Answer: metaphorical—a youth should not close his mind to what he is experiencing.
This excerpt comes from Francis Bacon's essay Of Travel.
In this essay, Bacon advises young men to travel to different places, and to try to learn as much as possible from everything they see. He also advises them to ask other people who have been to the destination before for advice and to try to learn as much as possible about the place. Otherwise, the traveller would be blind, or "hooded," to all the beauties of the place.
