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Well, the Rings certainly were "instruments of power," and arguably were "symbols of power" as well depending on whether Celebrimbor originally intended them to be wielded openly. He would in effect have created a class of nineteen Ringbearers, superior in power and inevitably in influence to all other Elves: a ruling caste based on might.
Contrast the original purpose of the Silmarils - as the ultimate works of pure Art - compared to what they became by the end of the First Age- objects of lust and desire, and not devoid of power either.
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The entire plot of The Lord of the Rings could be said to turn on what Sauron didn’t know, and when he didn’t know it.
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