The Houyhnhnm’s notion of truth and falsehood. The author’s discourse1 disapproved2 by his master. The author gives a more particular account of himself, and the accidents of his voyage.
My master heard me with great appearances of uneasiness in his countenance3; because doubting, or not believing, are so little known in this country, that the inhabitants cannot tell how to behave themselves under such circumstances. And I remember, in frequent discourses4 with my master concerning the nature of manhood in other parts of the world, having occasion to talk of lying and false representation, it was with much difficulty that he comprehended what I meant, although he had otherwise a most acute judgment5. For he argued thus: “that the use of speech was to make us understand one another, and to receive information of facts; now, if any one said the thing which was not, these ends were defeated, because I cannot properly be said to understand him; and I am so far from receiving information, that he leaves me worse than in ignorance; for I am led to believe a thing black, when it is white, and short, when it is long.” And these were all the notions he had concerning that faculty6 of lying, so perfectly7 well understood, and so universally practised, among human creatures.
To return from this digression. When I asserted that the Yahoos were the only governing animals in my country, which my master said was altogether past his conception, he desired to know, “whether we had Houyhnhnms among us, and what was their employment?” I told him, “we had great numbers; that in summer they grazed in the fields, and in winter were kept in houses with hay and oats, where Yahoo servants were employed to rub their skins smooth, comb their manes, pick their feet, serve them with food, and make their beds.” “I understand you well,” said my master: “it is now very plain, from all you have spoken, that whatever share of reason the Yahoos pretend to, the Houyhnhnms are your masters; I heartily9 wish our Yahoos would be so tractable10.” I begged “his honour would please to excuse me from proceeding11 any further, because I was very certain that the account he expected from me would be highly displeasing12.” But he insisted in commanding me to let him know the best and the worst. I told him “he should be obeyed.” I owned “that the Houyhnhnms among us, whom we called horses, were the most generous and comely13 animals we had; that they excelled in strength and swiftness; and when they belonged to persons of quality, were employed in travelling, racing14, or drawing chariots; they were treated with much kindness and care, till they fell into diseases, or became foundered15 in the feet; but then they were sold, and used to all kind of drudgery16 till they died; after which their skins were stripped, and sold for what they were worth, and their bodies left to be devoured17 by dogs and birds of prey18. But the common race of horses had not so good fortune, being kept by farmers and carriers, and other mean people, who put them to greater labour, and fed them worse.” I described, as well as I could, our way of riding; the shape and use of a bridle19, a saddle, a spur, and a whip; of harness and wheels. I added, “that we fastened plates of a certain hard substance, called iron, at the bottom of their feet, to preserve their hoofs20 from being broken by the stony21 ways, on which we often travelled.”
My master, after some expressions of great indignation, wondered “how we dared to venture upon a Houyhnhnm’s back; for he was sure, that the weakest servant in his house would be able to shake off the strongest Yahoo; or by lying down and rolling on his back, squeeze the brute22 to death.” I answered “that our horses were trained up, from three or four years old, to the several uses we intended them for; that if any of them proved intolerably vicious, they were employed for carriages; that they were severely23 beaten, while they were young, for any mischievous24 tricks; that the males, designed for the common use of riding or draught25, were generally castrated about two years after their birth, to take down their spirits, and make them more tame and gentle; that they were indeed sensible of rewards and punishments; but his honour would please to consider, that they had not the least tincture of reason, any more than the Yahoos in this country.”
It put me to the pains of many circumlocutions, to give my master a right idea of what I spoke8; for their language does not abound26 in variety of words, because their wants and passions are fewer than among us. But it is impossible to express his noble resentment27 at our savage28 treatment of the Houyhnhnm race; particularly after I had explained the manner and use of castrating horses among us, to hinder them from propagating their kind, and to render them more servile. He said, “if it were possible there could be any country where Yahoos alone were endued29 with reason, they certainly must be the governing animal; because reason in time will always prevail against brutal30 strength. But, considering the frame of our bodies, and especially of mine, he thought no creature of equal bulk was so ill-contrived for employing that reason in the common offices of life;” whereupon he desired to know whether those among whom I lived resembled me, or the Yahoos of his country?” I assured him, “that I was as well shaped as most of my age; but the younger, and the females, were much more soft and tender, and the skins of the latter generally as white as milk.” He said, “I differed indeed from other Yahoos, being much more cleanly, and not altogether so deformed31; but, in point of real advantage, he thought I differed for the worse: that my nails were of no use either to my fore32 or hinder feet; as to my fore feet, he could not properly call them by that name, for he never observed me to walk upon them; that they were too soft to bear the ground; that I generally went with them uncovered; neither was the covering I sometimes wore on them of the same shape, or so strong as that on my feet behind: that I could not walk with any security, for if either of my hinder feet slipped, I must inevitably33 fail.” He then began to find fault with other parts of my body: “the flatness of my face, the prominence34 of my nose, mine eyes placed directly in front, so that I could not look on either side without turning my head: that I was not able to feed myself, without lifting one of my fore-feet to my mouth: and therefore nature had placed those joints35 to answer that necessity. He knew not what could be the use of those several clefts36 and divisions in my feet behind; that these were too soft to bear the hardness and sharpness of stones, without a covering made from the skin of some other brute; that my whole body wanted a fence against heat and cold, which I was forced to put on and off every day, with tediousness and trouble: and lastly, that he observed every animal in this country naturally to abhor37 the Yahoos, whom the weaker avoided, and the stronger drove from them. So that, supposing us to have the gift of reason, he could not see how it were possible to cure that natural antipathy38, which every creature discovered against us; nor consequently how we could tame and render them serviceable. However, he would,” as he said, “debate the matter no farther, because he was more desirous to know my own story, the country where I was born, and the several actions and events of my life, before I came hither.”
I assured him, “how extremely desirous I was that he should be satisfied on every point; but I doubted much, whether it would be possible for me to explain myself on several subjects, whereof his honour could have no conception; because I saw nothing in his country to which I could resemble them; that, however, I would do my best, and strive to express myself by similitudes, humbly39 desiring his assistance when I wanted proper words;” which he was pleased to promise me.
I said, “my birth was of honest parents, in an island called England; which was remote from his country, as many days’ journey as the strongest of his honour’s servants could travel in the annual course of the sun; that I was bred a surgeon, whose trade it is to cure wounds and hurts in the body, gotten by accident or violence; that my country was governed by a female man, whom we called queen; that I left it to get riches, whereby I might maintain myself and family, when I should return; that, in my last voyage, I was commander of the ship, and had about fifty Yahoos under me, many of which died at sea, and I was forced to supply them by others picked out from several nations; that our ship was twice in danger of being sunk, the first time by a great storm, and the second by striking against a rock.” Here my master interposed, by asking me, “how I could persuade strangers, out of different countries, to venture with me, after the losses I had sustained, and the hazards I had run?” I said, “they were fellows of desperate fortunes, forced to fly from the places of their birth on account of their poverty or their crimes. Some were undone40 by lawsuits41; others spent all they had in drinking, whoring, and gaming; others fled for treason; many for murder, theft, poisoning, robbery, perjury42, forgery43, coining false money, for committing rapes44, or sodomy; for flying from their colours, or deserting to the enemy; and most of them had broken prison; none of these durst return to their native countries, for fear of being hanged, or of starving in a jail; and therefore they were under the necessity of seeking a livelihood45 in other places.”
During this discourse, my master was pleased to interrupt me several times. I had made use of many circumlocutions in describing to him the nature of the several crimes for which most of our crew had been forced to fly their country. This labour took up several days’ conversation, before he was able to comprehend me. He was wholly at a loss to know what could be the use or necessity of practising those vices46. To clear up which, I endeavoured to give some ideas of the desire of power and riches; of the terrible effects of lust47, intemperance48, malice49, and envy. All this I was forced to define and describe by putting cases and making suppositions. After which, like one whose imagination was struck with something never seen or heard of before, he would lift up his eyes with amazement50 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 insuperable, to give my master any conception of what I meant. But being of an excellent understanding, much improved by contemplation and converse51, he at last arrived at a competent knowledge of what human nature, in our parts of the world, is capable to perform, and desired I would give him some particular account of that land which we call Europe, but especially of my own country.
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1
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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disapproved
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| v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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discourses
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| 论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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tractable
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| adj.易驾驭的；温顺的 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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displeasing
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| 不愉快的，令人发火的 | |
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comely
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| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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foundered
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| v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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drudgery
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| n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作 | |
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devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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endued
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| v.授予，赋予（特性、才能等）( endue的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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clefts
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| n.裂缝( cleft的名词复数 )；裂口；cleave的过去式和过去分词；进退维谷 | |
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abhor
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| v.憎恶；痛恨 | |
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antipathy
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| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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40
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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lawsuits
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| n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 ) | |
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42
perjury
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| n.伪证；伪证罪 | |
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43
forgery
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| n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为） | |
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44
rapes
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| n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸 | |
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45
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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48
intemperance
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| n.放纵 | |
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49
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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50
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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51
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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