Raynor I do see your point and you have explained it for me well. It is not about whether he 'could' cast it away, rather 'wouldn't' cast it away. However I was not using the forementioned quote to illustrate that he would cast it off. Rather that I thought it did imply his subserviency to the Ring.
For the sake of an attempted flowing post, I shall quote again;
"'Also, so great was the Ring's power of lust, that anyone who used it became mastered by it; it was beyond the strength of any will (even his own) to injure it, cast it away, or neglect it. So he thought. It was in any case on his finger.'" (Letter #131)[My bold]
Is not Tolkien entertaining the idea that Sauron would see no hurt come to ring. Like that Gollum, his need of the ring, and Bilbo's reaction in the Shire to Gandal's questioning about it, are I think, reactions of similar trait to Sauron's feelings toward the ring. He lusted for it, as did all who possesed it, even Deagol who lost his life trying to retain it from the grasp of Smeagol.
Again I shall use
ninja's post to illustrate my point;
Originally posted by ninja91
Quote:
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I think that it was the ring that controlled Sauron, because it was the ring that which his life began to revolve around. It did not seem to control him, but it seemed to consume him, if you can catch my drift, dude.
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[My bold]
It was I agree the Ring his life revolved around after his fall. As has been recounted countless times in the making of the One he enmeshed much of his own power into it, much like Melkor with pysical objects. Something you quote from in your post. This was its inherant weakness. Going back to my original quote it states that he did not think that someone would have sufficient strength to resist it and so seek to destroy it.
"This was the essential weakness he had introduced into his situation in his effort (largely unsuccessful) to enslave the Elves, and in his desire to establish a control over the minds and wills of his servants. There was another weakness: if the One Ring was actually unmade, annihilated, then its power would be dissolved, Sauron's own being would be diminished to vanishing point, and he would be reduced to a shadow, a mere memory of malicious will." (Letter #131)
The fact that his very existance could be eradicated on the subsequent destruction of the ring meant he had given it far too much control over him. Not in the physical sense, say, similar to the that of a hypnotist has over someone to induce physical movement.
But control over his actual existence, body only. For want of a better analogy I shall use the recent Pirates of the Carribean film. Davy Jones has his heart in a locked box, should it be destroyed then so too would he be. But while it still exists, undamaged then he will be immortal.
Do you see the angle of 'control' I am coming from now?
Servant of Shadow; inconceivably.
And
Raynor's quotation is a perfect illustration of Melkor's residual power. I interpret the quote as Melkor's residual power giving rise to the potential of a conscious mind able to express free will turning to "evil".