XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: no.spam@no.spam   
      
   On 9/11/2011 6:38 AM, Stan Brown wrote:   
      
   >> I'm not certain why the DL planned to attack Elrond at that   
   >> particular time (circa 2941 TA).   
      
   > I don't think that's what the passage says.  Gandalf knew that Sauron   
   > intended to attack Rivendell at some unspecified later date, when   
   > Sauron felt strong enough.   
      
   To clarify: I'm not certain why the DL at that particular time   
   (c. 2941 TA) was planning to attack Elrond ASAP.   
      
   We knew that Sauron targeted Aragorn specifically:   
      
      But he was called Estel, that is "Hope", and his true name and   
      lineage were kept secret at the bidding of Elrond; for the Wise   
      then knew that the Enemy was seeking to discover the Heir of   
      Isildur, if any remained upon earth.   
      
   Apparently by the time Aragorn meets the Hobbits in Bree the secret   
   is already out:   
      
      "I did not intend to tell you all about myself at once. I had to   
      study you first, and make sure of you. The Enemy has set traps   
      for me before now."   
      
   I'm more certain about it by now. As you pointed out recently,   
   the Elves defended themselves but were less aggressive than Men   
   in going on the offensive. Rivendell was an important operational   
   base for the Dunedain in the North, and destroying (or even   
   investing) it would have hurt them badly. A heavy stroke, possibly   
   a decisive one in Sauron's favor:   
      
      But Ivorwen, his wife, who was also foresighted, answered:   
      "The more need of haste! The days are darkening before the storm,   
      and great things are to come. If these two [Aragorn's parents]   
      wed now, hope may be born for our people; but if they delay,   
      it will not come while this age lasts."   
      
   SQ   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)