under a neceffity of fecking a livelihood in other places. During this discourse, my mafter was pleased to interrupt me feveral times; I had made use of many circumlocutions 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 feveral days conver fation, before he was able to comprehend me. He was wholly at a lofs to know, what could be the ufe or neceffity of prac tifing those 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 defcribe by putting cafes and making fuppofitions. After which, like one whofe imagination was ftruck with fomething never seen or heard of before, he would lift up his eyes with amazement and indignation. Power, government, war, law, punishment, and a thousand other things had no terms, wherein that language could express them; which made the difficulty almost infuperable to give my maE e 2 fter fter any conception of what I meant. But being of an excellent understanding, much improved by contemplation and converse, 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 efpecially of my own country. CHA P. V. The author, at his mafter's commands, informs him of the fate of England. The caufes of war among the princes of Europe. The author begins to explain the English conftitution. THE reader may please to obferve, that the following extract of many conversations I had with my master, contains a fummary of the most material points, which were discoursed at several 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, 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 exhausted. But I fhall here only fet down the subftance 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 juftice to my master's arguments and expreffions, which must needs fuffer by my want of capacity, as well as by a tranflation 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 faid prince and renewed by his fucceffor the present queen, wherein the greatest powers of Christendom were engaged, and which ftill continued: I computed, at his request that about a million of yaboos might have been killed in the whole progrefs of it; and perhaps a hundred or more cities taEe 3 ken, ken, and five times as many ships burnt or funk. He asked me, what were the ufual causes or motives that made one country go to war with another, I anfwered they were innumerable; but I fhould only mention a few of the chief, Sometimes the ambition of princes, who never think they have land or people enough to govern. Sometimes the corruption of mi nifters, who engage their mafter in a war in order to ftifle or divert the clamour of the fubjects against their evil adminiftration, Difference in opinions hath coft ma→ ny millions of lives for inftance, whether flesh be bread, or bread be flesh; whether the juice of a certain berry be blood or wine*; whether whistling be a vice or a virtue ; whether it be better to kiss a poft, or throw it into the fire; what is the beft colour for a coat, whether black, white, red, or grey; and whether it should be long or fhort, narrow or wide, dirty or clean, with many more . Neither are any * Tranfubftantiation. + Church-mufic, Kiffing a cross. The colour and make of facred veftments, and different orders of popish ecclefiaftics. wars wars fo furious and bloody, or of fo long continuance, as thofe occafioned by difference in opinion, efpecially if it be in things indifferent. Sometimes the quarrel between two princes is to decide, which of them fhall difpoffefs a third of his dominions, where neither of them pretend to any right. Sometimes one prince quarrelleth with another, for fear the other fhould quarrel with him. Sometimes a war is entered upon because the enemy is too ftrong; and fometimes because he is too weak. Sometimes our neighbours want the things which we have, or have the things which we want; and we both fight, till they take ours, or give us theirs. It is a very juftifiable cause of a war, to invade a country after the people have been wafted by famine, destroyed by peftilence, or embroiled by factions among themselves. It is justifiable to enter into war against our nearest ally, when one of his towns lie convenient for us, or a territory of land, that would render our dominions round and compact. If a prince fends forces into a nation, where the people are poor and ignorant, he may lawEe 4 fully |