If you were 👁️Sauron, would you had made the Ring?

[Ithrynluin]

If you were Sauron, would you have made the Ring?

Put yourself in Sauron's shoes (iron boots?). Would you have made the One Ring?

PROs: He enhanced his power immensely, and did great evil with it (drowning of Numenor), and also corrupted a whole lot of people (e.g. Saruman, Gollum...) and much evil came out of that as well.

CONs: He poured a part of his native power into the ring, and he risked the ring being lost or taken from him (which really happened).

What actions would you take if you were Sauron at about SA 1600?

 

[BlackCaptain]

I wouldnt have done it:

In the begining, there are two great powers; Manwe and Melkor. Manwe has his servants, Melkor has his. When Melkor is cast into the void, it is up to Sauron to take complete control over middle earth, since Melkor can't. If he pours the majority of his power into this Ring, then he runs the risk of having the majority of his strength lost. Wich he did. And by running this risk, he also runs the risk of losing everything Melkor and him have ever worked for. *In my opinion*

 

[Elendil3119]

PROs: He enhanced his power immensely, and did great evil with it (drowning of Numenor), and also corrupted a whole lot of people (e.g. Saruman, Gollum...) and much evil came out of that as well.

How did he enhance his power by creating the Ring? If it does NOT enhance power, I would not have created it simply because it is a stupid and unnecessary risk to take. If it DOES enhance power, I think if I were Sauron, I would have created it out of greed.

 

[Niniel]

But to achieve this (i.e. domination of ME) he had been obliged to let a great part of his own inherent poer pass in to the One Ring. While he wore it, his power was actually enhanced. But even if he did not wear it, that power existed and was in 'rapport' with himself: he was not diminished. Unless some other seized it an became possessed of it. If that happened, the new possessor could (if sufficiently strong and heroic by nature) challenge Sauron, become master of all that he had learned or done since the making of the One Ring, and so overthrow him and usurp his place. This was the essential weakness he had intoduced into his situation in his effort (largely unsuccessful) to enslave the Elves, and in his desire to establish a control over the minds and wills of his servants. There was another weakness: if the One Ring was actually unmade, annihilated, then its power would be dissolved, Sauron's own being would be diminished to vanishing point, and he would be reduced to a shadow, a mere memory of malicious will. But that he never contemplated or feared.

Letters of Tolkien, no 131.
I think Sauron was stupid not to contemplate the possibility of the destruction or loss of the Ring; after all, Morgoth was destroyed, so why could Sauron not be overthrown? If I had been in his shoes I would not have made the Ring; there must have been other options less dangerous (even if less effective).

 

[redline2200]

I would have made the ring. You say the cons are the possibility of losing it, but when you think about it, it was Sauron's fault that he lost it anyway. He has proven over and over again that he is to hasty, and if he hadn't of shown himself and his army in the first place, then he would not have been annihilated at Dagorlad.

 

[Arvedui]

If I was Sauron in SA 1600, I would have forged the Ring in an attempt to take complete control over all 'races' of Middle-earth, including the Elves. That would have been my main goal. And I would have had so much pride in myself that I would never have thought of the possibility that I could loose it.

Both Morgoth and Sauron have one common fault: their pride. And that also was the main reason for their downfall.

 

[Jesse]

Personally,
NO. I would not have made the ring. Putting all my power in a metal object is not only stupid, but it is pointless. If the Ring was destroyed, all my power would be gone! Where's the fun in that?

 

[FrankSinatra]

Depends

Its like you have a £1,000,000 (or $1,000,000 if you like) and someone offers you ten times more than that for giving u a ring that you could lose, and if you did lose it, you lost all your money.

Would you take the risk or stick with your million?

 

[Goldberry]

Well, if I were going to put all my power into a ring, it would be a really fabulous ring, with lots of diamonds or other precious stones, and not a plain gold ring!

 

[LadyDernhelm]

Aaaah, but this ring has magically-appearing script! Way cool!

Kind of offtopic: did you know that they have a real Ring you can buy that is plain until put to fire- then the characters show up. Of course, it costs nearly $1,000, but . . ..

 

[Hawkblaze]

Just a question...Did Sauron actually use the ring to drown Numenor? Didn't the Rings of Power come into existence after Numenor was destroyed and Elendil and his sons went to Middle Earth? I know Elendil or his sons didn't actually have a Ring, but the Numenoreans that had them were living in ME, right?

 

[Ithrynluin]

The One Ring was forged around Second Age 1600. The Second Age lasted around 3900 years. Numenor was drowned towards the end of the SA.
There is no reason to assume that Sauron left the One behind when he was "taken captive" by the Ar-Pharazon. He certainly used the ring to sway the King and the majority of the population to evil.

 

[olorin the maia]

Sauron had no direct part (meaning, his Ring didn't cause it to happen) in the foundering of Numenor. He bewitched the king into sailing West, against the Ban of the Valar.
Numenor was drowned when Ar-Pharazon, last King of Numenor, attempted to make war upon the Powers of the World in the Undying Lands. If you read Akallabeth , which is included in The Silmarillion , much will become clear.
Sauron left his Ring in Barad-dur when he was taken to Numenor by Ar-Pharazon. His spirit, bereft of the human shape in which he had long walked, returned to Barad-dur after Numenor was swallowed up by the waves. It "...passed as a shadow and a black wind over the sea..." to Mordor, where "...he took up again his great Ring in Barad-dur..."

 

[Ithrynluin]

Originally posted by olorin the maia
Sauron had no direct part (meaning, his Ring didn't cause it to happen) in the foundering of Numenor. He bewitched the king into sailing West, against the Ban of the Valar.
Sauron left his Ring in Barad-dur when he was taken to Numenor by Ar-Pharazon. His spirit, bereft of the human shape in which he had long walked, returned to Barad-dur after Numenor was swallowed up by the waves. It "...passed as a shadow and a black wind over the sea..." to Mordor, where "...he took up again his great Ring in Barad-dur..."

Despite the "took up his great Ring" part, I still think he had the Ring with him in Numenor. He took it up AGAIN, which could mean that he simply started using it again, after a short time of "not using it". I sure wouldn't leave my most prized possession somewhere during my absence, leave it up for grabs to the orcs or whoever else had access to Barad-dur.
The Ring was made to dominate the free peoples - Sauron definitely used it to influence the Numenoreans and corrupt them. That is just my opinion.

 

[olorin the maia]

I agree the semantics of the passage do leave the matter somewhat open to interpretation. The Author was exceedingly good at leaving things open in this manner.
But it is mighty difficult to imagine a spirit borne upon a dark wind carrying a Ring along. Even if the spirit happened to be a powerful Maia.
I believe the Ring was made to dominate the users of the Elven Rings. And thus, the world.
When he "wore the One Ring, [Sauron] could perceive all the things that were done by means of the lesser rings, and could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them."
Sauron lusted for power and to be lord of Middle-earth. The Ring was but one means of achieving that end.

 

[Arvedui]

Originally posted by Hawkblaze
I know Elendil or his sons didn't actually have a Ring, but the Numenoreans that had them were living in ME, right?

The Númenoreans that had rings, lived in Middle-earth. There were three of them, and they were of those people that were called the Black Númenoreans. They were of those that were followers of Ar-Pharazon. Those three turned later into Ringwraiths aka Nazgûl.

 

[Ithrynluin]

Originally posted by olorin the maia

But it is mighty difficult to imagine a spirit borne upon a dark wind carrying a Ring along. Even if the spirit happened to be a powerful Maia.
I believe the Ring was made to dominate the users of the Elven Rings. And thus, the world.
When he "wore the One Ring, [Sauron] could perceive all the things that were done by means of the lesser rings, and could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them."
Sauron lusted for power and to be lord of Middle-earth. The Ring was but one means of achieving that end.

I don't think we should question how a spirit can carry a physical object. How did Gandalf still have Narya and Glamdring after his "rebirth"?
The One was made to dominate all other rings, and all other rings were made for ALL the races of Middle Earth. Sauron of course knew that the Elves were the mightiest of all beings in ME, and he wanted to dominate them the most, but realized that ensnaring the Elves was far from easy. He then distributed the rings to Men and Dwarves, which is proof enough that he wanted to dominate ALL the races "and thus, the world.

From Letter 211:

... Though reduced to 'a spirit of hatred borne on a dark wind', I do not think one need boggle at this spirit carrying of the One Ring, upon which his power of dominating minds now largley depended. ...

 

[Celebthôl]

This is a very philosophical (sp) question, for we know what happens to the ring, but if you were asked this question without knowing the future of the ring (i.e. it getting cut from Saurons hand etc) then you would most likely answer differently, i.e. if all the information you were given was,

There are 19 magic rings and to rule them all you need to make an item with which to control the through would you make a ring?
(or something like that)

you most likely would say yes!

its only because we know the history of the ring that we say it is a stupid idea...

Thôl

 

[olorin the maia]

Gandalf had Narya and Glamdring with him because he never lost them. His spirit left, and then returned to his broken body upon Celebdil, where Gwaihir found him, returned to life.
The Rings of Power were made by and for the Elves, not for the other races of the Earth. Celebrimbor had no intention of giving Rings of Power to any other than of Elven, and likely Noldorin, race.
Sauron made war upon the Ring-makers of Hollin, and stole the most powerful rings they made, except for the Three, which he never touched. He gave of the Rings he stole to Men and Dwarves, seeking to dominate them. He sought ever in vain for the Three.

 

[Celebithil]

I would have made the One Ring because its power was such that most anyone couldn't destroy it. Sauron believed they would try to use it for themselves and remember even Frodo wasn't going to destroy the Ring Gollum did it.