Sauron, Morgoth and the lust for beauty

[Leaf]

What role did the admiration for beautiful things play in the mind of Sauron and Morgoth?

This question bothered when I was thinking about Sauron's Ring scheme. Sauron went to great lenghts to control the elves in a profound (yet more complicated) way, when he just could have used military force to enslave them or simply kill them all. Why did he do that? Was it simply impossible for him to overcome his greatest enemies with the traditional means of warfare? Or was he, in a very twisted way, fond of the elvish race?! The depiction of Sauron and his plans in PJ's movies can illustrate this contrast. While watching them I got the impression that Sauron's endgame consists of the following stages:
1. Bring Middle-earth under your control.
2. Let your pathetic,uncivilized and monstrous servants inhabit all of Middle-earth.
3. ???
4. Profit
Why would he want that? Were his motives really just destructive?!
My thesis would be that Sauron wanted to control the elves on a substantial level to aquiere (or rather take part in) their craftsmanship and intellectual capabilities. Sauron envied and hated the elves; but envy relies on some kind of admiration.


While I was thinking about this, another example came to my mind: Morgoths theft of the Silmarils. You could argue that all he wanted was to destroy the happieness of valinor and to drive a wedge between the Elves and the Valar. This is undoubtedly true. But Morgoth also wanted to take part in the beauty and bliss of Valinor by obtaining the Silmarils. The Silmarils on their own had no practical value for him: They don't grant greater power in warfare or the domination of minds, like the Ring does. They are even harmful to him, like physically rejecting his touch by burning him and bending his neck under their weight when he wears them in his crown. In a way he is unable to fully appreciate and enjoy their presence but he keeps them close. He doesn't lock them away somewhere and he refuses to give them to Ungoliant. Morgoth gets drawn by them but at the same time he's never really able to have them.

What do you think about this subject?