Sympathy for the Devil?

[alatar]

I don't have any sympathy for Sauron. Gollum receives a little, as for a short while he reforms, but Sauron?

Gollum, as said, murders his friend to get the Ring, and so we can say that it has a powerful effect on those that are aware of it. But Bilbo never murdered anyone, and Merry, catching a glint of this gold in the Shire, does not seek to do the old Hobbit in. Gandalf does not take the Ring, nor does Elrond or Galadriel (and think of all of the persons in their respective households). Sam, the best of friends, relinquishes the Ring by his own free will. Frodo, though caught at the very end, does not murder anyone - Sam - during his whole trial. Boromir, even when caught in the frenzy of the Ring, turns back and does the right thing.

And so why should we have any sympathy for its Maker, as many many mere mortals are in the proximity of the Ring and yet resist its temptations? Sauron *chose* to do this thing.