some context would help narrow in range , - the range is not wide, the varaiation is not wide, He is a great singer, but narrow in range = he sings only notes over a small range, not so high or not so low. Or, he sings only a few sonmgs or types of songs, not a large variety of songs. emphatic in assertion , Context? empathic means attuned to feelings, emotion. assertion means things you say are true. = ? Perhaps they only suggest things that are in line with the feelings of someone. Perhaps they sense the situation well, before summing up the ideas that are present? telling one truth for ten falsehoods. Of eleven things they say, ten of them are lies. They lie often. The tell the truth infrequently. They cannot be trusted. a very humble servant of transcend 'external reality' - something wrong here humble means not self-promoting sevant is a genral term for someone who helps, formally, or informally. a servant of means someone who does something, often religiously or with enthusiasm or pbsession. He is a servant of the arts = he serves, helps, promotes the arts. He is a very humble servant of the arts = he helps, supports the arts, but without promoting himself. transcend 'external reality' - something wrong here, does not fit with the grammar of the previous part. Should be Baudelaire regarded photography as ‘a very humble servant of art and science’ (40); a medium largely unable to transcend ‘external reality’. Here "a very humble", suggests not important, not strong, not a main player or main feature, not influential, not creative, not <whatever is valued>. In this sense "very humble" is an insult. unable to transcend ‘external reality’. means it was not able to go beyond recording events. To transcend means to rise above, to go beyond, but usually in a way that is a transformation, a breakthrough, revealing something different. It appears to be saying that "photography" is plain, ordinary, a recorder, rather than a creative thing.

It appears that this should be Baudelaire regarded photography as ‘a very humble servant of art and science’ (40); a medium largely unable to transcend ‘external reality’.