The blind leading the blind

This article is about the metaphor. For the painting by Pieter Bruegel based on the metaphor, see The Blind Leading the Blind.

"The blind leading the blind" is an idiom[1] and a metaphor in the form of a parallel phrase which can be traced back to the Upanishads, written between 800 BCE and 200 BCE.[2]

Abiding in the midst of ignorance, thinking themselves wise and learned, fools go aimlessly hither and thither, like blind led by the blind.
— Katha Upanishad[3]

Notable appearances

A similar metaphor exists in the Buddhist Pali Canon, composed in North India, and preserved orally until it was committed to writing during the Fourth Buddhist Council in Sri Lanka in 29 BCE.

Suppose there were a row of blind men, each holding on to the one in front of him: the first one doesn't see, the middle one doesn't see, the last one doesn't see. In the same way, the statement of the Brahmans turns out to be a row of blind men, as it were: the first one doesn't see, the middle one doesn't see, the last one doesn't see.
— Canki Sutta (MN 95)[4]
The Blind Leading the Blind by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1568

The expression appears in Horace: Caecus caeco dux ("the blind leader of the blind"). Horace was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (27 BCE – 14 CE) [5]

The saying appears several times in the Bible

"Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides [of the blind]. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
— Matthew 15:13-14, New International Version
"Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher."
— Luke 6:39-40, New International Version

Interpretations

The blind leading the blind is used to describe a situation where a person who knows nothing is getting advice and help from another person who knows almost nothing.[6]

"Blind leading the blind" was a song written by Mick Jagger, performed by Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart for the soundtrack of the 2004 film Alfie.

Translations

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Blind Leading the Blind.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/blind+leading+the+blind.html
  2. ↑ http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/67150.html
  3. ↑ Juan Mascaró (tr), The Upanishads, Penguin Classics, 1965, ISBN 0-14-044163-8, p. 58.
  4. ↑ Canki Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 95) Archived index at the Wayback Machine., translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
  5. ↑ Sullivan, Margaret A. (September 1991). "Bruegel's Proverbs: Art and Audience in the Northern Renaissance". The Art Bulletin. College Art Association. 73 (3): 431–466, 463. doi:10.2307/3045815. JSTOR 3045815.
  6. ↑ "Meaning of the phrase blind leading the blind at dictionary.cambridge.org".
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