Denethor placed his greater trust in his older son, although it probably would have been far wiser to send the younger on the quest. His inability to trust that Faramir would do as requested, instead of listen to the counsels of "the wise" (being Elrond, Gandalf and Aragorn - even though he had no knowledge of Aragon at this point), doomed Boromir to his fate and his vulnerability to the malevolence of Sauron's Ring.

(Thanks for giving me an opportunity to write malevolence. How often does one get a chance to use such a magnificent word! LOL)

- Erulisse (one L)