An excellent point on Smeagol, akhtene. Sorry if I spelled your name wrong... If I recall correctly, Smeagol already had that warped interest in hidden secrets even before he killed Deagol for possession of the Ring, right? If so, that would mean that he was already headed in the wrong direction and the Ring "found" a useful and willing tool for its own (im)personal aims. And, of course, the Ring hastened the corruption of Smeagol's mind in terms of digging after dark secrets, and aloneness. So yes, relationships between humans (or elves, hobbits, etc. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ), are a crucial aspect of valuable learning - of history or whatever. I think Tolkien's caution against "hoarding" comes into play here, too.
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