Posted: July 31, 2000 at 16:20:30: by Aelmer
: There was a discussion here well over a year ago about whether Sauron could access the power of the Ring whilst he did not have it in his possession. The argument was that his native power was locked into the Ring and Sauron was diminished because he did not posess it. I (think I) recall Michael saying that he believed that this was the case - Sauron had access to all of his native power, no matter how far away the Ring was. At the time I found the arguments in support of Sauron being able to use his full native power to be quite weak.: In the "what power did the Ring Posess" thread below, Michael has made this statement: : Sauron was technically almost as powerful (as an individual being) at the end of the Third Age as he had been at the end of the Second Age, but the greater part of his power was locked inside the Ring, externalized. Tolkien wrote that he was in "rapport" with the Ring, meaning that its continued existence ensured his ability to take shape again and grow strong.: But he needed to possess the Ring to use its full power. : Is this a shift of position Michael? It sounds like you think that Sauron without the Ring was less powerful than he would be with the Ring (obviously excluding the 'extra' power that the Ring itself conferred. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me - it wouldn't be the first time. : Does anyone else have a view on this? Since I've been asking questions and thinking about the ring, I'll give it a go. Sauron's spirit was weaker without the ring. His weakened spirit could rebuild its strength. However, the time taken would would be greater since Sauron could not actively use the power of his spirit within the ring, unless he had possession of the ring. The existence of his spirit within the ring was a passive force that nurtured his spirit outside of the ring and allowed it to regain strength. I belive this is the "rapport" Tolkien spoke of. Sauron's weakened spirit could rebuild its strength only to a certain point. To be whole, complete and at full power Sauron need to possess the ring. Even with the ring, Sauron's spirit could not grow stronger than it had been at any time in the past.
~Aelmer
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