The Longetivity of Hobbits.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Faramir Jones

Is there any reference to a wearer of the Ring '"borrowing" Sauron's natural immortality while he wears it' in LotR? I might be mistaken, but I only recall Gandalf saying that a wearer did not die.

The "borrowing" is nowhere explicitly stated in the books, I don't think; that's just my theory of how the life-extension would work.
The Ring's power derives from Sauron, after all. By itself, it is only an object.

Originally Posted by Faramir Jones

I'm also a little confused. You say that 'when that influence is removed, nature takes its course'. Are you referring to the person ceasing to wear the Ring, or the Ring's destruction? While Bilbo, as you say, 17 years after giving up the Ring, was still old but able, he rapidly aged once the Ring was destroyed.

The Ring's destruction. As you note, Gollum too continued to live as long as the Ring survived. He told Sam on Mount Doom:

'And when Precious goes we'll die, yes, die into the dust'.

ROTK Mount Doom

I think Gollum knew that the Ring's loss would result in his physical death.

[Faramir Jones]

You raise an interesting point, Inziladun. It appears, however, to be the case that Sauron, when making the One Ring, permanently transferred much of his power into it, to be able to bind the wearers of the other Rings of Power. For this reason, the Ring's destruction would be such that Sauron would be incapable of taking physical form again, which turned out to be the case.

This is what marked the One Ring out from being just an 'object'. If this was the case, why didn't Sauron just make a replacement 'object', instead of spending so much time looking for the original?

I agree that Gollum, due to his great age, would die very quickly if he was still alive once the Ring was destroyed.

This great age does raise an interesting issue. How was Gollum still so capable of both looking after himself and travelling despite being over 500 years old?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Faramir Jones

This is what marked the One Ring out from being just an 'object'. If this was the case, why didn't Sauron just make a replacement 'object', instead of spending so much time looking for the original?

For one thing, Sauron had already put a great deal of his original power into the One Ring. Making something else and transferring more of his spiritual essence to it would have resulted in his further weakening.
Also, after losing the One (something he had never seriously considered likely when he made it) he would have been that much more wary of doing something like that again.

Originally Posted by Faramir Jones

This great age does raise an interesting issue. How was Gollum still so capable of both looking after himself and travelling despite being over 500 years old?

Two things kept him going. The Ring was still in existence, and he had his lust for it and his hate for whomever had it to sustain him.

[Belegorn]

In like manner the creations of the Ring and the Three that they built and maintained eventually went to waste. In Mordor the foundations were broken for good where they remained after Sauron's first overthrow since the Ring was not destroyed, and also the realms of the other 2 bearers of the Three.

Originally Posted by FotR; Bk. 2, Ch. 7; The Mirror of Galadriel

Do you see wherefore your coming is to us as the footstep of Doom? For if you fail, then we are laid bare to the enemy. Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlórien will fade, and the tides of Time will sweep it away.