<P> The lines inscribed on the Ring (in boldface above) were pronounced by Sauron when he forged the Ring . The Elven smiths heard him chanting them, and thereupon became aware of his purpose and took off their own Rings to foil his plan . </P> <P> A person wearing the Ring would enter a shadowy world revealing the physical world from a different aspect, from which physical objects were harder to see . The wearer was mostly invisible to ordinary beings, such as Men, but highly visible to the Nazgûl . The Ring dimmed the wearer's sight, while at the same time sharpening the other senses . </P> <P> The enigmatic Tom Bombadil appeared to be unaffected by the Ring and to have some power over it; when he wore the Ring, it did not make him invisible, and Frodo could not become invisible to him by wearing the Ring . Also, Tom played with the Ring like a conjurer borrowing someone's watch for a trick, seemingly making it disappear and reappear . </P> <P> The Ring slowly but inevitably corrupted its bearer, regardless of the bearer's initial intent . For this reason the Wise, including Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, refused to wield it themselves, but determined instead that it should be destroyed . The corrupting power of the ring was apparently stronger on individuals more inclined to evil and selfishness: it took almost immediate hold of the greedy Sméagol as soon as he saw it, and corrupted Boromir after a few months of near proximity, while its effects were only starting to be seen in the well - meaning Bilbo after his sixty years' possession . </P>

One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them