July 23, 2002

Was Gandalf Foolish? (Response to Annatar)
David H.

I wish to respond to Annatar's comment from 7-16 that Gandalf was a fool. Annatar seems to believe that Gandalf trusted in Frodo's ability to withstand the Ring's temptation to the end, and thus was foolish. I don't think this is the case. I don't think Gandalf really trusted Frodo to that extent. He wasn't stupid. I'm sure he understood the lure of the ring more than anybody. As much as he believed in Frodo, I'm certain that he knew Frodo would probably falter before the end.

Yes, in the end Frodo failed and it was only the "lucky" mistake by Gollum that allowed the quest to succeed. But that's not the point. Gandalf called Sauron a wise fool because it was true. Everything Sauron did was very wise, as long as you thought like Sauron. But Gandalf's wisdom was in perceiving Sauron's weak spot: that Sauron couldn't stop thinking like Sauron. And that was the foolishness of Sauron. By failing to consider that someone would even WANT to destroy the ring, which was no doubt strengthened by knowing of the strength of the Ring's lure, Sauron left himself open to just that possibility, Sauron trusted in the temptation of the Ring. And so Sauron lost. He left his land open and brought about his own downfall, regardless of the actual mechanism of the Ring's destruction.

Gandalf was not rash or foolish in his decisions. He correctly looked at all the possible options and saw that every other choice led to a dead-end. Therefore he chose the only path that had a chance of true success, irregardless of the fact that is was incredibly risky. Failure in such a quest would only have hastened an end that otherwise would have come anyway, so what was there to lose by trying? Doesn't wisdom consist in choosing the best of all possible actions? Isn't that what Gandalf did?

Which brings up a third aspect of Gandalf's wisdom. If he was wise enough to know that Frodo couldn't withstand the Ring, why entrust him with the quest? Well, if you remember, Gandalf predicted that Gollum would have some part to play in it before the end. What this shows is that Gandalf perceived something. He perceived the hand of fate at work. He may not have known that Gollum would be responsible for the destruction of the Ring, but he saw that there was some higher power than Sauron also involved, and he felt that that was enough to give the quest some hope. Annatar calls the destruction of the Ring "lucky", but if you really understand the story you know that it wasn't luck, but fate (or more accurately the design of Eru in the music of the creation) that allowed the Ring to be destroyed. So Gandalf showed wisdom not by trusting in Frodo, but by trusting in fate.

Correctly recognizing the best choice, seeing the weakness of the enemy, and perceiving something that could give hope of success. Gandalf showed consummate wisdom.