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Originally Posted by Ulvenok
That wasn't because "Bombadil was apparently no match for Sauron", they chose not to send him the ring because Gandalf said he would probably lose it. Bombadil has shown to be more powerful than any maia we have heard of in any of Tolkien's writings. His manipulation of the one ring is his greatest feat, any other maia like Gandalf for example would sucumb to it and become very powerful wearing it but Tom just played around with it and even made it dissapear. This feat alone is in my opinion proof enough that he would make short work of Sauron.
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Bombadil was expressly said to have no power over the Ring, which was the same as saying he had no power over
Sauron. It was said at the Council that Sauron could not be defied by Bombadil alone. "Would not" was a consideration, though Gandalf indeed thought Tom would take the Ring if he was begged to do so. , but
could not is the more important point.
The Ring had no power over
Tom because he had no inherent desire for power he did not possess already; he was satisfied with his state of affairs. Gandalf said Bombadil was "his own master", which to me is simply a statement that Tom's purpose in Arda was unique, not necessarily a measure of his inherent power.
That of course is conjectural, but so is a great deal of discussion on Tom.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ulvenok
Oh that is a nice quote, "but other, and among them many of the greatest" this doesn't leave out the possability that there were still great valar close to Melkor and Manwe in power that never entered it. However Tom was in the world before the valar entered it, still I find both Ungoliant and Tom to most likely belong to these who never entered it yet did.
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That's all I was saying. Tom and Ungoliant seem to be similar in that both are obviously beings with great spiritual power, each having motives and purposes that appear to have been their own. Ainu who entered Arda separately from the Valar and Maia would seem to fill the bill.