CHAPTER IX.

A grand debate at the general assembly of the _Houyhnhnms_, and how it

was determined. The learning of the _Houyhnhnms_. Their buildings.

Their manner of burials. The defectiveness of their language.

One of these grand assemblies was held in my time, about three months

before my departure, whither my master went as the representative of

our district. In this council was resumed their old debate, and indeed

the only debate that ever happened in their country; whereof my master,

after his return, gave me a very particular account.

The question to be debated was, “whether the _Yahoos_ should be

exterminated from the face of the earth?” One of the members for the

affirmative offered several arguments of great strength and weight,

alleging, “that as the _Yahoos_ were the most filthy, noisome, and

deformed animals which nature ever produced, so they were the most

restive and indocible, mischievous and malicious; they would privately

suck the teats of the _Houyhnhnms’_ cows, kill and devour their cats,

trample down their oats and grass, if they were not continually

watched, and commit a thousand other extravagancies.” He took notice of

a general tradition, “that _Yahoos_ had not been always in their

country; but that many ages ago, two of these brutes appeared together

upon a mountain; whether produced by the heat of the sun upon corrupted

mud and slime, or from the ooze and froth of the sea, was never known;

that these _Yahoos_ engendered, and their brood, in a short time, grew

so numerous as to overrun and infest the whole nation; that the

_Houyhnhnms_, to get rid of this evil, made a general hunting, and at

last enclosed the whole herd; and destroying the elder, every

_Houyhnhnm_ kept two young ones in a kennel, and brought them to such a

degree of tameness, as an animal, so savage by nature, can be capable

of acquiring, using them for draught and carriage; that there seemed to

be much truth in this tradition, and that those creatures could not be

_yinhniamshy_ (or _aborigines_ of the land), because of the violent

hatred the _Houyhnhnms_, as well as all other animals, bore them,

which, although their evil disposition sufficiently deserved, could

never have arrived at so high a degree if they had been _aborigines_,

or else they would have long since been rooted out; that the

inhabitants, taking a fancy to use the service of the _Yahoos_, had,

very imprudently, neglected to cultivate the breed of asses, which are

a comely animal, easily kept, more tame and orderly, without any

offensive smell, strong enough for labour, although they yield to the

other in agility of body, and if their braying be no agreeable sound,

it is far preferable to the horrible howlings of the _Yahoos_.”

Several others declared their sentiments to the same purpose, when my

master proposed an expedient to the assembly, whereof he had indeed

borrowed the hint from me. “He approved of the tradition mentioned by

the honourable member who spoke before, and affirmed, that the two

_Yahoos_ said to be seen first among them, had been driven thither over

the sea; that coming to land, and being forsaken by their companions,

they retired to the mountains, and degenerating by degrees, became in

process of time much more savage than those of their own species in the

country whence these two originals came. The reason of this assertion

was, that he had now in his possession a certain wonderful _Yahoo_

(meaning myself) which most of them had heard of, and many of them had

seen. He then related to them how he first found me; that my body was

all covered with an artificial composure of the skins and hairs of

other animals; that I spoke in a language of my own, and had thoroughly

learned theirs; that I had related to him the accidents which brought

me thither; that when he saw me without my covering, I was an exact

_Yahoo_ in every part, only of a whiter colour, less hairy, and with

shorter claws. He added, how I had endeavoured to persuade him, that in

my own and other countries, the _Yahoos_ acted as the governing,

rational animal, and held the _Houyhnhnms_ in servitude; that he

observed in me all the qualities of a _Yahoo_, only a little more

civilized by some tincture of reason, which, however, was in a degree

as far inferior to the _Houyhnhnm_ race, as the _Yahoos_ of their

country were to me; that, among other things, I mentioned a custom we

had of castrating _Houyhnhnms_ when they were young, in order to render

them tame; that the operation was easy and safe; that it was no shame

to learn wisdom from brutes, as industry is taught by the ant, and

building by the swallow (for so I translate the word _lyhannh_,

although it be a much larger fowl); that this invention might be

practised upon the younger _Yahoos_ here, which besides rendering them

tractable and fitter for use, would in an age put an end to the whole

species, without destroying life; that in the mean time the

_Houyhnhnms_ should be exhorted to cultivate the breed of asses, which,

as they are in all respects more valuable brutes, so they have this

advantage, to be fit for service at five years old, which the others

are not till twelve.”

This was all my master thought fit to tell me, at that time, of what

passed in the grand council. But he was pleased to conceal one

particular, which related personally to myself, whereof I soon felt the

unhappy effect, as the reader will know in its proper place, and whence

I date all the succeeding misfortunes of my life.

The _Houyhnhnms_ have no letters, and consequently their knowledge is

all traditional. But there happening few events of any moment among a

people so well united, naturally disposed to every virtue, wholly

governed by reason, and cut off from all commerce with other nations,

the historical part is easily preserved without burdening their

memories. I have already observed that they are subject to no diseases,

and therefore can have no need of physicians. However, they have

excellent medicines, composed of herbs, to cure accidental bruises and

cuts in the pastern or frog of the foot, by sharp stones, as well as

other maims and hurts in the several parts of the body.

They calculate the year by the revolution of the sun and moon, but use

no subdivisions into weeks. They are well enough acquainted with the

motions of those two luminaries, and understand the nature of eclipses;

and this is the utmost progress of their astronomy.

In poetry, they must be allowed to excel all other mortals; wherein the

justness of their similes, and the minuteness as well as exactness of

their descriptions, are indeed inimitable. Their verses abound very

much in both of these, and usually contain either some exalted notions

of friendship and benevolence or the praises of those who were victors

in races and other bodily exercises. Their buildings, although very

rude and simple, are not inconvenient, but well contrived to defend

them from all injuries of cold and heat. They have a kind of tree,

which at forty years old loosens in the root, and falls with the first

storm: it grows very straight, and being pointed like stakes with a

sharp stone (for the _Houyhnhnms_ know not the use of iron), they stick

them erect in the ground, about ten inches asunder, and then weave in

oat straw, or sometimes wattles, between them. The roof is made after

the same manner, and so are the doors.

The _Houyhnhnms_ use the hollow part, between the pastern and the hoof

of their fore-foot, as we do our hands, and this with greater dexterity

than I could at first imagine. I have seen a white mare of our family

thread a needle (which I lent her on purpose) with that joint. They

milk their cows, reap their oats, and do all the work which requires

hands, in the same manner. They have a kind of hard flints, which, by

grinding against other stones, they form into instruments, that serve

instead of wedges, axes, and hammers. With tools made of these flints,

they likewise cut their hay, and reap their oats, which there grow

naturally in several fields; the _Yahoos_ draw home the sheaves in

carriages, and the servants tread them in certain covered huts to get

out the grain, which is kept in stores. They make a rude kind of

earthen and wooden vessels, and bake the former in the sun.

If they can avoid casualties, they die only of old age, and are buried

in the obscurest places that can be found, their friends and relations

expressing neither joy nor grief at their departure; nor does the dying

person discover the least regret that he is leaving the world, any more

than if he were upon returning home from a visit to one of his

neighbours. I remember my master having once made an appointment with a

friend and his family to come to his house, upon some affair of

importance: on the day fixed, the mistress and her two children came

very late; she made two excuses, first for her husband, who, as she

said, happened that very morning to _shnuwnh_. The word is strongly

expressive in their language, but not easily rendered into English; it

signifies, “to retire to his first mother.” Her excuse for not coming

sooner, was, that her husband dying late in the morning, she was a good

while consulting her servants about a convenient place where his body

should be laid; and I observed, she behaved herself at our house as

cheerfully as the rest. She died about three months after.

They live generally to seventy, or seventy-five years, very seldom to

fourscore. Some weeks before their death, they feel a gradual decay;

but without pain. During this time they are much visited by their

friends, because they cannot go abroad with their usual ease and

satisfaction. However, about ten days before their death, which they

seldom fail in computing, they return the visits that have been made

them by those who are nearest in the neighbourhood, being carried in a

convenient sledge drawn by _Yahoos_; which vehicle they use, not only

upon this occasion, but when they grow old, upon long journeys, or when

they are lamed by any accident: and therefore when the dying

_Houyhnhnms_ return those visits, they take a solemn leave of their

friends, as if they were going to some remote part of the country,

where they designed to pass the rest of their lives.

I know not whether it may be worth observing, that the _Houyhnhnms_

have no word in their language to express any thing that is evil,

except what they borrow from the deformities or ill qualities of the

_Yahoos_. Thus they denote the folly of a servant, an omission of a

child, a stone that cuts their feet, a continuance of foul or

unseasonable weather, and the like, by adding to each the epithet of

_Yahoo_. For instance, _hhnm Yahoo_; _whnaholm Yahoo_, _ynlhmndwihlma

Yahoo_, and an ill-contrived house _ynholmhnmrohlnw Yahoo_.

I could, with great pleasure, enlarge further upon the manners and

virtues of this excellent people; but intending in a short time to

publish a volume by itself, expressly upon that subject, I refer the

reader thither; and, in the mean time, proceed to relate my own sad

catastrophe.