60. Elephant Rhyme
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,
Than, 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!
The Moral of the Elephant Rhyme:
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!!
This rhyme is also known by the name The Blind Men and The Elephant. This was written by the American Poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887).
The moral of the rhyme is that people should not proclaim their views on subjects they know very little about or on things which they have never seen!
The six blind men touch the different pats of the elephant and form their impressions about it. Each one is staunch in his belief and proclaims that only he is right!
The first man says that the elephant is like a wall; the second man says that it is as sharp as a spear; the third man says that it is like a snake; the fourth man says that it is like a tree; the fifth man says that it is like a fan and the sixth man says that it is like a rope!
Each of them was partly correct and yet all of them were totally wrong!
It is better and safer to remain silent on topics we know nothing about and listen to people who have something to say and learn from them!
Visalakshi Ramani
60. Elephant Rhyme | The wonderful world we live in
