair, was not willing to sacrifice Gondor in order to rid the world of Sauron.

I think this raises an essential and crucial issue. Whether despair is a common principle in succumbing to temptation or the reason Boromir fell is arguable. What is key is that, despite knowing a great good could be realized, Boromir chose a smaller good. In Boromir's mind, he had two goods to choose from--defeating Sauron and evil (with the ultimate outcome including Gondor's long-term safety!) and saving Gondor now. He chose the short-term, more immediate gratification. That kind of thinking is classic and symptomatic of the main points raised in the last 3-4 posts.

Denial, self-centeredness, gotta-have-it-now, despair, tunnel vision (a form of denial), etc., are just some of the 101+ forms of fear. And fear is what paves the road for evil.

The main difference, then, is one of hope versus despair.

This segued into the personal sacrifice aspect of denial exemplified in Galadriel & Elrond denying personal desire and gain for the greater good.

Having just started earnest study, I cannot claim to know Tolkien's stance on the relationship between faith and hope. I think the movie weighs in heavily on the hope aspect and think they did a brilliant job of it. But I wonder if Tolkien might not say that faith--choosing the path toward light/Love/goodness/God beyond all hope of any success, is the heart of the matter.

I think what made Galadriel's passing on the Ring so important is that she went through all the phases of awareness and acceptance in choosing light over darkness in a matter of minutes before Frodo's eyes. By the time she had arrived at her final choice, it was no longer a sacrifice or matter of self-denial--there was simply no further point or reason to take the Ring.

Faramir had clearly gone through this process, but probably over a much longer period of time while growing up. He did not have to think too hard about the matter.

"Good night, Captain, my lord," he [Sam] said. "You took the chance, sir."
"Did I so?" said Faramir.
"Yes sir, and showed your quality: the very highest."
Faramir smiled. "A pert servant, Master Samwise. But nay ... there was naught in this to praise. I had no lure or desire to do other than I have done."

Another thought occurred to me while I was searching through "The Window on the West" for the Denethor-Boromir account. (Thanks, Tar-Palantir--I shall rest upon sweeter dreams this night for your kind assistance [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] )

Galadriel means "light" or "radiance", right? Think of what happened when she trained her attention on Boromir. Like sunlight on a vampire. (Let me hasten to say that I am not suggesting Boromir was a vampire--the evil inside him was.)

I think we do evil a favor when we think of it and good in, well, black and white, all or nothing terms. As has been said earlier, evil is not passive. And neither is good. They are both continual processes requiring continual choices. That's why it is so important to stay focused on wanting the light instead of the darkness.

Peace, now more than ever.