July 9, 2003

Wisdom
Danny

I think Annatar's idea that Sauron was wiser than Gandalf is very off the mark. First off, Gandalf was Olorin known first and foremost for his great wisdom. I have mentioned this in past posts, but Gandalf knew Frodo would not be capable of destroying the ring. He watched Frodo recoil from throwing it into his own fireplace where he was far removed from Sauron's power. Only a great fool would expect Frodo to be capable of more after the ring would be at the apex of its power, and Gandalf was certainly not any sort of fool. Gandalf was wise enough to trust in the truth he stated. Sort of a quote from off the top of my head, "There are other powers in this world besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring, and in that case you were also meant to have it, and that is an encouraging thought."
Gandalf was wise enough to recognize the notes in Illuvitar's great song and rather than fight against it, work to harmonize with it. Gandalf was wise enough to see things clear enough to make the correct decision when the fate of the world depended on it, and when all lesser understanding pointed to the wrong path. There would have been no other solution, yet lesser wisdom called Gandalf's decision folley. Gandalf didn't trust in Frodo to destroy the ring. It was clear that Frodo would not be capable from the begining. He trusted in the greater power for good in the world to see to it when the right path was chosen.