[obloquy]

Thanks, Lego. That's the bit I was referring to and it's just how I remembered it. Tolkien's belief is that the Ring would continue to corrupt even after Sauron is overthrown.

But doesn't this open up a can of worms in regard to the created nature of Sauron's spirit? If the power he invested in the Ring was evil independent of his will or his existence, wouldn't the implication be that Sauron was, by nature, evil? Or was the impotent spirit that Sauron would become (since we know no spirit could be wholly destroyed except by Eru) enough to keep the Ring's malice persistent?

Thoughts?

It occurs to me now that Tolkien was not saying Gandalf would be corrupted to evil, but that Gandalf would be capable of too much good. He would direct his subjects according to his superior wisdom--for their own good, of course--and in this way he would deprive them of their free will.