In part 1 of this series, we explored the concepts of the night watchman state and anarchy in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Now I would like to look at how Tolkien talked about power, its temptation, the pitfalls of wielding it over others, and how it is ultimately destroyed.
Let’s start out by going back to that letter Tolkien wrote to his son back in 1943:
…the most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.
Tolkien believed that man wasn’t made to rule over other men. He even extends that to saints who would presumably be the best among us. It’s interesting that he mentions that those who seek power are the least suited for it, because that would include pretty much everybody in a position of the government, even those with good intentions as we will see later on. This particular quote also brings to mind a few verses from the bible. The first is John 6:15 where Jesus has to flee because the people want to make him king by force, which is quite comical, given he resists that temptation to “rule over” us with force because he was seeking to set up an entirely different kind of kingdom. The other verse is Matthew 20:25-28. When the mother of James and John asks Jesus if they can sit on his right and left in his new kingdom, Jesus responds by explaining what this new kingdom looks like. He tells them it is about serving, not lording over like the other earthly rulers do, and shows them instead that self-sacrificial love is the ultimate demonstration of the Kingdom of God, or as Tolkien might say:
You can’t fight the Enemy with his own Ring without turning into an Enemy, but unfortunately, Gandalf’s wisdom seems long ago to have passed with him into the True West.
The enemy’s ring is “force” and “power over” and whenever we try to use that to get what we want it leads us away from what is right and true and we become what we are trying to destroy.
Now I would like to look specifically at some quotes from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. The first is from Gandalf when Frodo offers him the ring of power:
“No!” cried Gandalf, springing to his feet. “With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly.” His eyes flashed and his face was lit as by a fire within. “Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good. Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused. The wish to wield it would be too great for my strength. I shall have such need of it. Great perils lie before me.
It is clear Gandalf seems to understand the corrupting nature of power, what it does to us even if we have the best intentions. He is aware he might like to have the power the ring offers, that it would allow him to do much good in the world, but that temptation would lead him to desire more, more and more power until he eventually became a kind of dark lord. Oftentimes, even those with good intentions, have a certain vanity or savior complex that makes them believe they are the only ones who can get the job done. The corrupting nature of power latches onto that. This is why Gandalf wisely rejects the ring and decides to influence the world for good with what strength he has.
In the next quote, we will look at is a conversation between Boromir and Elrond during the council in Rivendell:
“I do not understand all this,” [Boromir] said. “Saruman is a traitor, but did he not have a glimpse of wisdom? Why do you speak ever of hiding and destroying? Why should we not think that the Great Ring has come into our hands to serve us in the very hour of need? Wielding it the Free Lords of the Free may surely defeat the Enemy. That is what he most fears, I deem.
The Men of Gondor are valiant, and they will never submit, but they may be beaten down. Valour needs first strength, and then a weapon. Let the Ring be your weapon if it has such power as you say. Take it and go forth to victory!”
While Boromir doesn’t know any better, he is falling for the same trap that Gandalf warned about earlier. He knows his people are brave and will fight to the end, but they lack the strength to defeat such a powerful foe. He would like to use the enemy’s ring to defeat the enemy not realizing what it would do to them in the process. It seems like such a natural thing to fight your enemy with the same methods that they use so effectively against you. But, as Jesus said, “You have heard it said an eye for an eye but I tell… Turn the other cheek.” The ways of good seem foolish to the world.
Alas, no,” said Elrond. “We cannot use the Ruling Ring. That we now know too well. It belongs to Sauron and was made by him alone, and is altogether evil. Its strength, Boromir, is too great for anyone to wield at will, save only those who have already a great power of their own. But for them it holds an even deadlier peril. The very desire of it corrupts the heart. Consider Saruman. If any of the Wise should with this Ring overthrow the Lord of Mordor, using his own arts, he would then set himself on Sauron's throne, and yet another Dark Lord would appear. And that is another reason why the Ring should be destroyed: as long as it is in the world it will be a danger even to the Wise. For nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so. I fear to take the Ring to hide it. I will not take the Ring to wield it.
Here Elrond shows the same wisdom that Gandalf did by choosing to avoid the temptation altogether. It’s important to note that it’s not the dark lord Sauron who is the ultimate enemy, but the ring itself. To kill your enemies with the power of the ring only invites a new enemy, as long as the “power over'' exists so will the desire to yield it. and so the ring must be destroyed. WhenFrodo steps up to destroy the ring, he shows the same self-sacrificial love that we see in Jesus on the Cross. That is how “power over” is destroyed--not with force but with love. Force puts us at risk to become that which we hate.
The last quote I want to look at is one that gives us a glimpse of what is in the mind of Sauron himself:
He is in great fear, not knowing what mighty one may suddenly appear, wielding the Ring, and assailing him with war, seeking to cast him down and take his place. That we should wish to cast him down and have no one in his place is not a thought that occurs to his mind. That we should try to destroy the Ring itself has not yet entered into his darkest dream.
Sauron expected his foes to try to use his weapon against him, because, well, that’s what he would do. The enemy cannot fathom someone using anything other than power to fight power. Force to fight force. Sauron was blindsided and defeated in a way he never anticipated--his ring was destroyed and could no longer be wielded. Tolkien’s destruction of the ring of power creates a beautiful Christlike image of how evil is defeated.
I want to leave you with one final verse from 1 Corinthians 1:27, and I want you to keep in mind the brave hobbits of the fellowship of the ring when you read it:
Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.
About the Author
Voluntaryist, Neo-Anabaptist, Jesus is Lord. “May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."
@CalebMK5 on Twitter