April 24, 2002

Fluidshaggy on Saruman
John R.

My recollection is that Saruman went "bad" before he ever looked into a Palantir. He looked into the Palantir in Orthanc after getting the keys from the Steward of Gondor. But, Saruman wanted to possess Orthanc before he looked into the Palantir, which shows his personal ambition for control of others. You could say that he was turned to evil by the desire to find and use the One Ring to rule others - before ever coming into contact with Sauron through the Palantir.