The Wise in Middle Earth

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

How far would you say Gandalf gets by on luck though? For example, he goes to Isengard because he is tricked by Saruman and manages to get himself out of this sticky situation. Do situations like that show he was not quite so clever or do they show his superior wisdom in being able to work out how to get himself out of a tight spot? Another situation might be when he was trying to get into Moria - why could he not work out the 'password'? Was that genuine? I often suspect not. But was this a misguided delaying tactic as he did not want to go in there?

Do you wish Gandalf to always be right? The LOTR would be over within 100 pages if that were the case. The wisest need not be always right (& cannot be anyway) - what counts is the means, designs, intelligence, application & knowledge of the Loremaster.