There is a fine line between choosing to use the Ring and not doing so. It tempts those who have it to use it and it tempts those who have had it to recover it. It tempts those who do not have it to seek and obtain it. Primarily the Ring is a source of temptation. Once again the opportunity to exercise choice to turn away from the path of evil is available. This does not mean that if the wrong choice has been made, a person is lost, for there is always an opportunity for redemption. But it is the nature of Good to allow this to happen, for at all times Good permits the free person to elect whether or not to follow the Good or Evil path, and in this way Good relies upon the inherent goodness that exists within an individual to make the correct choice. The Ring removes choice and conquers free will. The Ring tempts, subverts and finally, if taken, dominates the individual in the same way as Sauron wishes to dominate and control the world. The Ring, at once symbolising and personifying Evil, presents all those who are confronted with it with the essential ingredients of Evil. I have already suggested that the essence of Evil is control and domination, and the essence of Good is free will. It is trite to say that The Lord of the Rings is a story about the conflict between Good and Evil, if it is not understood what the real nature of Good and Evil involves.
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