XPost: alt.books.cs-lewis, rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: spamgard@blueyonder.co.uk   
      
   Joseph  wrote:   
   > "Morgil"   
   >> Of course it does. If Faramir could resist the Ring...   
   >   
   > I don't think you understand the Ring's power. Resisting the ring is   
   > not a one-shot affair, it's a lifelong labor.   
      
   I'd agree with this, with the caveat that this only applies when Sauron   
   is active again and you are taking the Ring to the land where it was   
   made, and hence the Ring is becoming more of a burden.   
      
   > Could Frodo resist the   
   > ring? Initially yes. He actually held it in his hand and offerred it   
   > to Gandalf. But in the end, it defeated him. To his credit, Faramir   
   > overcame his own initial desire for the ring and with was able to   
   > send Frodo to continue on his journey. But don't for a minute think   
   > that Faramir could have withstood the ring for any significant length   
   > of time. Given the ring's power and his initial inclination to   
   > possess it, I'd give him about 12 hours with it before it consumed   
   > him.   
      
   I'd agree. And I'd say the same (though I won't specify any time limits)   
   for people like Galadriel and Gandalf. I don't think Gandalf would have   
   gone with Frodo to Mordor. I think he would have engineered some   
   diversion to distract Sauron. Which is pretty much what actually   
   happened, and probably _not_ by chance, as they say in Middle-earth.   
      
   > Your assessment that Isildur's weakness is somehow not consistent with   
   > mankind's general weakness in this respect, is not consistent with   
   > Tolkien's scenario. In Tolkien's scenario, the Elves and Dwarves   
   > escaped the power of all of their rings, while men succumbed to all   
   > of theirs! If that doesn't suggest some greater inherent weakness   
   > toward the ring, on the part of mankind, then I don't know what does.   
      
   You do know what made the three Elven rings different from the other   
   rings, don't you? You do know what the Elven rings do? Actually, cutting   
   right to the chase, do you remember who contributed to the making of the   
   different rings?   
      
   Christopher   
      
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