The Last Meeting of the White Council

The Tale of Years gives a brief synopsis of the meeting: "Last meeting of the White Council. They debate the Rings. Saruman feigns that he has discovered that the One Ring has passed down Anduin to the Sea. Saruman withdraws to Isengard, which he takes as his own, and fortifies it. Being jealous and afraid of Gandalf he sets spies to watch all his movements; and notes his interest in the Shire. He soon begins to keep agents in Bree and the Southfarthing" (p. 370, The Return of the King).

Saruman was jealous and hated Gandalf by this time because "...Saruman knew in his heart that the Grey Wanderer had the greater strength, and the greater influence upon the dwellers in Middle-earth, even though he hid his power and desired neither fear nor reverence" (p. 349, Unfinished Tales). Saruman, fearing and hating Gandalf, would often counsel against his rivals plans and treat him with less respect. But his distrust of Gandalf would have consequences for the Hobbits.

"It was in this way that Saruman came to give thought to the Halflings and the Shire, which otherwise he would have deemed beneath his notice. He had first no thought that the interest of his rival in this people had any connexion with the great concerns of the Council, least of all the Rings of Power. For indeed in the beginning it had no such connexion, and was due only to Gandalf's love for the Little People, unless his heart had some deep premonition beyond his waking thought. For many years he visited the Shire openly, and would speak of its people to any who would listen; and Saruman would smile, as at the idle tales of an old land-rover, but he took heed nonetheless" (p. 350, Unfinished Tales).

Saruman went so far as to explore, in disguise, the Shire himself until he thought he knew all he needed to know about it. Even so he set his spies to watch over it because he did not trust Gandalf or anyone for that matter. "He was himself so far fallen that he believed all others of the Council had each their deep and far reaching policies for their own enhancement, to which all that they did must in some way refer. So when long after he learned something of the finding of Gollum's Ring by the Halfling, he could believe only that Gandalf had known of this all the time; and this was his greatest grievance, since all that concerned the Rings he deemed his especial province" (p. 350, Unfinished Tales).

Saruman's watch upon the Shire had no evil intentions at the beginning. He even, after listening to Gandalf praise the Halfling's pipe-weed time and again, tried some of the Longbottom Leaf himself and soon began to use it regularly, in private of course. The pipe weed was Saruman's chief concern with the Shire. "Yet he dreaded lest this should be discovered, and his own mockery turned against him, so that he would be laughed at for imitating Gandalf, and scorned for doing so by stealth" (p. 351, Unfinished Tales). It would seem that after years of dwelling on the One Ring and it's power Saruman has grown a little paranoid.

So for the sake of his pride Saruman was secret in his dealings with the Shire. He ceased to visit the Shire altogether for he became aware that some of the hobbits had noted his visits. But the hobbits had mistaken him for Gandalf. Saruman did not wish Gandalf to know that he too was making use of the Halflings weed. "But Gandalf knew of these visits, and guessed their object, and he laughed, thinking this the most harmless of Saruman's secrets; but he said nothing to others, for it was never his wish that any one should be put to shame. Nonetheless he was not ill-pleased when the visits of Saruman ceased, doubting him already, though he could not himself yet foresee that a time would come when Saruman's knowledge of the Shire would prove perilous and of the greatest service to the Enemy, bringing victory to within a nail's breadth of his grasp" (p. 351, Unfinished Tales).

While this reading is mostly a case study of Saruman I think it also gives a key attribute of Gandalf as well. While Saruman is driven by power and dominance Gandalf is concerned about keeping other's dignity intact. Even if the other person, Saruman in this case, treats him with scorn. Overall I found this reading to be a fascinating look inside Saruman's thoughts and motivations which will lead to his ultimate betrayal.

Middle-earth timeline: Third Age, 2953
Today's reading comes from: The Return of the King, page 370; and Unfinished Tales, pages 349-351