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Originally Posted by Nikkolas
Where this really concerns me is in the case of Saruman. Many people speculate whether or not he could command the One Ring. He'd need to have enough innate Maia power to combat most of Sauron's power in the ring after all. However if he was truly limited by simply being in his "human" form, he could never have achieved this anyway.
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Gandalf appears to have had no doubt about Saruman's potential to use the One, or for that matter, his own. The question for all the "great" of Middle-earth (Gandalf, Elrond, etc.) was not whether they could make use of the Ring, but whether they were capable of resisting its corrupting influence to keep their more pure goals intact. The conclusion of all of them was that they could not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nikkolas
But if the limits were just guidelines that could be thrown off at will, then surely Saruman, having been corrupted long ago, would wield his full power without hesitation.
Are there any official quotes one way or the other on whether the true strength of the Istari is held in check only by their will? Thoughts and opinions are of course very much welcome too!  |
The limitations were in the form of "rules" formed by the Valar.
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....[The Valar's] emissaries were forbidden to reveal themselves in forms of majesty, or to seek to rule the wills of Men or Elves by open display of power...
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UT The Istari
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It was afterwards said that [The Istari] came out of the Far West and were messengers sent to contest the power of Sauron....but they were forbidden to match his power with power, or to seek to dominate Elves or Men by force or fear.
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ROTK Appendix A
I lean toward the idea that the embodiment situation did have a direct effect on the innate "magical" abilities of the Istari as well (which to me explains Gandalf the White's greater power after the death of his physical body and return in a "counterfeit" form). The Valar seem to have had a code of conduct in place as well for them to follow, so a twofold restriction was there as a safeguard, it appears.