Angel
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Beliefs and Skepticism
Belief - acceptance of an idea as true; the idea so accepted
Skepticism - doubt about the truth of an idea; the doubt itself
The Blind Men and the Elephant
by John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887)
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 approach'd 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 approach'd 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 Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
MORAL,
So, oft in theologic wars
The disputants, I ween,
Tread on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean;
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
Just so a Seventh stumbles in,
A skeptic, I presume,
And overreaches from behind
In atheistic gloom
Denying what the blind can see
The Elephant in the room
The theme of the classic poem in the new light of the amended verse is that while the skeptic doubts the conclusions of the blind men as to the nature of the beast,
the skeptic misses the very existence of the beast he knows intimately.
Comments?
Questions?
Doubts?
Denials?
Belief - acceptance of an idea as true; the idea so accepted
Skepticism - doubt about the truth of an idea; the doubt itself
The Blind Men and the Elephant
by John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887)
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 approach'd 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 approach'd 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 Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
MORAL,
So, oft in theologic wars
The disputants, I ween,
Tread on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean;
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
Just so a Seventh stumbles in,
A skeptic, I presume,
And overreaches from behind
In atheistic gloom
Denying what the blind can see
The Elephant in the room
The theme of the classic poem in the new light of the amended verse is that while the skeptic doubts the conclusions of the blind men as to the nature of the beast,
the skeptic misses the very existence of the beast he knows intimately.
Comments?
Questions?
Doubts?
Denials?
Blind Men and the Elephant
John Godfrey Saxe - Poems by the Famous Poet - All Poetry
NB Last stanza composed by Angel Trismegistus.