One of my favorite poems- and has been since I was a child- is “The Blind Men and the Elephant” by John Godfrey Saxe. This poem illustrates, perfectly, what I call the Danger of Reading the Single Book. 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 …
