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Old 10-06-2005, 06:30 AM   #12
Aiwendil
Late Istar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,224
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Davem wrote:
Quote:
The intentions of the Ring are interesting. What, exactly, did the Ring 'want'?
I'm going to be a little obtuse and suggest that, since the Ring was in some sense a part of Sauron, what it "wanted" was simply what Sauron wanted - which in large part was simply, as Kuruharan says, to get back to Sauron.

Quote:
It occurs to me that maybe, just as the Ring was 'intended' to be found by Bilbo , but not, as Gandalf says, by its Master, the Ring was not wholly in control of its own fate. Is it not possible that the Ring was drawn back to the Fire, by some other will - that of Eru?
Just how much, one wonders, does Eru tinker with events as they unfold in Arda?

Some interesting points have been raised regarding the possibility of the Ring "knowing" what would happen at Mt. Doom. But it seems to me that knowing is not something the Ring can do. The Ring has will (part of Sauron's will) but I don't think it has a mind. I don't think it has knowledge or intelligence. It seems to me that it does not think about what actions to take; it does not, strictly speaking, decide. Rather, it operates on an intuitive level. It seems to me, then, that the Ring is indeed drawn to Mt. Doom; but I don't see this in terms of a decision to return to Mt. Doom - I don't think it makes sense to ask what the Ring thinks about Mt. Doom. Rather, it seems to me that it is drawn to Orodruin because of the power of that place and because of its inherent affinity with the mountain. It was, after all, the place where the Ring was made.
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