As Sam stood there, even though the Ring was not on him but hanging by its chain about his neck, he felt himself enlarged, as if he were robed in a huge distorted shadow of himself, a vast and ominous threat halted upon the walls of Mordor.

...not a "principal power". Even though hobbits who were not in any way seeking power, and certainly not of "great stature", they became invisible. Isildur may have been trying to go a little farther, but if he actually was seeking power, then why would the Ring leave him? The theories I like best are along the lines that he was not trying to use it, but to turn it over to Elrond, which is a fate the Ring might have wanted to avoid.

regarding invisibility, i don't necessarily say this is a theory i am championing, but it has come to mind, so i will share...

perhaps, regarding invisibility, the ring sensed a desire to be hidden in its bearers. smeagol = to spy (at first), and then to kill more easily (orcs, for food). isuldur = to escape the notice of the orcs. bilbo = to escape unnoticed from gollum. frodo = to go unnoticed by the general populace.

i think the above is too simplistic, ultimately. i think tolkien had certain fuzzy thoughts about the ring in the hobbit, and he cleaned up a lot of the blur in lotr, but i didn't necessarily explain everything (indeed -- did he fully know himself, or is the case of the ring like tom bombadil and the origin of the orcs.... something that tolkien hadn't fully nailed down yet?)..

I think it might be arguable that the Ring can provide power to command others to its Bearer when he is not wearing it, if that is the intent/nature of the Bearer. So Isildur may have gained that sort of power from it that we were not shown, but was using it in his death scene for its invisibility effect. (And so that Boromir might indeed have gained powers that enhanced his native leadership skills). - - Yes! That's what I have been feeling for so long - that there must be a duality of function for the Ring when Isildur had it! And that's why Boromir has the ideas that he does, especially when we know that Denethor was a restless lore-seeking man, who desired the Ring, and so certainly he knew a lot about it's history. -- In addition to your above point about conferring power even if not worn - I wonder if it can also "speak" through someone when one is not wearing it - like Frodo's prophesy/curse of Gollum: ... "a figure robed in white... [that] held a wheel of fire." Frodo told Gollum "in a commanding voice" that "If you touch me ever again, you shall be cast yourself into the Fire of Doom!"It's a singularly Un-Frodo like thing to say!!!!!!!! (Was it the Ring speaking, warning Gollum not to interfere, knowing that in Gollum's holding it will never get back to Sauron?) - - My reasons for supposing this are related to the scene in LotR (Book 4) in which Frodo gets Smeagol to swear to help him get into Mordor. I'm finding this in my Kindle edition, it;s around page 610-620. To me, it seems a possible indication that Frodo's "stature" was sufficient for him to access this sort of power to a degree in addition to the invisibility (which suggests other characters like Boromir ot Isildur who were leaders/commanders of Men, could also access it, while being able to turn invisible as Frodo could).

The scene takes up about a page. Smeagol offers to swear on the Precious, and we get this description of how Frodo reacts:

"Frodo drew himself up and again Sam was startled by his words and stern voice".

Smeagol and Frodo discuss the terms of the oath, Gollum crawls to Frodo to swear, and then we are told,

"For a moment it appeared to Sam that his master had grown, and Gollum had shrunk: a tall stern shadow, a mighty lord who hid his brightness in a grey cloud, and at his feet a little whining dog."

Sam is at this point an "objective" observer, who has not used the Ring. He sees what we are told seem to him uncharacteristic behaviors and appearance of Frodo, someone he knows well. These subtle and temporary shifts in appearance and behavior have the effect of making Frodo more "lordly", and appear to affect Smeagol, in the moment, influencing his decision. I think this may be the power of the Ring at work. -- This is a great example. I think that that IS the Ring a work, in synch with both Frodo's mood and therefore "stature"; and of course suiting the Ring as well, because as I said above at this point it knows Gollum is a veritable dead end and does not want him to attempt to reclaim itself. Perhaps Sam gets a quick view, because of his proximity to Frodo, of the spiritual "other side" where the Ring's power originates. - I am really so glad to read all these posts, and everyone's thoughts. It's an interpretative topic, and in one way (like Maciliel says) it is neat to have it be a bit mysterious. I have just always wanted to reconcile the issue of Isildur's use and Boromir's lore and to feel comfortable with the spectrums of the Ring's influence, in order to be able to accept the Gladden Fields as something that is logical and correct, and not just inconsistency.

A person strong-willed enough to command the One Ring (to the extent that it can be commanded) could possibly also control the Ring's power of invisibility. Of course the Ring did have a will of its own and it was treacherous; it could betray any lesser wearer if he/she lost control for even a moment. Sauron had complete control and was wholly visible while wearing the Ring.

As Sam stood there, even though the Ring was not on him but hanging by its chain about his neck, he felt himself enlarged, as if he were robed in a huge distorted shadow of himself, a vast and ominous threat halted upon the walls of Mordor. He felt that he had from now on only two choices: to forbear the Ring, though it would torment him; or to claim it, and challenge the Power that sat in its dark hold beyond the valley of shadows. Already the Ring tempted him, gnawing at his will and reason. Wild fantasies arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call as he marched to the overthrow of Barad-d�r. And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees and brought forth fruit. He had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be.

* He was able to give up the Ring to Frodo fairly easily, although for a moment he "felt reluctant to give up the
Ring and burden his master with it again," presumably a last effort on the Ring's part to appeal to the one central guiding principle in Sam at this moment: his love for his master.

it's funny that galadriel would think the ring would make her beautiful, when she already has ample feedback from her race that her physical attractiveness is held in high esteem. how much more beautiful could galadriel get?

it also invites the wondering... if galadriel thinks that the ring would make her beautiful/more beautiful.... is the ring then reflecting her desires?
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