the yaboos were the only governing animals in my country, which my mafter faid was altogether past his conception, he defired to know, whether we had Houyhnhnms among us, and what was their employment? I told him, we had great numbers; that in fummer they grazed in the fields, and in winter were kept in houses with hay and oats, where yahoo-fervants were employed to rub their skins fmooth, comb their manes, pick their feet, ferve them with food, and make their beds. I understand you well, faid my mafter; it is now very plain from all you have spoken, that, whatever share of reason the yahoos pretend to, the Houyhnhnms are your masters; I heartily with our yahoos would be so tractable. I begged his honour would please to excufe me from proceeding any farther, because I was very certain that the account he expected from me would be highly difpleafing. But he infifted in commanding me to let him know the best and the worst: I told him he should be obeyed. I owned, that the Houyhnhnms among us, whom we called borfes, were the moft generous and comely animal we had; that they excelled in ftrength and swiftnefs; and when they belonged to perfons of quality, were employed in travelling, racing, or drawing chariots; they were treated with much kindness and care, till they fell into diseases, or became foundered in the feet; but then they were fold, and ufed to all kind of drudgery, till they died; after which their skins were ftripped, and fold for what they were worth, and their bodies left to be devoured by dogs and birds of prey. But the common race of horfes had not fo good fortune, being kept by farmers and carriers and other mean people,who put them to greater labour, and fed them worfe. I defcribed, as well as I could, our way of riding; the fhape and use of a bridle, a faddle, a fpur, and a whip; of hardness and wheels. I added, that we faftened plates of a certain hard fubftance, called iron, at the bottom of their feet, to preferve their hoofs from being broken by the ftony ways, on which we often travelled.

My mafter, after fome expreffions of great indignation, wondered how we dared to venture upon a Houyhnhnm's back; for he was fure, that the weakest fervant in his houfe would be able to shake off the ftrong

est

eft yahoo; or by lying down, and rolling on his back, fqueefe the brute to death. I anfwered, that our horfes were trained up from three or four years old to the feveral uses we intended them for; that, if any of them proved intolerably vicious, they were employed for carriages; that they were feverely beaten, while they were young, for any mischievous tricks: that the males, defigned for the common ufe of riding or draught, were generally caftrated about two years after their birth to take down their spirits and make them more tame and gentle; that they were indeed fenfible of rewards and punishments; but his honour would please to confider, that they had not the least tincture of reason, any more than the yahoos in this country.

IT put me to the pains of many circumlocutions to give my mafter a right idea of what I fpoke; for their language doth not abound in variety of words, because their wants and paffions are fewer than among us. But it is impoffible to exprefs his noble refentment at our favage treatment of the Houyhnhnm race; particularly after I had explained the manner and use of caftrating horfes a mong us to hinder them from propagating their kind, and to render them more fervile. He said, if it were poffible there could be any country, where yahoos alone were endued with reafon, they certainly must be the governing animal, because reafon will in time always prevail against " brutal ftrength. But, confidering the frame of our bodies, and especially of mine, he thought no creature of equal bulk was so ill contrived for employing that reason in the common offices of life; whereupon he defired to know, whether those, among whom I lived, refembled me or the yahoos of his country. I affured him, that I was as well shaped as most of my age: but the younger, and the females, were much more foft and tender, and the kins of the latter generally as white as milk. He faid, I differed indeed from other yahoos, being much more cleanly, and not altogether fo deformed; but in point of real advantage he thought I differed for the worse. That my nails were of no ufe either to my fore or hinder feet; as to my fore-feet, he could not properly call them by that name, for he never obferved me to walk upon them; that they were too foft to bear the ground; that I generally VOL. II. X

went

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Part IV, went with them uncovered, neither was the covering I fometimes wore on them of the fame shape, or fo strong as that on my feet behind. That I could not walk with any fecurity, for if either of my hinder-feet flipped, I muft inevitably fall. He then began to find fault with other parts of my body; the flatnefs of my face, the prominence of my nofe, mine eyes placed directly in front, fo that I could not look on either fide without turning my head that I was not able to feed myself without lifting one of my fore-feet to my mouth: and therefore nature had placed those joints to answer that neceffity. He knew not what could be the use of those several clefts and divifions in my feet behind; that these were too foft to bear the hardness and sharpness of stones without a covering made from the skin of fome other brute; that my whole body wanted a fence against heat and cold, which I was forced to put on and off every day with tediousness and trouble. And lastly, that he obferved every animal in this country naturally to abhor the yaboos, whom the weaker avoided, and the stronger drove from them. So that, fuppofing us to have the gift of reason, he could not see how it were poffible to cure that natural antipathy, which every creature discovered against us; nor confequently, how we could tame and render them ferviceable. However, he would (as he faid) debate the matter no farther, because he was more defirous to know my own ftory, the country where I was born, and the feveral actions and events of my life before I came hither.

I affured him, how extremely defirous I was, that he fhould be fatisfied in every point: but I doubted much, whether it would be poffible for me to explain myself on feveral fubjects, whereof his honour could have no conception; because I faw nothing in his country, to which I could refemble them. That however I would do my beft, and ftrive to exprefs myself by fimilitudes, humbly defiring his affiftance, when I wanted proper words; which he was pleased to promise me.

I faid, my birth was of honeft parents in an island called England, which was remote from this country as many days journey, as the ftrongest of his honour's fervants could travel in the annual course of the fun. That I

was

was bred a furgeon, whofe trade it is to cure wounds and hurts in the body gotten by accident or violence; that my country was governed by a female man, whom we called Queen. That I left it to get riches, whereby I might maintain myself and family when I fhould return. That in my laft voyage I was commander of the ship, and "had about fifty yahoos under me, many of which died at fea, and I was forced to fupply them by others picked out from feveral nations. That our fhip was twice in danger of being funk; the first time by a great ftorm, and the fecond by striking against a rock. Here my mafter interpofed by afking me, how I could perfuade ftrangers out of different countries to venture with me, after the loffes I had fuftained, and the hazards I had run. I said, they were fellows of defperate fortunes, forced to fly from the places of their birth on account of their poverty or their crimes. Some were undone by law-fuits; others spent all they had in drinking, whoring, and gaming; others fled for treafon; many for murder, theft, poifoning, robbery, perjury, forgery, coining falfe money, for committing rapes or fodomy, for flying from their colours, or deferting to the enemy, and moft of them had broken prifon; none of these durft return to their native countries for fear of being hanged, or of ftarving in a jail; and therefore they were under a neceffity of feeking a livelihood in other places.

DURING this difcourse, my master was pleased to interrupt me feveral times; I had made ufe of many circum locutions in defcribing to him the nature of the feveral crimes, for which most of our crew had been forced to fly their country. This labour took up several days converfation, before he was able to comprehend me. He was wholly at a lofs to know, what could be the use or neceffity of practifing thofe vices. To clear up which, I endeavoured to give him fome ideas of the defire of power and riches; of the terrible effects of luft, intemperance, malice, and envy. All this I was forced to define and describe by putting cafes, and making fuppofitions. After which, like one whose imagination was ftruck with fomething never seen or heard of before, he would lift up his eyes with amazement and indignation. Power, vernment, war, law, punishment, and a thousand

X. 2.

th

'things had no terms, wherein that language could express them; which made the difficulty almoft infuperable to give my mafter any conception of what I meant. But being of an excellent understanding, much improved by contemplation and converfe, he at last arrived at a competent knowledge of what human nature in our parts of the world is capable to perform, and defired I would give him fome particular account of that land, which we call Europe, but especially of my own country.

The author, at his mafler's commands, informs him of the fate of England. The causes of war among the princes of Europe. The author begins to explain the Engli conftitution,

T

my

HE reader may please to observe, that the following extract of many conversations I had with mafter, contains a fummary of the most material points, which were difcourfed at feveral times for above two years; his honour often defiring fuller fatisfaction, as I farther improved in the Houyhnhnm tongue. I laid before him, as well as I could, the whole ftate of Europe; I difcourfed of trade and manufactures, of arts and fciences; and the answers I gave to all the questions he made as they arose upon several subjects, were a fund of converfation not to be exhaufted. But I fhall here only fet down the fubftance of what paffed between us concerning my own country, reducing it into order as well as I can, without any regard to time or other circumstances, while I ftrictly adhere to truth. My only concern is, that I fhall hardly be able to do justice to my mafter's arguments and expressions, which must needs fuffer by my want of capacity, as well as by a translation into our barbarous English.

IN obedience therefore to his honour's commands, I related to him the revolution under the Prince of Orange; the long war with France entered into by the said Prince, and renewed by his fucceffor the prefent Queen, wherein the greatest powers of Chriftendom were engaged, and

which