Skip to content

Aunts and uncles Quote by Mark Twain

“But we love the Old Travelers. We love to hear them prate and drivel and lie. We can tell them the moment we see them. They always throw out a few feelers; they never cast themselves adrift till they have sounded every individual and know that he has not traveled. Then they open their throttle…” quote by Mark Twain
Download Open image
““But we love the Old Travelers. We love to hear them prate and drivel and lie. We can tell them the moment we see them. They always throw out a few feelers; they never cast themselves adrift till they have sounded every individual and know that he has not traveled. Then they open their throttle valves, and how they do brag, and sneer, and swell, and soar, and blaspheme the sacred name of Truth! Their central idea, their grand aim, is to subjugate you, keep you down, make you feel insignificant and humble in the blaze of their cosmopolitan glory! They will not let you know anything. They sneer at your most inoffensive suggestions; they laugh unfeelingly at your treasured dreams of foreign lands; they brand the statements of your traveled aunts and uncles as the stupidest absurdities; they deride your most trusted authors and demolish the fair images they have set up for your willing worship with the pitiless ferocity of the fanatic iconoclast! But still I love the Old Travelers. I love them for their witless platitudes, for their supernatural ability to bore, for their delightful asinine vanity, for their luxuriant fertility of imagination, for their startling, their brilliant, their overwhelming mendacity!””

Mark Twain

About This Quote

Source Essay: The Old Travelers, 1885

Eloquent but pretentious travelers dominate discourse, belittling others while claiming superiority.

In simple terms: Boastful travelers dismiss others.

Key Takeaway

Question authority and seek authentic voices.

Themes

pride elitism truth skepticism

Mood

critical analytical

Type

satire commentary

When to use this quote

  • academic debates
  • political rhetoric
  • travel literature
  • media commentary

Key Concepts

social hierarchy intellectual arrogance

Questions to Reflect On

  • What makes a voice credible?
  • How can we balance humility with confidence?
A Different Perspective

Their criticism may be exaggerated; not all travelers are dismissive.

3.3 out of 5 (10 ratings)

More by Mark Twain

Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes

More Aunts and uncles quotes

Browse all 78 Aunts and uncles quotes