toothill man
Mongoose
but point is that the power akin to a old one would very quickly blow away any remaining humanity so gaining another old one to the ranks :shock:
toothill man said:but point of the ring was even the most powerful elf alive which she was would be doomed if she took the ring :shock:
I like your example and I think you are not far from the truth.GregLynch said:It's more a question of where that power comes from. The One Ring was created by Sauron and thus forever tainted by the corruption of its maker. Galadriel, as strong as she was, could never overcome that corruption. She could, however, wear and wield the Ring of Adamant w/o trouble. Its power was not corrupt.
Tolkien places great importance on where things are from and who made them - as well as the intentions of the maker. The legacy - for want of a better word - of an item seems to matter more than the item's power. I'll wager that (for the silliest example possible) wearing Sauron's socks could cause you significant problems (aside from the Itching of the Enemy), whereas Earendil's socks would be forever clean and April-fresh.
Now I think I'll go back to work and try to pretend I never wrote anything about Sauron's footwear.
dunderm said:The One Ring's power came from Sauron's evil spirit that was imbued in it. But, unless someone was able to switch their spirit with Sauron's evil spirit in the ring, Sauron would eventually return, as long as the One Ring survived. Also, the nature of the ring and it's power, would probably not be the same, if someone managed to switch the essenses.
All the other rings became powerless when the One Ring was destroyed.
I always thought that was clear. Am I wrong about this?
Also a little odd- if the Elvish Rings weren't connected to the One Ring why did their batteries short out too? Tolkien's metaphysics might not be accurate.
~ Encyclopedia of ArdaThe magical rings made by Celebrimbor and the Mírdain of Eregion in the middle years of the Second Age, made unwittingly under the secret guidance and tutelage of Sauron. Most famous among them were the Three Rings of the Elves, Narya, Nenya and Vilya, the Rings of Fire, Water and Air. These were the only three made outside the influence of Sauron, though they too fell under the power of his One Ring.
The ring itself was an atrefact of magical technology- itacted as an amplifier for the portion of Sauron's soul n it. Now if Galadriel defeated Sauron and banished it from the One Ring and replaced it with her own power than it would amplify her power of nature making her a virtual pagan Goddess of the Wyld. The portion of Middle Earth she controlled would reflect the nature of her soul as Lothlorien did just on a larger scale.
What I am questioning is whether or not Tolkien himself was right when he wrote the book. He thinks Power is evil by nature and it will always Corrupt the user. I think Power amplfies both the strength and flaws of the person who bears it. Thus is person works to purify their soul of corruption than Power in their hand will not be corrupt.
The One Ring's power came from Sauron's evil spirit that was imbued in it. But, unless someone was able to switch their spirit with Sauron's evil spirit in the ring, Sauron would eventually return, as long as the One Ring survived. Also, the nature of the ring and it's power, would probably not be the same, if someone managed to switch the essenses.
It may seem strange, but it seems that even though Sauron didn't directly create the rings - his taint was on them due to his involvement with their making. It's not outside believability. Sauron was aware of them and designed his own Ring to control all others. They were all linked by the common denominator - Sauron.
Whether or not it's -accurate- isn't really up for debate. It was Tolkien's creation - however he decides it works is accurate. A more appropriate way to put it is - does it make sense?
Of course Tolkien was 'right' - it's his creation. It's right so long as he says that that's how his world functions.
Also, I don't see any evidence that Tolkien believed power itself was a corrupting force. It was the source of the power that mattered. There are plenty of areas in Tolkien's myth where power did not corrupt.
In your world, Raven (and in mine!) good and evil may be subjective - concepts in greyscale. In Tolkien's world evil and good are tangible realities. If something is evil, it is evil. That's how his mythos is set up. The Ring is an influence of corrupting evil, because it was created by evil, for evil purposes. It was made to dominate other things - a concept itself that is evil in Tolkien's mythos.
Whether you (or I, or Johnny Depp, or Gore Vidal, or Robert Howard, etc) agrees with that assessment is irrelevant. That is the particular cosmic set-up of Middle-earth.
It's sort of like the Christian concept of magic. Christians believe (and have believed for centuries) that magic is evil. No matter how or why you're using it - it will still be evil and you will be evil for using it. Whether you personally believe that is true is wholly immaterial. That's how their belief system operates.Same for Tolkien - his mythos operates under the worldly rule that evil can only be used for evil, regardless of who is using it and why.
To me no. Power stems from one stems from source- Creation itself. It is possible to use a system of magic that was created by the corrupt to do good if one knows what they are doing.
So it's as flawed as he is......stuck in a simplistic moral dualism he never resolved in his own life.
Yes, but they were all sort of passive weren't they? Sat around and let evil grow while the fretted about small details, singing and discussing philosphy watching things wind down and fall apart. A little ruthlessness might have come in handy to keep the world in balance.
So restraining a person from commiting suicide- which is overriding their will- is evil in Tolkien's world?
Imprisoning or killing people who commit crimes- thus denying them some or all of their free will- is evil?
Wich is why it fails in the end- everyone of Power leaves it and Men turn evil and into us because Tolkien's Good is too Good.
It can't abide actual reality....
Which is why the world is so messed up. This society is their creation and
as flawed as they are. It also won't last either. Thank goodness.
Damien said:The magical rings made by Celebrimbor and the Mírdain of Eregion in the middle years of the Second Age, made unwittingly under the secret guidance and tutelage of Sauron. Most famous among them were the Three Rings of the Elves, Narya, Nenya and Vilya, the Rings of Fire, Water and Air. These were the only three made outside the influence of Sauron, though they too fell under the power of his One Ring.