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- - Most powerful in ME (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=2044)

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So not only are all of those "greatest quotes" (as I like to call them) ambiguous, but also remember- greater does not mean more powerful (and "most powerful" is what the thread title says). Try finding more specific quotes than "so and so was the greatest". For instance, from the Sil-

To finish the quote:

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Sauron was greater, 'effectively', in the Second Age than Morgoth at the end of the First. Why? Because, though he was far smaller by natural stature, he had not yet fallen so low. Eventually he also squandred his power (of being) in the endeavour to gain controle of others.

(my epmhasis)
And also the rest of the text implies that Morgoth had used so much of his powers in marring Arda that Sauron was greater than him at Sauron's height.

Not sure if you were refering to me, just in case. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

I'm pleased, Falagar, to see that you raised some questions in your other post that I always ask myself in these "most powerful" sort of debates-

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It all comes down to how one defines powerful, and which point in time we're speaking of. Physical strenght?...Magical" powers?...Powerful in the sense of greatest military strenght?

These comments demonstrate part of the reason why I believe there often is not a definite answer for the question "Who is the most powerful?" which, of course, allows people to draw many of their own conclusions.

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Not sure if you were refering to me

I was not referring to the quotes you used, they were quite good. But what I said would apply to what you said here-

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Galadriel is said to be the Greatest of the Noldor ([maybe] with the exception of Fëanor)

Here is the quote you were referring to-

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Galadriel was the greatest of the Noldor, except Fëanor maybe

And then there is this quote-

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These two kinsfolk [Galadriel and Feanor], the greatest of the Eldar of Valinor, were unfriends for ever.

and the author's note that follows the quote-

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Who together with the greatest of all the Eldar, Lúthien Tinúviel, daughter of Elu Thingol, are the chief matter of the legends and histories of the Elves.

These quotes inevitably come up in power debates, but as I said in my previous post they matter much less than the quote that I gave about Feanor because not only is the Feanor quote more specific but most importantly- "greatest" does not translate into "most powerful". "Greatest" is difficult to define (as is "most powerful"), so we can't use "greatest" quotes as hard evidence.

Suprisingly those quotes have hardly been mentioned in this thread (something that I'm pretty happy about), but I decided that I'd go ahead and address the issue before the quotes started to get used.

1. Sauron
2. Gandalf the white
3. Saruman ( before gandalf broke his staff)
4. The balrog
5. Galadriel
6. Elrond
7. Glorfindel
8. Elladan and Elrohir
9. Witch king
10. Treebeard

I agree with The Phantom its according to what you see as more powerful by stature or power or military strength ,but to me the Dark Lord was the most powerful among all the characters of Middle Earth.