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tion of my own fpecies among a race of mortals, who are already too apt to conceive the vileft opinion of human kind from that intire congruity betwixt me and their yahoos. But I muft freely confefs, that the many virtues of thofe excellent quadrupeds, pla ced in oppofite view to human corruptions, had fo far opened my eyes, and enlarged my underftanding, that I began to view the actions and paffions of man in a very different light; and to think the honour of my own kind not worth managing; which befides it was impoffible for me to do before a person of fo acute a judgement as my master, who daily convinced me of a thousand faults in myself, whereof I had not the leaft perception before, and which with us would never be numbered even among human infirmities. I had likewife learned from his example an utter deteftation of all falfe. hood or difguife; and truth appeared so amiable to me, that I determined upon facrificing every thing

to it.

Let me deal fo candidly with the reader as to confefs that there was a much stronger motive for the freedom I took in my reprefentation of things. I had not been a year in this country, before I contracted fuch a love and veneration for the inhabi tants, that I entered on a firm resolution never to teturn to human kind, but to pass the rest of my life among these admirable Houyhnhnms in the contemplation and practice of every virtue, where I could have no example or incitement to vice. But it was decreed by fortune, my perpetual enemy, that fo great a felicity fhould not tall to my fhare. However, it is now fome comfort to reflect, that, in what I faid of my countrymen, I extenuated their faults as much as I durft before fo ftrict an examiner; and upon every article gave as favourable a turn as the matter would bear. For indeed who is there alive, that will not be swayed by his byafs and partiality to the place of his birth, an

I have related the fubftance of feveral converfations I had with my master, during the greatest part of the time I had the honour to be in his fervice; but have indeed, for brevity's fake, omitted much more than is here fet down.

When I had anfwered all his questions, and his curioûty feemed to be fully fatisfied, he sent for me one morning early, and commanding me to fit down at fome diftance (an honour which he had never before conferred upon me), he faid, he had been very feriously confidering my whole story, so far as it related both to myself and country: that he looked upon us as a fort of animals, to whofe fhare, by what accident he could not conjecture, fome fmall pittance of reafon had fallen, whereof we made no other ufe, than by its affiftance to aggravate our natural corruptions, and to acquire new ones, which nature had not given us: that we difarmed ourselves of the few abilities fhe had bestowed; had been very fuccefsful in multiplying our original wants, and feemed to fpend our whole lives in vain endea. vours to fupply them by our own inventions. That as to myself it was manifeft, I had neither the ftrength or agility of a common yahoo; that I walked infirmly on my hinder feet; had found out a contrivance to make my claws of no ufe or defence, and to remove the hair from my chin, which was intended as a fhelter from the fun and the weather. Laftly, That I could neither run with fpeed, nor climb trees like my brethren (as he called them), the yaboos in this country.

That our inftitutions of government and law were plainly owing to our grofs defects in reafon, and by confequence in virtue; becaule reafon alone is fufficient to govern a rational creature'; which was therefore a character we had no pretence to challenge, even from the account I had given of my own people: although he manifeftly perceived, that in order to favour them, I had concealed many particulars

particulars, and often faid the thing which was not.

He was the more confirmed in this opinion be cause he obferved, that as I agreed in every feature of my body with other yahoos, except where it was to my real disadvantage, in point of ftrength, speed and activity, the fhortnefs of my claws, and fome other particulars where nature had no part; fo from the representation I had given him of our lives, our manners, and our actions, he found as near a resemblance in the difpofition of our minds. He faid the yahoos were known to hate one another, more than they did any different species of animals; and the reafon ufually affigned was, the odioufnefs of their own fhapes, which all could fee in the reft but not in themfelves. He had therefore begun to think it not unwife in us to cover our bodies, and by that invention conceal many of our deformities from each other, which would elfe be hardly fupportable. But he now found he had been miftaken, and that the diffenffions of thofe brutes in his country were owing to the fame caufe with ours, as I had defcribed them. For if (faid he) you throw among five yahoos as much food as would be fufficient for fifty, they will, inftead of eating peaceably, fall together by the ears, each fingle one impatient to have all to itfelf; and therefore a fervant was usually employed to ftand by while they were feeding abroad, and thofe kept at home were tied at a distance from each other; that if a cow died of age or accident, before a Houyhnhnm could fecure it for his own yahoos, thofe in the neighbourhood would come in herds to feize it, and ther would enfue fuch a battle as I had defcribed, with terrible wounds made by their claws on both fides, although they feldom were able to kill one another for want of fuch convenient inftruments of death as we had invented. At other times the like battles have been fought between the yahoos of feveral neighbourhoods without any visible caufe: thofe of

one

one district watching all opportunities to furprife the next, before they are prepared But if they find their project hath miscarried, they return home, and, for want of enemies, engage in what I call a civil war among themselves.

That in fome fields of his country there are cer tain shining stones of feveral colours, whereof the yahoos are violently fond; and when part of these ftones is fixed in the earth, as it fometimes happeneth, they will dig with their claws for whole days to get them out; then carry them away and hide them by heaps in their kennels; but ftill looking round with great caution, for fear their comrades fhould find out their treasure. My mafter faid, he could never difcover the reafon of this unnatural appetite, or how these ftones could be of any ufe to a yahoo; but now he believed it might proceed from the same principle of avarice, which I had ascribed to mankind that he had once, by way of experiment, privately removed a heap of thefe ftones from the place where one of his yahoos had buried it; whereupon the fordid animal, miffing his treafure, by his loud lamenting brought the whole herd to the place, there miferably howled, then fell to biting and tearing the reft; began to pine away, would neither eat, nor fleep, nor work, till he ordered a fervant privately to convey the ftones into the fame hole, and hide them as before; which when his yahoo had found, he prefently recovered his fpirits, and good humour, but took care to remove them to a better hiding place, and hath ever fince been a very ferviceable brute*.

My mafter farther affured me, which I alfo obferved inyfelf, that in the fields where the hining ftones abound, the fierceft and most frequent battles are fought, occafioned by perpetual inroads of the neighbouring yaheos.

*Nothing can be faid to make avarice a greater reproach to mankind, except that it is a vice which this defcription will not cure.

He

He faid, it was common, when two yahoos difcovered fuch a stone in a field, and were contending which of them fhould be the proprietor, a third would take the advantage, and carry it away from them both; which my mafter would needs contend to have some kind of refemblance with our fuits at law; wherein I thought it for our credit not to undeceive him; fince the decifion he mentioned was much more equitable than many degrees among us; because the plaintiff and defendant there loft nothing befide the tone they contended for, whereas our courts of equity would never have difmiffed the caufe, while either of them had any thing left.

:

My mafter continuing his difcourfe, faid, there was nothing that rendered the yahoos more odious, than their undiftinguishing appetite to devour every thing that came in their way, whether herbs, roots, berries, the corrupted flesh of animals, or all mingled together and it was peculiar in their temper, that they were fonder of what they could get by rapine or ftealth at a greater diftance, than much better food provided for them at home. If their prey held out, they would eat till they were ready to burft, after which nature had pointed out to them a certain root that gave them a general evacuation.

There was also another kind of root, very juicy, but fomewhat rare and difficult to be found, which the yahoos fought for with much eagerness, and would fuck it with great delight; it produced, in them the fame effects, that wine hath upon us. It would make them fometimes hug, and fometimes tear one another; they would howl, and grin, and chatter, and reel, and tumble, and then fall afleep in the mud.

I did indeed obferve, that the yahoos were the only animals in this country fubject to any difeafes; which however were much fewer than horfes have among us, and contracted not by any ill treatment VOL. V.

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