six blindmen and the elephant

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.

They conclude that the Elephant

.

is like a wall,

is like a snake,

is like a spear,

is like a tree,

is like a fan,

is like a rope.

.

Moral:

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.

.

Reality may be viewed differently depending upon one's

perspective, suggesting that what seems an absolute truth

may be relative due to the deceptive nature of half-truths.

.

John Godfrey Saxe version