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Blind Men and The Elephant: (By John Godfrey Saxe)

Six blind men from Indostan each touch a different part of an elephant and come to different conclusions about what the elephant is like based on their limited perceptions. The first thinks the elephant is like a wall based on its side, the second a spear based on its tusk, and so on for trunk, knee, ear, and tail. The moral is that having only a partial understanding can lead to incorrect conclusions, just as in religious debates where disputants argue without full knowledge.

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68 views10 pages

Blind Men and The Elephant: (By John Godfrey Saxe)

Six blind men from Indostan each touch a different part of an elephant and come to different conclusions about what the elephant is like based on their limited perceptions. The first thinks the elephant is like a wall based on its side, the second a spear based on its tusk, and so on for trunk, knee, ear, and tail. The moral is that having only a partial understanding can lead to incorrect conclusions, just as in religious debates where disputants argue without full knowledge.

Uploaded by

Queen Sirre
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Blind Men and the Elephant

(by John Godfrey Saxe)

American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) based this poem, "The Blind Men and
the Elephant", on a fable that was told in India many years ago. It is a good warning
about how our sensory perceptions can lead to misinterpretations.
• It was six men of Indostan To
learning much inclined

• Who went to see the Elephant


(Though all of them were blind),

• That each by observation Might


satisfy his mind
•
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall

• Against his broad and sturdy side,


At once began to bawl:

• “God bless me! but the Elephant Is


very like a wall!”
• The Second, feeling
of the tusk, Cried,
“Ho! what have we
here

• So very round and


smooth and sharp?
To me ’tis mighty
clear

• This wonder of an
Elephant Is very like
a spear!”
• The Third approached the
animal, And happening to
take

• The squirming trunk within


his hands, Thus boldly up
and spake:

• “I see,” quoth he, “the


Elephant Is very like a
snake!”
• The Fourth reached out
an eager hand, And felt
about the knee.

• “What most this


wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth
he;

• “ ‘Tis clear enough the


Elephant Is very like a
tree!”
• The Fifth, who chanced
to touch the ear, Said:
“E’en the blindest man

• Can tell what this


resembles most; Deny
the fact who can

• This marvel of an
Elephant Is very like a
fan!”
• The Sixth no sooner
had begun About the
beast to grope,

• Then, seizing on the


swinging tail That
fell within his scope,

• “I see,” quoth he,


“the Elephant Is
very like a rope!”
• And so these men of • Moral:
Indostan Disputed loud
and long, So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
• Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and
strong, • Rail on in utter
ignorance Of what each
• Though each was partly
in the right, And all
other mean,
were in the wrong!
• And prate about an
• Elephant Not one of
them has seen!

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