Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“These authors write pictures and frame rhapsodies, and lesser men follow and see with the author's eyes instead of their own, and speak with his tongue.”
- Source
- The Innocents Abroad
- Date
- 1869
Meaning of “These authors write pictures and frame rhapsodies, and…”
Twain criticizes derivative travel writing in which later visitors repeat earlier descriptions instead of observing, judging, and describing the place for themselves.
Where does it come from?
The Innocents Abroad (1869), Chapter XLVIII. Twain criticizes travel writers who frame rhapsodic pictures and later pilgrims who see through those authors’ eyes and speak with their language instead of observing independently. Verified against the scan-backed 1869 first edition.
