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39 - Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twelve, the author's veracity, his design in publishing this work,
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  Speaker 1: his censure of those travelers who swear from the truth.
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  Speaker 1: The author clears himself from any sinister ends in writing
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  Speaker 1: an objection answered, The method of planting colonies his native
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  Speaker 1: country commended. The right of the crown to those countries
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  Speaker 1: described by the author is justified the difficulty of conquering them.
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  Speaker 1: The author takes his last leave of the reader, proposes
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  Speaker 1: his manner of living for the future, gives good advice,
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  Speaker 1: and concludes, thus, gentle reader, I have given THEE a
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  Speaker 1: faithful history of my travels for sixteen years and above
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  Speaker 1: seven months, wherein I have not been so studious of
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  Speaker 1: ornament as of truth. I could, perhaps, like others, have
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  Speaker 1: astonished THEE with strange and probable tales. But I rather
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  Speaker 1: chose to relate plain matter of fact in this simplest
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  Speaker 1: manner and style, because my principal design was to inform
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  Speaker 1: and not to amuse THEE. It is easy for us,
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  Speaker 1: who travel into remote countries which are seldom visited by
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  Speaker 1: Englishmen or other Europeans, to form descriptions of wonderful animals,
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  Speaker 1: both at sea and land, whereas a traveler's chief aim
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  Speaker 1: should be to make men wiser and better, and to
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  Speaker 1: improve their minds by the bad as well as good
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  Speaker 1: example of what they deliver concerning foreign places. I could
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  Speaker 1: heartily wish a law was enacted that every traveler, before
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  Speaker 1: he were permitted to publish his voyages, should be obliged
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  Speaker 1: to make oath before the Lord High Chancellor, that all
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  Speaker 1: he intended to print was absolute truth, to the best
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  Speaker 1: of his knowledge. For then the world would no longer
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  Speaker 1: be deceived as it usually is. While some writers, to
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  Speaker 1: make their works pass the better upon the public, impose
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  Speaker 1: the grossest falsities on the unware reader. I have perused
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  Speaker 1: several books of travel with great delight in my younger days,
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  Speaker 1: but having since gone over most parts of the globe
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  Speaker 1: and been able to contradict many fabulous accounts from my
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  Speaker 1: own observation, it has given me a great disgust against
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  Speaker 1: this part of reading, and some indignation to see the
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  Speaker 1: credulity of mankind so imprudently abused. Therefore, since my acquaintance
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  Speaker 1: were pleased to think my poor endeavors might not be
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  Speaker 1: unacceptable to my country, I imposed on myself as a
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  Speaker 1: maxim never to be swerved from that I would strictly
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  Speaker 1: adhere to truth. Neither indeed, can I be ever under
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  Speaker 1: the least temptation to vary from it, while I retain
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  Speaker 1: in my mind the lectures and examples of my most
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  Speaker 1: noble master and the other illustrious whinnhums of whom I
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  Speaker 1: had so long the honor to be their humble hearer.
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  Speaker 1: Next see miss rum fortuna sinn num v nixit varanum
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  Speaker 1: etiam menda kem que improba finget. I know very well
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  Speaker 1: how little reputation is to be got by writings which
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  Speaker 1: require neither genius, nor learning, nor indeed any other talent
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  Speaker 1: except a good memory or an exact journal. I know
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  Speaker 1: likewise that writers of travels, like dictionary makers, are sunk
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  Speaker 1: into oblivion by the weight and bulk of those who
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  Speaker 1: came last, and therefore lie uppermost. And it is highly
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  Speaker 1: probable that such travelers who shall hereafter visit the countries
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  Speaker 1: described in this work of mine, may, by detecting my errors,
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  Speaker 1: if there be any, and adding many new discoveries of
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  Speaker 1: their own, jostle me out of vogue and stand in
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  Speaker 1: my place. Make in the world. Forget that ever I
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  Speaker 1: was an author this indeed would be too great a
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  Speaker 1: modification if I wrote for fame, but my sole intention
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  Speaker 1: was the public good. I cannot be altogether disappointed, For
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  Speaker 1: who can read of the virtues I have mentioned in
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  Speaker 1: the glorious Whinnhams without being ashamed of his own vices,
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  Speaker 1: when he considers himself as the reasoning governing animal of
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  Speaker 1: his country. I shall say nothing of those remote nations
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  Speaker 1: where yahoos preside, among which the least corrupted are the
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  Speaker 1: brobding Nangians, whose wise maxim's immorality and government it would
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  Speaker 1: be our happiness to observe. But I forbear discanting further,
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  Speaker 1: and rather leave the judicious reader to his own remarks
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  Speaker 1: and application. I am not a little pleased that this
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  Speaker 1: work of mine can possibly meet with no sensuous For
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  Speaker 1: what objections can be made against a writer who relates
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  Speaker 1: only plain facts that happened in such distant countries where
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  Speaker 1: we have not the least interest with respect either to
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  Speaker 1: trade or negotiations. I have carefully avoided every fault with
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  Speaker 1: which common writers of travels are often too justly charged. Besides,
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  Speaker 1: I medtle not the least with any party, but write
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  Speaker 1: without passion, prejudice, or ill will against any man or
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  Speaker 1: number of men whatsoever. I write for the noblest end
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  Speaker 1: to inform and instruct mankind, over whom I may, without
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  Speaker 1: breach of modesty, pretend to some superiority from the advantages
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  Speaker 1: I received from conversing so long among the most accomplished Wynhams.
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  Speaker 1: I write without any view to profit or praise. I
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  Speaker 1: never suffer a word to pass that may look like reflection,
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  Speaker 1: or possibly give the least offense, even to those who
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  Speaker 1: are most ready to take it, so that I hope
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  Speaker 1: I may with justice pronounce myself an author perfectly blameness,
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  Speaker 1: against whom the tribes of answerers, considerers, observers, reflectors, detectors,
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  Speaker 1: remarkers will never be able to find matter for exercising
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  Speaker 1: their talents. I confess it was whispered to me that
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  Speaker 1: I was bound in duty as a subject of England
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  Speaker 1: to have given a memorial to a Secretary of State
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  Speaker 1: at my first coming over, because whatever lands are discovered
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  Speaker 1: by a subject belong to the Crown. But I doubt
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  Speaker 1: whether our conquests in the countries I treat of would
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  Speaker 1: be as easy of those of Ferdinando Cortes over the
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  Speaker 1: naked Americans the Liliputians, I think are hardly worth the
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  Speaker 1: charge of a fleet and army to reduce them, And
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  Speaker 1: I question whether it might be prudent or safe to
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  Speaker 1: attempt the Brobdyn Nagians, or whether an English army would
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  Speaker 1: be much at their ease with the flying island over
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  Speaker 1: their heads. The Whinnams indeed appear not to be so
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  Speaker 1: well prepared for war, a science to which they are
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  Speaker 1: perfect strangers, and especially against missive weapons. However, supposing myself
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  Speaker 1: be a Minister of State, I could never give my
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  Speaker 1: advice for invading them. Their prudence, unanimity, unacquaintedness with fear,
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  Speaker 1: and their love for their country would amply supply all
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  Speaker 1: defects in the military art. Imagine twenty thousand of them
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  Speaker 1: breaking into the midst of a European army, confound in
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  Speaker 1: the ranks, overturning the carriages, battering the warrior's faces into
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  Speaker 1: mumi by terrible yerks from their hinder foots. For they
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  Speaker 1: would well deserve the character given to Augustus recalcitrat underque tutus.
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  Speaker 1: But instead of proposals for conquering that magnanimous nation, I
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  Speaker 1: rather wish they were in a capacity or disposition to
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  Speaker 1: send a sufficient number of their inhabitants for civilizing Europe
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  Speaker 1: by teaching us the first principles of honor, justice, truth, temperance,
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  Speaker 1: public spirit, fortitude, chastity, friendship, benevolence, and fidelity, the names
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  Speaker 1: of all wars, which virtues are still retained among us
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  Speaker 1: in most languages, and are to be met within modern
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  Speaker 1: as well as ancient authors, which I am able to
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  Speaker 1: assert from my own small reading. But I had another
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  Speaker 1: reason which made me less forward to enlarge His Majesty's
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  Speaker 1: dominions by my discoveries. To say the truth, I had
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  Speaker 1: conceived a few scruples with relation to the distributive justice
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  Speaker 1: of princes upon those occasions. For instance, a crew of
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  Speaker 1: pirates are driven by a storm. They know not whither.
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  Speaker 1: At length, the boy discovers lads from the topmast. They
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  Speaker 1: go on shore to rob and plunder. They see a
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  Speaker 1: harmless people are entertained with kindness. They give the country
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  Speaker 1: a new name. They take formal possession of it for
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  Speaker 1: their king. They set up a rotten plank or a
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  Speaker 1: stone for a memorial. They murder two or three dozen
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  Speaker 1: of the natives, bring away a couple more by force
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  Speaker 1: for a sample, return home and get to their pardon.
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  Speaker 1: Here commences a new dominion, acquired with a title by
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  Speaker 1: divine right. Ships are sent with the first opportunity, the
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  Speaker 1: natives driven out or destroyed, their princes tortured to discover
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  Speaker 1: their gold, a free license given to all acts of
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  Speaker 1: inhumanity and lust, the earth reeking with the blood of
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  Speaker 1: its inhabitants, and this excreciable crew of butchers employed in
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  Speaker 1: so pious an expedition, is a modern colony sent to
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  Speaker 1: convert and civilize an idolterous and barbarious people. But this description,
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  Speaker 1: I confess, does by no means affect the British nation,
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  Speaker 1: who may be an example to the whole world for
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  Speaker 1: their wisdom, care and justice, implanting colonies, their liberal endowments
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  Speaker 1: for the advancement of religion and learning, their choice of
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  Speaker 1: devout and able pastors to propagate Christianity, their cautions stuck
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  Speaker 1: in their provinces with people of sober lives, and conversations
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  Speaker 1: from this the Mother Kingdom. Their strict regard to the
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  Speaker 1: distribution of justice, in supplying the civil administration through all
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  Speaker 1: their colonies with officers of the greatest abilities, are as
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  Speaker 1: strange as to corruption, and to crown it all by
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  Speaker 1: sending the most vigilant and virtuous governess, who have no
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  Speaker 1: other views than the happiness of the people over whom
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  Speaker 1: they preside, and the honor of the King their master.
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  Speaker 1: But as those countries which I have described do not
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  Speaker 1: appear to have any desire of being conquered and enslaved, murdered,
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  Speaker 1: or driven out by colonies, nor abound either in gold, silver, sugar,
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  Speaker 1: or tobacco, I did humbly conceive they were, by no
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  Speaker 1: means proper objects of our zeal, our valor, or our interest. However,
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  Speaker 1: if those whom it more concerns think fit to be
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  Speaker 1: of another opinion, I am ready to dispose, when I
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  Speaker 1: shall be lawfully called that no European did ever visit
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  Speaker 1: those countries before me. I mean, if the inhabitants ought
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  Speaker 1: to be believed, unless a dispute may arise concerning the
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  Speaker 1: two yahoos said to have been seen many years ago
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  Speaker 1: upon a mountain whinnham Land. But as to the formality
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  Speaker 1: of taking possession of my sovereign's name, it never once
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  Speaker 1: came into my thoughts, And if it had yet, as
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  Speaker 1: my affairs then stood, I should, perhaps, in point of
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  Speaker 1: prudence and self preservation have put it off to a
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  Speaker 1: better opportunity. Having thus answered the only objection that can
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  Speaker 1: ever be raised against me as a traveler, I here
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  Speaker 1: take a final leave of all my courteous readers, and
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  Speaker 1: return to enjoy my own speculations and my little garden
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  Speaker 1: at Redriff. To apply those excellent lessons of virtue which
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  Speaker 1: I learned among the Whinnhams, To instruct the yahoos of
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  Speaker 1: my own family, as far as I shall find them
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  Speaker 1: dosable animals, to behold my figure often in a glass,
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  Speaker 1: and thus, if possible, habituate myself by time, to tolerate
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  Speaker 1: the sight of a human creature. To lament the brutality
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  Speaker 1: to Whinnems in my own country, but always treat their
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  Speaker 1: persons with respect for the sake of my noble master,
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  Speaker 1: his family, his friends, and the whole Whinnhum race, whom
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  Speaker 1: these of ours have the honor to resemble in all
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  Speaker 1: their lineaments. However their intellectuals come to degenerate. I began
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  Speaker 1: last week to permit my wife to sit at dinner
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  Speaker 1: with me at the farthest end of a long table,
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  Speaker 1: and to answer, but with the utmost brevity, the few
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  Speaker 1: questions I asked her, Yet the smell of a yahoo
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  Speaker 1: continuing very offensive. I always keep my nose well stopped
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  Speaker 1: with rue, lavender or tobacco lease. And although it be
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  Speaker 1: hard for a man late in life to remove old habits,
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  Speaker 1: I am not altogether out of hopes in some time
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  Speaker 1: to suffer a neighbor. Y are who in my company
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  Speaker 1: without the apprehensions I am yet under of his teeth
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  Speaker 1: or his claws. My reconcilement to the Aarhu kind in
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  Speaker 1: general might not be so difficult, if they would be
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  Speaker 1: content with those vices and follies only which nature has
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  Speaker 1: entitled them to. I am not in the least provoked
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  Speaker 1: at the sight of a lawyer, a pickpocket, a colonel,
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  Speaker 1: a fool, a lord, a gamester, a politician, a hormonger,
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  Speaker 1: a physician, an evidence as a born, an attorney, a traitor,
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  Speaker 1: or the like. This is all according to the due
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  Speaker 1: course of things. But when I behold a lump of
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  Speaker 1: deformity and disease, both in body and mind, smitten with pride,
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  Speaker 1: it immediately breaks all the measure of my patience. Neither
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  Speaker 1: shall I ever be able to comprehend how such an
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  Speaker 1: animal and such a vice could tally together. The wise
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  Speaker 1: and virtuous Whynhams, who are bound in all excellencies that
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  Speaker 1: can adorn a rational cree, have no name for this
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  Speaker 1: vice in their language, which has no terms to express
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  Speaker 1: anything that is evil, except those whereby they describe the
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  Speaker 1: detestable qualities of their ya whose, among which they were
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  Speaker 1: not able to distinguish. This of pride for want of
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  Speaker 1: thoroughly understanding human nature as it shows itself in other
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  Speaker 1: countries where that animal presides. But I, who had more experience,
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  Speaker 1: could plainly observe some rudiments of it among the wild
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  Speaker 1: ya whos. But the Hounums who live under the government
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  Speaker 1: of reason are no more proud of the good qualities
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  Speaker 1: they possess than I should be. For not wanting a
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  Speaker 1: leg or an arm, which no man in his wits
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  Speaker 1: would boast of, although he must be miserable without them.
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  Speaker 1: I dwell the longer upon this subject from the desire
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  Speaker 1: I have to make the society of an English yar,
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  Speaker 1: who by any means not insupportable. And therefore I hear
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  Speaker 1: entreat that those who have any tincature of this absurd vice,
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  Speaker 1: that they will not presumed to come in my sight
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: and apart four, Chapter twelve and of Garliver's travels by
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  Speaker 1: Jonathan Swift