Yesterday I saw a camel go through the eye of a needle—i.e. the low arched door of an enclosure; he must kneel and bow his head to creep through—and thus the rich man must humble himself. See how a false translation spoils a good metaphor, and turns a familiar simile into a ferociously communist sentiment.
Cairo, Egypt, 1863
Source: Lady Lucie Duff Gordon, Letters from Egypt, McClure, New York: Phillips & Co., 1902 (first pub. 1865)
Further links:
https://archive.org/details/lettersfromegypt00duff
http://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/duff-gordon-lucie-1821-1869
