great number come to look at you. They take me to be something above their own species, for the finest of the men will caress me; but it's not strange, I have had the advantage of your tongue to lick me into form, and your milk to rear me. There is one thing which will make you wonder; the she man carries about her the skin of the virile instrument, but to what end I can't find out.

Bear. If it is to admire me, well and good; for they can't do it without abating very much of the opinion they conceive of themselves but I shall not long be easy under this confinement, though I am treated with no harsh usage, and even as the more noble beast, for they attend and provide for me without any care on my side.

Boy. It is this I believe makes the horse and dogs suffer the insults they meet from man; for all things rightly considered, man who provides for the horse's sustenance, who keeps him clean, carries away his dung, and waits upon him when he has any ailment, is no more than slave to the generous beast. As to the dog, I have seen the she men treat him with so much care, tenderness, and deference, that I am apt to think they worship him; they take him into their bosoms, kiss, fondle and caress him; provide the best entertainment for him; serve him before themselves; and never suffer him to set his foot to the ground, but carry him in their arms, and are diligent attendants on him. They pay the same respect to the monkey. I was one day in conversation with one, who told me he thought himself happy that he had such a number of careful slaves, who even prevented his wishes, and provided so well for him not only all the conveniences of life, but also what might gratify the senses, that he was satisfied the rest of his species, had they a true notion of men, would condescend to converse with and take upon 'em the government of that passive animal. This is the monkey's way of thinking; though man thinks quite differently, and boasts that the monkey is his slave.

Bear. Why? does the monkey do anything for man?

Boy. Nothing; but when the monkey laughs at the ridiculous. actions of that beast, he laughs again at his gestures: the monkey I just now mentioned found but one fault with his condition, 'which is,' said he, my slaves are so incorrigibly stupid, that when they do anything to displease me, and I shew my resent

6

ment by gesticulation, for I don't know their language, they immediately fall a laughing.'

Their discourse was here interrupted by some company; for the bear would not seem too free with the boy lest man might have a mean opinion of her for the condescension.

[Followed, in the 1726 edition, by some macaronic lines, VIRI HUMANI, SALSI, ET FACETI GULIELMI SUTHERLANDI, MULTARUM ARTIUM ET SCIENTIARUM, DOCTORIS DOCTISSIMI, DIPLOMA,'-afterwards claimed for William Meston, in his Poetical Works, 1767-and by several facetious advertisements.]

AN ACCOUNT OF THE

STATE OF LEARNING IN THE EMPIRE

OF LILLIPUT;

TOGETHER WITH

THE HISTORY AND CHARACTER

OF

BULLUM THE EMPEROR'S LIBRARY KEEPER.

Faithfully transcribed out of Captain Lemuel Gulliver's general description of Lilliput, mentioned in the 69th page

of the first volume of his Travels'.

As I always had a strong inclination to reading, from the time I first went to Emanuel College in Cambridge, and had gone through the most valuable ancient writers; during my stay in Lilliput, I was very inquisitive about the state of learning in that nation, and received the following information upon that subject.

In former ages, the government of the island Blefuscu was, in many respects, like what we call a commonwealth, and for a long time flourished both in arms and learning, whilst the Lilliputians were a barbarous people; at this time many excellent books were wrote in oratory, poetry, history, and philosophy, but the Blefuscudians having at length lost their liberties and form of government, which was changed into an empire, learning decayed amongst them very fast; the faster by reason of hot disputes which arose concerning the proper manner of dressing and eating

1 See page 124.

eggs; and in these the whole studies of all the learned men of that age were consumed.

The first emperor of Blefuscu, that he might ingratiate himself with his people, whom he had enslaved, undertook an expedition against the island of Lilliput; which being then governed by several petty kings, ignorant of the arts of war, was, by degrees, subdued to the empire of Blefuscu. During this intercourse between the two nations, the Blefuscudian language was very much changed, by the mixture of the Lilliputian; and those authors who wrote in the old language were neglected, and understood by very few.

In process of time the Lilliputians grew weary of subjection, flung off the foreign yoke, set up an emperor of their own with great success, and ever since have been a distinct empire from that of Blefuscu.

As they were an ingenious people, and blessed with a race of good emperors, they soon excelled their neighbours in learning and arms; they got together all the old Blefuscudian books, their emperor founded a gomflastru, or seminary, with different schools, to instruct their youth in the old Blefuscudian language and learning; and from thence chose their Nardacs, Glumglums, and Hurgos, and the emperors had themselves a large collection of these books in a library belonging to the palace.

Thus the Lilliputians flourished in politeness and literature, for some ages; till at length, by the plenty of a long peace, they also grew corrupt, gave themselves up to idleness, luxury, and intriguing, and fell into controversies about breaking their eggs; the old Blefuscudian books were laid aside, and nothing regarded but eggs and politics. The gomflastru indeed continued, each school had its mulro, or governor and scholars; but the taste of the age being changed, they only turned over the old authors to amuse themselves, and enjoyed the moderate revenues bequeathed to them by former emperors. The present emperor indeed had endeavoured to bring them into esteem again; he increased their possessions, and gave a noble present of books to the gomflastru; but having a debauched inconstant people to rule over, and being kept in continual alarms of wars by his neighbours, he had not leisure to perfect his good intentions.

I was at this time in his favour, and when he heard that

I had been inquisitive about these affairs, he very graciously desired me to look into his library, and sent orders to the keeper of it to use me with great respect, and to present me with five hundred books, such as I should choose.

Accordingly upon a day appointed, I went to the library, which I took a view of in the same manner as I had done of the rest of the palace, by lying down and looking in at the window. The building was ruinous, the inside dusty, the books many in number, but scattered about in great disorder; the library-keeper, whose name is Bullum, was alone stalking amidst the rubbish. As soon as he saw my face at the window, he made his best bow, and began his speech to me, which as I was afterwards informed, he had taken a great deal of pains about, knowing me to be in the emperor's good graces. Most part of what he spoke was unintelligible to me, by a ridiculous mixture of the old Blefuscudian language; and what I did understand was fulsome flattery, and compliments that nothing mortal could deserve.

This was very dull entertainment to a man of my modesty, and thereupon finding his speech would be long, and that he was forced to strain his voice to make me hear at that distance, I thought it would be a kindness to us both to put a stop to him, which I did, returning him thanks in few words for his great opinion of me, and desired to see him the next day, that I might choose out the five hundred books which the emperor had given me.

Bullum, as I heard afterwards, was in great wrath, and loaded me with many opprobrious names, for refusing to hear his speech out, and daring to treat a man of his learning with so little respect. However, he stifled his resentment a little for the present, and came to me at the time appointed.

I desired him to shew me a catalogue of the books, and to give me some account of what they treated of, that I might be able to make a choice. He replied, that he had not troubled himself to bring a written catalogue, but that he had one in his memory, and immediately he repeated to me the titles of a vast number of old Blefuscudian books, and run on with a great fluency of speech, until he was out of breath.

It was a pain to me to forbear laughing, to hear Bullum sputter out so much jargon; at last I told him, that I was not in the least wiser for what he had said, because I understand