In the Silmarillion, the Valar have already defeated Melkor, the original "Dark Lord". Sauron was just his assistant. Melkor gives Sauron some of the extra powers given him by Iluvatar (the God of Middle-earth). That's why it's so hard for the other character in LOTR, like Gandalf, to oppose Sauron directly.
Now for your question if the Valar can crush Sauron.
Melkor's story ends in the Silmarillion when he is cast out of the universe by Iluvatar, who has had enough of his troublemaking. That's a clever trick for Iluvatar's part, but it raises a question. Why doesn't he do the same with Sauron?
The answer lies in Tolkien's ideas about good and evil. Melkor may be evil, but he was originally created by God, so he is a natural part of the universe. But the end of Melkor's story can't mean the end of evil on Earth. Good and evil are always present, Tolkien believed, and always will be. That's why Iluvatar lets Sauron have a place in the world. The battle of good and evil never ends.
So again for your question, Sauron could be crushed maybe NOT by the Valar themselves (since the Valar also had a hard time on defeating Melkor) but Iluvatar could have definitely crushed Sauron, but he didn't, due to the reasons above.
__________________
Last edited by shadowy_blue on Oct 21st, 2003 at 12:06 AM
he would shurly try to wield the ring for good, but through him it would make a terrible force uncontrollable bad, and evil, death and destruction, pain and suffering,cruelty, and intolerence!
The question is, what IS power?
Hm of course you get invisible and to the others you seem far mightier and taller but you dont get directly magical skills or something so you cant turn your neighbour into a toad or something
__________________ Life is complex: it has both real and imaginary components.
He "put all of his power into it"
He needs it to rule the other Rings of Power (except the ones of the Elves) and so symbolically rule (parts of) the peoples of middle-earth
__________________ Life is complex: it has both real and imaginary components.
There were Nine Rings of Men (which he had), Seven of the Dwarves (he had half of them the rest was destroyed by dragons that had stolen the treasures of the Dwarves) and Three of the Elves (he didnt work on them so he could rule them)
__________________ Life is complex: it has both real and imaginary components.
I think Frodo or Gandalf would be punished by the Valar. And I think there isn't any kind of question about the Valar's power, if they defeat Morgoth before, and Sauron is only a Maiar, as Gandalf too, with great power in Midlle-Earth only because the Valar left to the humans to solve their own problems. As the Valar left Beleriand shall be time to the elves left middle-earth to after Sauron's last defeat and then the chosen ones -humans will be by theirselves as we are now in the XXI century making all kind of mistakes and bringing tjhe world to ruin
Maybe it was good if Frodo had gone to Valinor...Maybe the Valar had come to Middle-Earth again only to check the situation and the elves had satyed there...Maybe we would be all elves living in Rivendell, Lothlorien, Nargothond, Gondolin, etc, by now...
__________________ Por minha Dama
«...et tu seras pour moi unique au monde, et je serais pour toi unique au monde...»
Thats why I dont like the Valar (except for Melcor) so much... they never care about Middle-earth after the ruin of Beleriand (except for drowning an island)... and also in the First Age only Ulmo really did and supported the Elves...
Well and Melcor just cared about men he tried to understand them and everything
Of course for an evil purpose but at least he did.
__________________ Life is complex: it has both real and imaginary components.
Well..I don't agree with you cause there is a time when we must know our responsabilities and grow by ourselves. And the Valar never left Middle-Earth. Tehy send the istari to help humans against evil and how we might see in ROTK they will defeat Sauron.
Don't ypu expect to see Jesus our Maome our Buda coming here to have a meal and solve our problems
__________________ Por minha Dama
«...et tu seras pour moi unique au monde, et je serais pour toi unique au monde...»