John Godfrey Saxe
A year or possibly two ago, I read the Lemony Snicket book serie and funny how one can read one book and find found much more than an amazing story. Awww Mr. Snicket you are a genius making me discover John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) and american humorist poet.
I googled the name and came across some of his work, here is one about three blind men and an elephant. The Blind Men and the Elephant", is a fable that was told in India many years ago. It is a good warning about how our sensory perceptions can lead to misinterpretations.
Blind Men and the Elephant
(by John Godfrey Saxe)
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!
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!
American humorist poet: John Godfrey Saxe
american, humor, john godfrey saxe, poetry 0
Word of the day
fun, learning, new, vocabulary, word of the day 0A couple of words of the day that I decided to share with everyone.
Accession: (noun) Something added to what you already have.
Synonym: addition
Usage: The librarian stayed late to catalog and shelve the branch's new accessions.
Separative: (adjective) Tending to separate or to cause separation.
Synonym: partitive
Usage: The gang rivalry had a separative effect on the community and turned friends into enemies.
Alliteration: (noun) Use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse.
Synonym: beginning rhyme, head rhyme, initial rhyme
Usage: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" is an alliteration that many people find difficult to pronounce.
Later
Sweetgirl
Hooray!
excitement, happiness, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, movies, trailer 0Hi everyone!
Gues what?
There is a new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince trailer. I am psyche! Now I cannot wait until july, it is too far away.
From the trailer, the movie looks fantastic. Check it out.
