Of Saruman the White and his Voice

[Balrog]

Saruman the White

Though the quotes are much fewer then they are for Gandalf, there's little doubt in my mind that many of the things Gandalf could do, at least in his Grey form, Saruman could also do, being accounted greatest of the Wizard's Order. A list of those can be found here

“Yet he is great among the Wise. He is the chief of my order and the head of the Council. His knowledge is deep, but his pride has grown with it, and he takes ill any meddling. The lore of the Elven-rings, great and small, is his province.”

Our first intro of the White Wizard. Doubtless it was this lore of Elven-rings that allowed him to create his own, and helped him along his path to treachery.

“For Saruman the White is the greatest of my order…Saruman has long studies the arts of the Enemy himself, and thus we have often been able to forestall him. It was by the devices of Saruman that we drove him from Dol Guldur.”

Just what the 'devices of Saruman' were is never given, and we are left to guess.

“But I rode to the foot of Orthanc, and came to the stair of Saruman; and there he met me and led me up to his high chamber. He wore a ring on his finger.
…“For I am Saruman the Wise, Saruman Ring-maker, Saruman of Many Colours!”

Saruman indeed puts his Ring-lore to use, but whether that Ring actually did anything or not we're also never told. It was obviously of some importance to the Wizard for him to declare himself "Ring-maker", which I doubt he do if it was just an ordinary non-magical ring.

“We shall not turn back here. Yet I am weary.” He gazed back along the way that they had come towards the night gathering in the East. “There is something strange at work in this land. I distrust the silence. I distrust even the pale Moon. The stars are faint; and I am weary as I have seldom been before, weary as no Ranger should be with a clear trail to follow. There is some will that lends speed to our foes and sets an unseen barrier before us: a weariness that is in the heart more than in limb.”

“Truly!” said Legolas. “That I have known since first we came down from the Emyn Muil. For the will is not behind us but before us.” He pointed away over the land of Rohan into the darkling West under the sickle moon.

“Saruman!” muttered Aragorn.

Like Gandalf the White, Saruman the White is capable of effecting others at great distance, though not as strongly. Perhaps were he working his spell on some "lesser" beings than the Three Hunters the effect would have been more potent, but we'll never know. There is no other mention of Saruman using this ability anywhere else in the text.

Suddenly Gimli looked up, and there just on the edge of the firelight stood an old bent man, leaning on a staff, and wrapped in a great cloak; his wide-brimmed hat was pulled down over his eyes. Gimli sprang up, too amazed for the moment to cry out, though at once the thought flashed into his mind that Saruman had caught them. Both Aragorn and Legolas roused by his sudden movement, sat up and stared. The old man did not speak or make a sign.

“Well, father, what can we do for you?” said leaping to his feet. “Come and be warm, if you are cold!” He strode forward, but the old man was gone. There was no trace of him to be found near at hand…

Kind of like how Gandalf just 'appeared' on the battlefield of the Five Armies, except this event is less vague. Either "teleport" (for lack of a better word) really is an ability of the Wizards, or there is some other power at work here; perhaps akin to "cloaks of shadow" many characters in earlier Ages went about in (i.e. Luthien).

“Even as they spoke there came a blare of trumpets. Then there was a crash and a flash of flame and smoke. The waters of the Deeping-stream poured out hissing and foaming: they were choked no longer, a gaping hole was blasted in the wall. A host of dark shapes poured in.

“Develry of Saruman!” cried Aragorn. “They have crept in the culvert again, while we talked, and they have lit the fire of Orthanc beneath our feet.”

Hey, the movie got something right

But the Orcs laughed with loud voices; and a hail of darts and arrows whistled over the wall, as Aragorn leaped down.

There was a roar and a blast of fire. The archway of the gate above which he had stood a moment before crumbled and crashed in smoke and dust. The barricade was scattered as if by a thunderbolt.

At least it's apparent that there were bombs of many sizes in Saruman's armies, including ones that could be launched at the enemy.

“I don’t know what Saruman thought was happening; but anyway he did not know how to deal with it. His wizardry may have been falling off lately, of course, but anyway I think he has not much grit, not much plain courage alone in a tight place without a lot of slaves and machines and things, if you know what I mean. Very different from old Gandalf. I wonder if his fame was not all along mainly due to his cleverness in settling at Isengard.”

“No,” said Aragorn. “Once he was as great as his fame made him. His knowledge was deep, his thought was subtle, and his hands marvelously skilled; and he had a power over the minds of others. The wise he could persuade, and the smaller folk he could daunt. That power he certainly still keeps. There are not many in Middle-earth that I should say were safe, if they were left alone to talk with him, even now when he has suffered a defeat. Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, perhaps, now that his wickedness has been laid bare, but very few others.”

Doubtless, Saruman seems more analogious to the stereotypical Wizard, up in his tower going through dusty tomes and creating magical wonders, rather then out on the battlefield taking an active part. Certainly he wouldn't be totally defenceless if caught in the open by enemies, but it's obvious he'd rather deal with them from afar, as we see next....

“When Saruman was safe back in Orthanc, it was not long before he set some of his precious machinery to work. By that time there were many Ents inside Isengard: some had followed Quickbeam, and others had burst in from the north and east; they were roaming about and doing a great deal of damage. Suddenly up came fires and foul fumes: the vents and shafts all over the plain began to spout and belch. Several of the Ents got scorched and blistered. One of them, Beechbone I think he was called, a very tall handsome Ent, got caught in a spray of some liquid fire and burned like a torch: a horrible sight.”

Saruman invents Greek Fire ^_^ Perhaps this 'liquid fire' could be one of the devices talked about earlier that was used to drive Sauron from Dol Guldur.

“What’s the danger?” asked Pippin. “Will he shoot at us, or pour fire out of the windows; or can he put a spell on us from a distance?”
“The last is most likely, if you ride to his door with a light heart,” said Gandalf. “But there is no knowing what he can do, or may choose to try. A wild beast cornered is not safe to approach. And Saruman has powers you do not guess. Beware of his voice!”

Again the emphasis is placed on the power of his Voice, though at noted it is not the only threat to worry about.

‘The window closed. They waited. Suddenly another voice spoke, low and melodious, its very sound an enchantment. Those who listened unwarily to that voice could seldom report the words that hey heard; and if they did, they wondered, for little power remained in them. Mostly they remembered only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable, and desire awoke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves. When others spoke they seemed harsh and uncouth by contrast; and if they gainsaid the voice, anger was kindled in the hearts of those under the spell. For some the spell lasted only while the voice spoke to them, and when it spoke to another they smiled, as men do who see through a juggler’s trick while others gape at it. For many the sound of the voice alone was enough to hold them enthralled; but for those whom it conquered the spell endured when they were far away, and ever they heard that soft voice whispering and urging them. But none were unmoved; none rejected its pleas and its commands without an effort of mind and will, so long as its master had control of it.’

The power of Saruman's voice. Pretty self-explanatory.

‘So great was the power that Saruman exerted in this last effort that none that stood within hearing were unmoved. But now the spell was wholly different. They heard the gentle remonstrance of a kindly king with an erring but much-loved minister. But they were shut out, listening at a door to words not meant for them: ill-mannered children or stupid servants overhearing the elusive discourse of their elders, and wondering how it would affect their lot. Of loftier mould these two were made: reverend and wise. It was inevitable that they should make alliance. Gandalf would ascend into the tower, to discuss deep things beyond their comprehension in the high chambers of Orthanc. The door would be closed, and they would be left outside, dismissed to await allotted work or punishment. Even in the mind of Theoden the thought took shape, like a shadow of doubt: “He will betray us; he will go – we shall be lost.”

Thus he spoke to Gandalf in his last attempt to come out of the encounter a winner (though the White Rider was unaffected).

“Not likely,” answered Gandalf, “though they came to the balance of a hair. But I had reasons for trying; some merciful and some less so. First Saruman was shown that the power of his voice was waning. He cannot be both tyrant and counselor. When the plot is ripe it remains no longer secret. Yet he fell into the trap, and tried to deal with his victims piece-meal, while others listened.”

Powerful it may be, there are still limits to what his Voice can accomplish, as we see here.

‘The Circle of Isengard was too strong for even the Lord of Morgul and his company to assail without great force of war. Therefore to his challenge and demands he received only the answer of the voice of Saruman, that spoke by some art as though it came from the Gate itself.
…
Such was still the power of the voice of Saruman that even the Lord of the Nazgul did not question what it said, whether it was false or short of the full truth…’

Interesting that even the Witch-King can be influenced by the Voice of Saruman. Plus you can hire him out as a Ventriloquist for your next party