[mark12_30]

Somewhere in the letters, Tolkien talks about post-quest Frodo wanting to have been a great hero, instead of wanting to be what he was-- an instrument in the hands of God; and how that was a temptation to prideful sin for Frodo, and one of the things that he needed healing for in the West.

So it is a theme of Tolkien's, I believe, that one must be willing to be a humble instrument in the hands of God, and do one's part as best one can even, especially, if it is beyond one's understanding.

This is how I see Pippin's "foolish stone", and equally importantly, his looking into the Palantir. Certainly, both these actions set great chains of events into motion; and just as certainly, Pippin anticipated neither of those chains of events.

Nevertheless, Pippin gazing into the Palantir was exactly what Frodo needed. It gave Sauron the illusion that the Ringbearer had been captured by Saruman; and then when his Nazgul discovered that Saruman no longer had the palantir, and Aragorn challenged Sauron in that same palantir, then Sauron had to assume that now, Aragorn had the ring.

All this drew Sauron's attention westward, away from his won borders, so that even reports of spies and a mithril coat and a blade of Westernesse had little interest for Sauron.

Did Pippin plan all that? No. But he was certainly used to make it happen. Did his sense of the superatural give him an affinity, an openness to doing something unorthodox (one can't picture Merry dropping the rock, or stealing the Palantir) that will have unforeseen consequences? Yes, I think so.

He certainly grows up during the quest (they all do); he certainly connects with Denethor (he loved Boromir and he'd looked into the Palantir, two items in common); yes he's impulsive and more like Bilbo. But I think Tolkien would look at it all from the "instrument in the hands of God" viewpoint. And in that sense, his impulsiveness and sensitivity comes in handy, making him easier to "steer".