No Living Man

[the phantom]

Thanks for digging that quote up for me, Firefoot. Here it is again-

Boromir was a great captain, and even the Witch-king feared him.

You interpreted it like this-

It sounds to me like the WK feared Boromir not as a threat directly to himself, but as a threat to the forces of Mordor in general. After all, what's a leader without troops to command? The WK probably feared Boromir as a leader and captain of men, not as a threat to bodily harm to himself.

That may be correct, but perhaps it isn't. It said TWK "feared" him. If Boromir couldn't actually harm TWK, in other words all Boromir could do was lead his forces well, I don't think TWK would "fear" him. It seems like such a general way to use a strong word. It's more likely TWK would be annoyed by Boromir or hate Boromir.

Now, if it said "TWK feared what Boromir could accomplish" or "TWK feared that Boromir could severely hamper his plans" then I'd understand that because his fear is about Boromir doing non-personal damage to him, but since it simply says that "TWK feared him", it somehow makes me think it was personally as well as militarily.

I don't know... maybe I'm thinking too hard.