June 13, 2002

The Loss of Free Will
Richard P.

To Renee, see my last post for my definition of intelligence. I'm not saying that when a corrupted Maia renegade to Morgoth they become dumb, I'm just saying they lose most of their free will to do what they like.

As to Morgoth's own will being part of their inherent being, and controlling them, I think you only have to look at what happened to the armies of Sauron when he took his mind off them. They lost their driving force, they became confused, and were destroyed. If this kind of power can be wielded over individuals by Sauron imagine what Morgoth could do. And indeed, when the Host of the West comes and defeats Morgoth the remanents of his forces do become aimless, wandering until they are hunted down and destroyed.

Also, some of my sources for this also come from the History of Middle-earth, and Letters of Tolkien... which I reccomend as a great read BTW.