Quote:
Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc
But the problem is that he would not have anyone to command Isengard while he was away. Saruman would not trust anybody that much, especially since the situation was so crucial. Again, he could not put all bets on getting the Ring, and it would be highly irresponsible to go there just because of that. Also, Saruman was much more of the type of a ruler, like Sauron, who would not usually do things himself, but who has slaves to do that. Also, Saruman was too much of a coward to, for instance, follow the Fellowship to Moria. So if on his journey he came to such a place, he would probably not like to go there himself. But as long as it was somebody else, he would gladly send them in. So that's why he sent Uglúk and others and didn't go himself.
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Oh, I quite agree. Saruman was not very brave and certainly didn't trust anyone. Although he didn't have to go to Moria - the ideal time would have been after the Fellowship left Lorien.
The thing is - all of Saruman's plan really did depend on getting the Ring - perhaps he didn't fully understand how much peril he was in once Sauron discovered his deception.
If Saruman
had obtained the Ring then Sauron would not have been confident that he (Sauron) could have defeated Saruman. Although a Ringless Sauron might have still "beaten" Saruman-with-the-Ring in a one on one,
mano a mano, confrontation - possibly by simply commanding Saruman to hand it over - it's unlikely that Sauron would have dared to leave the comfort of Barad-dûr to make such an attempt.
Sauron would have hoped that Saruman-with-the-Ring would make a mistake, being over-bold, that might fatally expose him. Perhaps the Ring might assist, by betraying Saruman in some way. It might tempt him to assail Mordor too soon by persuading him that his forces were far greater than Sauron's.