Why Man?

[Kuruharan]

the fact that Gollum didn't use the One for great things, or particularly often was what kept him from becoming a wraith. I think that the same thing can be said of Bilbo, and the other Hobbit Ringbearers carried the One for only a short time, and used it hardly at all.

I'd lay special emphasis on the use of the Rings. The Nazgul used their Rings to gain power and dominion and thus eventually fell under Sauron's power. The hobbits never used the Ring for this.

However, I think that there is also something to the notion that the One Ring did not confer wraithness. However, that's not something that we would be likely to find out because if a human (or hobbit) tried to claim the Ring as a tool of domination, that nonsense would have been summarily dealt with by Sauron. In other words there was no possibility of a mortal using the Ring for its intended purpose and remaining in possession of it long enough to become a wraith.

[ August 10, 2002: Message edited by: Kuruharan ]