A Blind Man and a Horse III

In his first chapter on Zehirus (chapter two) the Ramchal utilizes two very different analogies to depict the unexamined life. The first is his own invention: a blind man walking along a riverbank. The second comes from the prophet Yirmiyahu: a horse plunging into battle. The question is why our usually concise author felt the need for two different analogies when one would suffice. We have written about this before (here and here), but this morning I discovered a new possibility.

In the next chapter, chapter three, we read the following:

This is what the sages said, "You make darkness and it is night" (Tehillim 104) - this refers to this world which is comparable to night (Baba Metzia 83). Appreciate how extraordinary this truth is for someone who delves into its meaning! For the darkness of night can cause the human eye to err in two ways. Either it blocks [man's] vision to the point that he cannot see anything in front of him at all, or it tricks him into thinking a pole is a person or a person is a pole. The materialism and physicality of this world does the same, for it is the darkness of night for the mind's eye, and it causes [the same] two errors: (1) The first is that it does not allow [man] to recognize the stumbling blocks on the road of life, and so fools walk with confidence and fall [into sin]. They are lost without being frightened first... (2) The second error is worse than the first. [The darkness of this world] tricks [man's] vision, causing evil to appear as if it were undeniably good and goodness to appear as if it were evil. As a result, [people] are strengthened and they strengthen themselves in their evil deeds... They come up with great evidence and proofs that confirm their evil thoughts and mistaken opinions...  

The parallels could not be more clear. With the analogies of the blind man and the horse, Luzzatto is depicting the two types of errors people make when their vision is impaired on the dark road of life. First, a blind man walking on the edge of a river. He does not see the stumbling blocks in front of him and so he falls and is lost without even being frightened first. Second, a horse charging into battle. Worse than the blind man, he confuses good and evil. Strengthening himself with false arguments, he charges headlong into sin.

Luzzatto does not waste our time. Each analogy makes a different point.