Posted: March 21, 2000 at 10:25:01: by David
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: As the captains of the West stood before the Black Gate, the Mouth of Sauron came forth, and offered them terms of peace in return for the return of Frodo. I doubt that Sauron would really have kept his side of the argument, even if he had really held Frodo captive, and even if he had, he would certainly find some loophole to continually re-adjust the truce to his advantage before striking his final blow.: This is all in line with the evil nature of Sauron, who often pretends to be well-meaning and a friend, as he did in Numenor, only to corrupt his friends and use them to his advantage. : What surprises me is not this, but the fact that he was prepared to respect the life of a hostage at all. Sauron appeared to have practically no respect for life of any sort. Would he have made any attempt to have any of his own people returned had they been captured? I doubt it. Then why would he even begin to believe the captains of the West would be prepared to consider paying such a price for the return of a single, or at the best two hobbits? Yes, I know he was playing, as a cat plays with a trapped mouse before killing it, but it is the fact that he even considered such an offer in his wildest dreams that puzzles me. I believe it was because he regarded his enemies as foolish and their weakness lay in their compassion - so he was playing this card thinking them blind to him being so evil that he would have no respect for life.
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