Harman Patil (Editor)

The blind leading the blind

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"The blind leading the blind" is an idiom 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.

Contents

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.

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)

The saying appears several times in the Bible

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.

Translations

  • أعمى يقود أعمى Arabic
  • کوری عصاکش کور دگر (Persian)
  • τυφλός τυφλόν ὁδηγεῖ Greek (classical)
  • caecus caeco dux Latin
  • Слепой ведет слепого Russian
  • Vak vezet világtalant Hungarian
  • References

    The blind leading the blind Wikipedia