The Doom of Men and the Ringwraiths

[The Saucepan Man]

Westerly Wizard:

Their bodies had "not long since passed away" since the bodies still exist.

I actually said that their physical bodies had long since passed away, ie their bodies in the physical, as opposed to spirit (or wraith), world. Of course, I agree that they retained their "bodies" (if you can call them that) in the wraith world - it was these that Frodo saw when he put on the Ring on Weathertop.

Gorthol:

How could Sauron delay the aging and keep the Ringlords *alive* for so long? During the time they were really *alive* and not yet wraiths. Same with Gollum, how come he was *alive* after 500 years?

Both the One Ring and the Nine Rings (and quite possibly the Seven Rings too) had the power to lengthen the lifespan of a mortal, although they did not grant immortality. (Quite possibly this was related to the power of the Elven Rings to preserve.) When worn for a sufficient length of time (dependant upon the will of the wearer to resist), they caused the wearer gradually to become a creature of the wraith world, subject to the will of Sauron, and to lose their physical body entirely (as occured with the Ringwraiths).