The painting starts from Christ's parable in the gospel of Saint Matthew XV:14, "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch". Christ seems to be referring to a pair of blind people, which is not easily documented: pairs including the blind usually consist of a sighted child leading a blind parent. However, blind people travelling in a group of several people with linked hands are represented as a typical aspect of life on the road in both western art and in Japanese woodcuts. This composition by Pieter Bruegel combines the falling-over of the parable with the blind procession of the road-scene. The eye conditions depicted have been identified, with disease names as follows: (left to right) pemphigoid, (not identifiable), phthisis bulbi, corneal leucoma, enucleation.