Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, Page 41

  CHAPTER X.

  The author's economy, and happy life, among the Houyhnhnms. His greatimprovement in virtue by conversing with them. Their conversations. Theauthor has notice given him by his master, that he must depart from thecountry. He falls into a swoon for grief; but submits. He contrives andfinishes a canoe by the help of a fellow-servant, and puts to sea at aventure.

  I had settled my little economy to my own heart's content. My master hadordered a room to be made for me, after their manner, about six yardsfrom the house: the sides and floors of which I plastered with clay, andcovered with rush-mats of my own contriving. I had beaten hemp, whichthere grows wild, and made of it a sort of ticking; this I filled withthe feathers of several birds I had taken with springes made of _Yahoos'_hairs, and were excellent food. I had worked two chairs with my knife,the sorrel nag helping me in the grosser and more laborious part. Whenmy clothes were worn to rags, I made myself others with the skins ofrabbits, and of a certain beautiful animal, about the same size, called_nnuhnoh_, the skin of which is covered with a fine down. Of these Ialso made very tolerable stockings. I soled my shoes with wood, which Icut from a tree, and fitted to the upper-leather; and when this was wornout, I supplied it with the skins of _Yahoos_ dried in the sun. I oftengot honey out of hollow trees, which I mingled with water, or ate with mybread. No man could more verify the truth of these two maxims, "Thatnature is very easily satisfied;" and, "That necessity is the mother ofinvention." I enjoyed perfect health of body, and tranquillity of mind;I did not feel the treachery or inconstancy of a friend, nor the injuriesof a secret or open enemy. I had no occasion of bribing, flattering, orpimping, to procure the favour of any great man, or of his minion; Iwanted no fence against fraud or oppression: here was neither physicianto destroy my body, nor lawyer to ruin my fortune; no informer to watchmy words and actions, or forge accusations against me for hire: here wereno gibers, censurers, backbiters, pickpockets, highwaymen, housebreakers,attorneys, bawds, buffoons, gamesters, politicians, wits, splenetics,tedious talkers, controvertists, ravishers, murderers, robbers,virtuosos; no leaders, or followers, of party and faction; no encouragersto vice, by seducement or examples; no dungeon, axes, gibbets,whipping-posts, or pillories; no cheating shopkeepers or mechanics; nopride, vanity, or affectation; no fops, bullies, drunkards, strollingwhores, or poxes; no ranting, lewd, expensive wives; no stupid, proudpedants; no importunate, overbearing, quarrelsome, noisy, roaring, empty,conceited, swearing companions; no scoundrels raised from the dust uponthe merit of their vices, or nobility thrown into it on account of theirvirtues; no lords, fiddlers, judges, or dancing-masters.

  I had the favour of being admitted to several _Houyhnhnms_, who came tovisit or dine with my master; where his honour graciously suffered me towait in the room, and listen to their discourse. Both he and his companywould often descend to ask me questions, and receive my answers. I hadalso sometimes the honour of attending my master in his visits to others.I never presumed to speak, except in answer to a question; and then I didit with inward regret, because it was a loss of so much time forimproving myself; but I was infinitely delighted with the station of anhumble auditor in such conversations, where nothing passed but what wasuseful, expressed in the fewest and most significant words; where, as Ihave already said, the greatest decency was observed, without the leastdegree of ceremony; where no person spoke without being pleased himself,and pleasing his companions; where there was no interruption,tediousness, heat, or difference of sentiments. They have a notion, thatwhen people are met together, a short silence does much improveconversation: this I found to be true; for during those littleintermissions of talk, new ideas would arise in their minds, which verymuch enlivened the discourse. Their subjects are, generally onfriendship and benevolence, on order and economy; sometimes upon thevisible operations of nature, or ancient traditions; upon the bounds andlimits of virtue; upon the unerring rules of reason, or upon somedeterminations to be taken at the next great assembly: and often upon thevarious excellences of poetry. I may add, without vanity, that mypresence often gave them sufficient matter for discourse, because itafforded my master an occasion of letting his friends into the history ofme and my country, upon which they were all pleased to descant, in amanner not very advantageous to humankind: and for that reason I shallnot repeat what they said; only I may be allowed to observe, that hishonour, to my great admiration, appeared to understand the nature of_Yahoos_ much better than myself. He went through all our vices andfollies, and discovered many, which I had never mentioned to him, by onlysupposing what qualities a _Yahoo_ of their country, with a smallproportion of reason, might be capable of exerting; and concluded, withtoo much probability, "how vile, as well as miserable, such a creaturemust be."

  I freely confess, that all the little knowledge I have of any value, wasacquired by the lectures I received from my master, and from hearing thediscourses of him and his friends; to which I should be prouder tolisten, than to dictate to the greatest and wisest assembly in Europe. Iadmired the strength, comeliness, and speed of the inhabitants; and sucha constellation of virtues, in such amiable persons, produced in me thehighest veneration. At first, indeed, I did not feel that natural awe,which the _Yahoos_ and all other animals bear toward them; but it grewupon me by decrees, much sooner than I imagined, and was mingled with arespectful love and gratitude, that they would condescend to distinguishme from the rest of my species.

  When I thought of my family, my friends, my countrymen, or the human racein general, I considered them, as they really were, _Yahoos_ in shape anddisposition, perhaps a little more civilized, and qualified with the giftof speech; but making no other use of reason, than to improve andmultiply those vices whereof their brethren in this country had only theshare that nature allotted them. When I happened to behold thereflection of my own form in a lake or fountain, I turned away my face inhorror and detestation of myself, and could better endure the sight of acommon _Yahoo_ than of my own person. By conversing with the_Houyhnhnms_, and looking upon them with delight, I fell to imitate theirgait and gesture, which is now grown into a habit; and my friends oftentell me, in a blunt way, "that I trot like a horse;" which, however, Itake for a great compliment. Neither shall I disown, that in speaking Iam apt to fall into the voice and manner of the _Houyhnhnms_, and hearmyself ridiculed on that account, without the least mortification.

  In the midst of all this happiness, and when I looked upon myself to befully settled for life, my master sent for me one morning a littleearlier than his usual hour. I observed by his countenance that he wasin some perplexity, and at a loss how to begin what he had to speak.After a short silence, he told me, "he did not know how I would take whathe was going to say: that in the last general assembly, when the affairof the _Yahoos_ was entered upon, the representatives had taken offenceat his keeping a _Yahoo_ (meaning myself) in his family, more like a_Houyhnhnm_ than a brute animal; that he was known frequently to conversewith me, as if he could receive some advantage or pleasure in my company;that such a practice was not agreeable to reason or nature, or a thingever heard of before among them; the assembly did therefore exhort himeither to employ me like the rest of my species, or command me to swimback to the place whence I came: that the first of these expedients wasutterly rejected by all the _Houyhnhnms_ who had ever seen me at hishouse or their own; for they alleged, that because I had some rudimentsof reason, added to the natural pravity of those animals, it was to befeared I might be able to seduce them into the woody and mountainousparts of the country, and bring them in troops by night to destroy the_Houyhnhnms'_ cattle, as being naturally of the ravenous kind, and aversefrom labour."

  My master added, "that he was daily pressed by the _Houyhnhnms_ of theneighbourhood to have the assembly's exhortation executed, which he couldnot put off much longer. He doubted it would be impossible for me toswim to another country; and therefore wished I would contrive some sortof vehicle, resembling those I had described to him, that might carry meon the sea; in
which work I should have the assistance of his ownservants, as well as those of his neighbours." He concluded, "that forhis own part, he could have been content to keep me in his service aslong as I lived; because he found I had cured myself of some bad habitsand dispositions, by endeavouring, as far as my inferior nature wascapable, to imitate the _Houyhnhnms_."

  I should here observe to the reader, that a decree of the generalassembly in this country is expressed by the word _hnhloayn_, whichsignifies an exhortation, as near as I can render it; for they have noconception how a rational creature can be compelled, but only advised, orexhorted; because no person can disobey reason, without giving up hisclaim to be a rational creature.

  I was struck with the utmost grief and despair at my master's discourse;and being unable to support the agonies I was under, I fell into a swoonat his feet. When I came to myself, he told me "that he concluded I hadbeen dead;" for these people are subject to no such imbecilities ofnature. I answered in a faint voice, "that death would have been toogreat a happiness; that although I could not blame the assembly'sexhortation, or the urgency of his friends; yet, in my weak and corruptjudgment, I thought it might consist with reason to have been lessrigorous; that I could not swim a league, and probably the nearest landto theirs might be distant above a hundred: that many materials,necessary for making a small vessel to carry me off, were wholly wantingin this country; which, however, I would attempt, in obedience andgratitude to his honour, although I concluded the thing to be impossible,and therefore looked on myself as already devoted to destruction; thatthe certain prospect of an unnatural death was the least of my evils;for, supposing I should escape with life by some strange adventure, howcould I think with temper of passing my days among _Yahoos_, andrelapsing into my old corruptions, for want of examples to lead and keepme within the paths of virtue? that I knew too well upon what solidreasons all the determinations of the wise _Houyhnhnms_ were founded, notto be shaken by arguments of mine, a miserable _Yahoo_; and therefore,after presenting him with my humble thanks for the offer of his servants'assistance in making a vessel, and desiring a reasonable time for sodifficult a work, I told him I would endeavour to preserve a wretchedbeing; and if ever I returned to England, was not without hopes of beinguseful to my own species, by celebrating the praises of the renowned_Houyhnhnms_, and proposing their virtues to the imitation of mankind."

  My master, in a few words, made me a very gracious reply; allowed me thespace of two months to finish my boat; and ordered the sorrel nag, myfellow-servant (for so, at this distance, I may presume to call him), tofollow my instruction; because I told my master, "that his help would besufficient, and I knew he had a tenderness for me."

  In his company, my first business was to go to that part of the coastwhere my rebellious crew had ordered me to be set on shore. I got upon aheight, and looking on every side into the sea; fancied I saw a smallisland toward the north-east. I took out my pocket glass, and could thenclearly distinguish it above five leagues off, as I computed; but itappeared to the sorrel nag to be only a blue cloud: for as he had noconception of any country beside his own, so he could not be as expert indistinguishing remote objects at sea, as we who so much converse in thatelement.

  After I had discovered this island, I considered no further; but resolvedit should if possible, be the first place of my banishment, leaving theconsequence to fortune.

  I returned home, and consulting with the sorrel nag, we went into a copseat some distance, where I with my knife, and he with a sharp flint,fastened very artificially after their manner, to a wooden handle, cutdown several oak wattles, about the thickness of a walking-staff, andsome larger pieces. But I shall not trouble the reader with a particulardescription of my own mechanics; let it suffice to say, that in six weekstime with the help of the sorrel nag, who performed the parts thatrequired most labour, I finished a sort of Indian canoe, but much larger,covering it with the skins of _Yahoos_, well stitched together withhempen threads of my own making. My sail was likewise composed of theskins of the same animal; but I made use of the youngest I could get, theolder being too tough and thick; and I likewise provided myself with fourpaddles. I laid in a stock of boiled flesh, of rabbits and fowls, andtook with me two vessels, one filled with milk and the other with water.

  I tried my canoe in a large pond, near my master's house, and thencorrected in it what was amiss; stopping all the chinks with _Yahoos'_tallow, till I found it staunch, and able to bear me and my freight; and,when it was as complete as I could possibly make it, I had it drawn on acarriage very gently by _Yahoos_ to the sea-side, under the conduct ofthe sorrel nag and another servant.

  When all was ready, and the day came for my departure, I took leave of mymaster and lady and the whole family, my eyes flowing with tears, and myheart quite sunk with grief. But his honour, out of curiosity, and,perhaps, (if I may speak without vanity,) partly out of kindness, wasdetermined to see me in my canoe, and got several of his neighbouringfriends to accompany him. I was forced to wait above an hour for thetide; and then observing the wind very fortunately bearing toward theisland to which I intended to steer my course, I took a second leave ofmy master: but as I was going to prostrate myself to kiss his hoof, hedid me the honour to raise it gently to my mouth. I am not ignorant howmuch I have been censured for mentioning this last particular.Detractors are pleased to think it improbable, that so illustrious aperson should descend to give so great a mark of distinction to acreature so inferior as I. Neither have I forgotten how apt sometravellers are to boast of extraordinary favours they have received.But, if these censurers were better acquainted with the noble andcourteous disposition of the _Houyhnhnms_, they would soon change theiropinion.

  I paid my respects to the rest of the _Houyhnhnms_ in his honour'scompany; then getting into my canoe, I pushed off from shore.