Gollum

[Legolas]

Gandalf - I agree totally. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] I did not intend to imply otherwise.

This inadvertent action further proves the perfection of Eru's design. Whether or not a being in Eru's world is thinking for good or for evil (or whether or not they are controlling their actions in direct accordance to their own will), the being can do (or be influenced to do) as he/she (or their influence) wishes, but because of the ultimate good contained in every part of creation, things will work out the way they're "supposed to" work out.

Gollum's ultimate goodness was his clumsiness/forgetfulness (losing the Ring for Bilbo to find) and his strong propensity to lust after the Ring that destroyed it. Even Sauron had an ultimate good. Sauron's ultimate good was that he a) created a means to destroy himself and in the process of its destruction, b) he made way for a new era in Middle-earth, moving the elves, including the Wise, to Valinor so that men could take over as they were destined to.

The entering into Men of the Elven-strain is indeed represented as part of a Divine Plan for the ennoblement of the Human Race, from the beginning destined to replace the Elves.

[ November 25, 2002: Message edited by: Legalos ]