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Originally Posted by the phantom
And speaking of Feanor, I think it's interesting that Gandalf says if he mastered the stone he would... spy on Sauron? no... get instructions from Manwe? no... but that he would view "the unimaginable hand and mind of Feanor at their work". I just love that.
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That gets to me too. Feanor made the Silmarils which were so notorious, and in a certain way addictive; if he also made the palantiri then he must have possessed some craft which also made them addictive, or at least, made their properties addictive. It's interesting that Gandalf would reject the One Ring, as he does not desire power, but he seriously considers looking into the palantir as he
does desire knowledge. Is this something put here by Tolkien to throw into relief the need to pity Saruman? He must have originally used the palantir to seek knowledge, the same thing Gandalf considers using it for.
I also like to think of what Gandalf says as some kind of yearning for Valinor, for a place he has seen with his own eyes. Maybe in his words we can see that the place is his home, and that we ought not to be sad when he returns there at the end of the story.