The innocents abroad

"For most of those which were great once are small today; and those which used to be small were great in my own time. Knowing, therefore, that human prosperity never abides long in the same place, I shall pay attention to both alike."

- Herodotus, Histories (440 BCE)

I enjoyed this book thoroughly, on multiple levels. On the surface it is grand sight-seeing adventure through Europe, the Holy Land, and North Africa, appealing to any reader with a sense of wanderlust. Twain narrates this adventure and is sort of a character in it as well, setting off on mini-excursions with a small detachment of like-minded travelers, in which he has no difficulty finding things to ridicule or situations with which to entertain. Below this one is aware that this trip is now about 150 years old, and so itself is historic: an historic travelogue through an historic land. The ship that carries Twain and his fellow pilgrims across the Atlantic and calls at various ports in the Mediterranean just a few years previously served in the Civil War, enforcing the Union blockade. The descriptions of the ship pitching and rolling over the ocean, and the difficulties this presented to the passengers, were some of my favorite parts of the book. Also, one is reminded by all the horses, donkeys, camels, and guns that this trip happened contemporaneously with Wild West adventures. Twain alternates irreverent, tongue-in-cheek reaction to attractions and locations, with genuine admiration in a way that somehow made me simultaneously respect his opinions as well as laugh at the absurdity of it all. Finally, I don't think I'm too off the mark in comparing Twain to Herodotus, as both highlight, in their own ways, the rise and decline of civilizations, tell interesting side-stories of things such as star-crossed lovers, and tell us that such-and-such things are "well worth seeing."

In the end, Twain puts his spurs to us to get out and see the world, for the good of the world:

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

More than satirical: deeply insightful. Twain had the gift of Beginner's Mind, seeing people and places without the prejudice of preconceptions. His takes on Europe, Renaissance art, religio-pilgrims, the Middle East, and human character are still relevant and powerful 150 years later.

Kind of spotty, but even so a beautiful work; doubly so when considering its context. This was groundbreaking work in its day, and is still a yardstick by which to measure any travelogue. And the "spotty" may be my fault: I don't know much about Jericho, Nazareth, Judea(), or any of those Jesusy places. A more educated reader might find great mirth in his treatment of the Holy Sepulchre, whatever that is; I just find heartbreak in how people do so much harm and destruction in the name of their myths.

One surprise was learning that the Middle East was a festering shithole of ignorance and misery even back then. I can't figure out how I feel about that, what it says about our species and our future.

Four-star Twain, but that's still five real-world stars.

() Aside from the great rift between the Judean People's Front and the People's Front of Judea.