Civil War if Boromir survived?

[davem]

There's no reason to believe Faramir would have ever succumbed to the Ring. The Ring tempts the individual, but it's only in the desire for what it can offer or in using it that one is overcome by it. Frodo's first reaction to it is to give it away to Gandalf, then later to Galadriel. Gandalf refuses it, so does Galadriel. Aragorn is never tempted by it. In the Council of Elrond, when its suggested that Tom Bombadil should be given the Ring no-one suggests that there is ever a danger that he or Goldberry would be seduced by it - the fear is that he would simply throw it away.

Faramir considers himself to be a Numenorean: he probably takes what Sauron did to Numenor personally. For him, to take the Ring would be the greatest betrayal imaginable - he would be betraying his bloodline, his culture, his whole value system. This is the opposite of Boromir's case, & Denethor's. Their desire is victory over Sauron, Faramir's isn't:

I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin & I alone could save her so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good & my glory. No, I do not wish for such triumphs, Frodo son of Drogo'....

'For myself,' said Faramir, 'I would see the White Tree in flower again in the courts of the kings, & the Silver Crown return, & Minas Tirith in peace: Minas Anor again as of old, full of light, high & fair, beautiful as a queen among other queens: not a mistress of many slaves, nay, not even a kind mistress of willing slaves. War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but i do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they seek to defend: the city of the men of Numenor; & I would have her loved for her memory, her ancientry, her beauty, & her present wisdom. Not feared, save as men may fear the dignity of a man, old & wise.'

I think we have to get away from this idea that the Ring inevitably corrupts anyone who comes into its vicinity. There is never, as far as I'm aware, any suggestion that Elrond wants it, or Legolas or Gimli, or any of the Hobbits. All it can do is offer the temptation of fulfilling one's desires, yet if one's desires are not fulfillable by the Ring how can it tempt them. Faramir simply doesn't want what the Ring could offer. In order for him to be tempted by it he would have to be so broken that he became a different person.

'Even were I such a man as to desire this thing...' he says to Frodo, impying that there are such men as will desire it & such men as won't. The Ring has to have something to latch onto, & that something is a specific kind of desire. This is not to imply that Faramir is a perfect, saintly being, merely that his desires cannot be fulfilled by the Ring. Aragorn's 'desires', focussed on Arwen & fulfilling his destiny to rule, are not the kind that the Ring could fulfil, neither are Faramir's. The danger is that the Ring will get into the wrong hands, either Sauron's or someone corruptible - that's why it has to be destroyed, not that anyone who comes into contact with it will be corrupted by it.

Boromir, five years the elder, beloved by his father, was like him in face & pride, but in little else. Rather he was a man after the sort of King Earnur of old, taking no wife & delighting chiefly in arms; fearless & strong, but caring little for lore, save the tales of old battles. Faramir the younger was like him in looks but otherwise in mind. He read the hearts of men as shrewdly as his father, but what he read moved him sooner to pity than to scorn. He was gentle in bearing, & a lover of lore & music, & therefore by many in those days his courage was judged less than his brother's. But it was not so, except that he did not seek glory in danger without a purpose. ...

It did not seem possible to Faramir that anyone on Gondor could rival Boromir heir of Denethor, Captain of the White Tower; & of like mind was Boromir (now who says Tolkien didn't do irony!). Yet it proved otherwise at the test. (Appendix A)

I can't see anyway that the Ring could have tempted him by offering to fulfil any of his desires.

Simply, one can reject what the Ring offers & be free of the desire for it, because in Tolkien's universe its not simply will, but grace which gives one the strength to resist it. Not everyone is tempted by it. Faramir is neither a fool nor a hypocrite in my reading. In short, it tempts those who can be tempted by it, & overcomes those so broken by suffering that they are no longer themselves. If the only measure Sauron knows is desire for power & control, then that is all the Ring could offer. Sam can reject its offers easily enough, because they aren't what he wants, so can Aragorn & the others.

I caould see civil war errupting if either Denethor or Boromir had survived - if Denethor had survived because Aragorn had no right to the Kingship, & Boromir because he desired power & had been brought up to give orders, not to take them.

Too many people simply are not seduced by the Ring for it to be the case that simply to be in it's vicinity is inevitably corrupting. One makes a moral choice. Its even possible that Faramir would have succeeded in taking the Ring to the fire. Apart from Sam, i think he would be the one most likely to pass the test. Sauron doesn't fear Aragorn because of his prowess, but because he is a Numenorean, & so is Faramir. Sauron fears the Numenoreans.

Some people can't be corrupted - Sam can't, Aragorn can't, & neither, it seems to me, can Faramir. Sadly, we see Frodo can - which is why his story is a tragedy.

Your Honour, the defence rests.