Chapter 12

           Thus,gentlereader,Ihavegiventheeafaithfulhistoryofmytravelsforsixteenyearsandabovesevenmonths:whereinIhavenotbeensostudiousofornamentasoftruth.Icould,perhaps,likeothers,haveastonishedtheewithstrangeimprobabletales;butIratherchosetorelateplainmatteroffact,inthesimplestmannerandstyle;becausemyprincipaldesignwastoinform,andnottoamusethee.

           Itiseasyforuswhotravelintoremotecountries,whichareseldomvisitedbyEnglishmenorotherEuropeans,toformdescriptionsofwonderfulanimalsbothatseaandland.Whereasatraveller’schiefaimshouldbetomakemenwiserandbetter,andtoimprovetheirmindsbythebad,aswellasgood,exampleofwhattheydeliverconcerningforeignplaces.

           Icouldheartilywishalawwasenacted,thateverytraveller,beforehewerepermittedtopublishhisvoyages,shouldbeobligedtomakeoathbeforetheLordHighChancellor,thatallheintendedtoprintwasabsolutelytruetothebestofhisknowledge;forthentheworldwouldnolongerbedeceived,asitusuallyis,whilesomewriters,tomaketheirworkspassthebetteruponthepublic,imposethegrossestfalsitiesontheunwaryreader.Ihaveperusedseveralbooksoftravelswithgreatdelightinmyyoungerdays;buthavingsincegoneovermostpartsoftheglobe,andbeenabletocontradictmanyfabulousaccountsfrommyownobservation,ithasgivenmeagreatdisgustagainstthispartofreading,andsomeindignationtoseethecredulityofmankindsoimpudentlyabused.

Настройки
Фон страницы
Размер шрифта
Межстрочный интервал
Фразовые глаголы
Показать / Скрыть меню
Шрифт
Roboto Lora
Уведомления
Страница 349 из 357