CHAPTER VIII.
The author relates several particulars of the _Yahoos_. The greatvirtues of the _Houyhnhnms_. The education and exercise of their youth.Their general assembly.
As I ought to have understood human nature much better than I supposed itpossible for my master to do, so it was easy to apply the character hegave of the _Yahoos_ to myself and my countrymen; and I believed I couldyet make further discoveries, from my own observation. I therefore oftenbegged his honour to let me go among the herds of _Yahoos_ in theneighbourhood; to which he always very graciously consented, beingperfectly convinced that the hatred I bore these brutes would neversuffer me to be corrupted by them; and his honour ordered one of hisservants, a strong sorrel nag, very honest and good-natured, to be myguard; without whose protection I durst not undertake such adventures.For I have already told the reader how much I was pestered by theseodious animals, upon my first arrival; and I afterwards failed verynarrowly, three or four times, of falling into their clutches, when Ihappened to stray at any distance without my hanger. And I have reasonto believe they had some imagination that I was of their own species,which I often assisted myself by stripping up my sleeves, and showing mynaked arms and breasts in their sight, when my protector was with me. Atwhich times they would approach as near as they durst, and imitate myactions after the manner of monkeys, but ever with great signs of hatred;as a tame jackdaw with cap and stockings is always persecuted by the wildones, when he happens to be got among them.
They are prodigiously nimble from their infancy. However, I once caughta young male of three years old, and endeavoured, by all marks oftenderness, to make it quiet; but the little imp fell a squalling, andscratching, and biting with such violence, that I was forced to let itgo; and it was high time, for a whole troop of old ones came about us atthe noise, but finding the cub was safe (for away it ran), and my sorrelnag being by, they durst not venture near us. I observed the younganimal's flesh to smell very rank, and the stink was somewhat between aweasel and a fox, but much more disagreeable. I forgot anothercircumstance (and perhaps I might have the reader's pardon if it werewholly omitted), that while I held the odious vermin in my hands, itvoided its filthy excrements of a yellow liquid substance all over myclothes; but by good fortune there was a small brook hard by, where Iwashed myself as clean as I could; although I durst not come into mymaster's presence until I were sufficiently aired.
By what I could discover, the _Yahoos_ appear to be the most unteachableof all animals: their capacity never reaching higher than to draw orcarry burdens. Yet I am of opinion, this defect arises chiefly from aperverse, restive disposition; for they are cunning, malicious,treacherous, and revengeful. They are strong and hardy, but of acowardly spirit, and, by consequence, insolent, abject, and cruel. It isobserved, that the red haired of both sexes are more libidinous andmischievous than the rest, whom yet they much exceed in strength andactivity.
The _Houyhnhnms_ keep the _Yahoos_ for present use in huts not far fromthe house; but the rest are sent abroad to certain fields, where they digup roots, eat several kinds of herbs, and search about for carrion, orsometimes catch weasels and _luhimuhs_ (a sort of wild rat), which theygreedily devour. Nature has taught them to dig deep holes with theirnails on the side of a rising ground, wherein they lie by themselves;only the kennels of the females are larger, sufficient to hold two orthree cubs.
They swim from their infancy like frogs, and are able to continue longunder water, where they often take fish, which the females carry home totheir young. And, upon this occasion, I hope the reader will pardon myrelating an odd adventure.
Being one day abroad with my protector the sorrel nag, and the weatherexceeding hot, I entreated him to let me bathe in a river that was near.He consented, and I immediately stripped myself stark naked, and wentdown softly into the stream. It happened that a young female _Yahoo_,standing behind a bank, saw the whole proceeding, and inflamed by desire,as the nag and I conjectured, came running with all speed, and leapedinto the water, within five yards of the place where I bathed. I wasnever in my life so terribly frightened. The nag was grazing at somedistance, not suspecting any harm. She embraced me after a most fulsomemanner. I roared as loud as I could, and the nag came galloping towardsme, whereupon she quitted her grasp, with the utmost reluctancy, andleaped upon the opposite bank, where she stood gazing and howling all thetime I was putting on my clothes.
This was a matter of diversion to my master and his family, as well as ofmortification to myself. For now I could no longer deny that I was areal _Yahoo_ in every limb and feature, since the females had a naturalpropensity to me, as one of their own species. Neither was the hair ofthis brute of a red colour (which might have been some excuse for anappetite a little irregular), but black as a sloe, and her countenancedid not make an appearance altogether so hideous as the rest of her kind;for I think she could not be above eleven years old.
Having lived three years in this country, the reader, I suppose, willexpect that I should, like other travellers, give him some account of themanners and customs of its inhabitants, which it was indeed my principalstudy to learn.
As these noble _Houyhnhnms_ are endowed by nature with a generaldisposition to all virtues, and have no conceptions or ideas of what isevil in a rational creature, so their grand maxim is, to cultivatereason, and to be wholly governed by it. Neither is reason among them apoint problematical, as with us, where men can argue with plausibility onboth sides of the question, but strikes you with immediate conviction; asit must needs do, where it is not mingled, obscured, or discoloured, bypassion and interest. I remember it was with extreme difficulty that Icould bring my master to understand the meaning of the word opinion, orhow a point could be disputable; because reason taught us to affirm ordeny only where we are certain; and beyond our knowledge we cannot doeither. So that controversies, wranglings, disputes, and positiveness,in false or dubious propositions, are evils unknown among the_Houyhnhnms_. In the like manner, when I used to explain to him ourseveral systems of natural philosophy, he would laugh, that a creaturepretending to reason, should value itself upon the knowledge of otherpeople's conjectures, and in things where that knowledge, if it werecertain, could be of no use. Wherein he agreed entirely with thesentiments of Socrates, as Plato delivers them; which I mention as thehighest honour I can do that prince of philosophers. I have often sincereflected, what destruction such doctrine would make in the libraries ofEurope; and how many paths of fame would be then shut up in the learnedworld.
Friendship and benevolence are the two principal virtues among the_Houyhnhnms_; and these not confined to particular objects, but universalto the whole race; for a stranger from the remotest part is equallytreated with the nearest neighbour, and wherever he goes, looks uponhimself as at home. They preserve decency and civility in the highestdegrees, but are altogether ignorant of ceremony. They have no fondnessfor their colts or foals, but the care they take in educating themproceeds entirely from the dictates of reason. And I observed my masterto show the same affection to his neighbour's issue, that he had for hisown. They will have it that nature teaches them to love the wholespecies, and it is reason only that makes a distinction of persons, wherethere is a superior degree of virtue.
When the matron _Houyhnhnms_ have produced one of each sex, they nolonger accompany with their consorts, except they lose one of their issueby some casualty, which very seldom happens; but in such a case they meetagain; or when the like accident befalls a person whose wife is pastbearing, some other couple bestow on him one of their own colts, and thengo together again until the mother is pregnant. This caution isnecessary, to prevent the country from being overburdened with numbers.But the race of inferior _Houyhnhnms_, bred up to be servants, is not sostrictly limited upon this article: these are allowed to produce three ofeach sex, to be domestics in the noble families.
In their marriages, they are exactly careful to choose such colours aswill not make any disagreeable mixture in the breed. Strength is chieflyvalued in the male, and comeliness in the female; not upon the account oflove, but to preserve the race from degenerating; for where a femalehappens to excel in strength, a consort is chosen, with regard tocomeliness.
Courtship, love, presents, jointures, settlements have no place in theirthoughts, or terms whereby to express them in their language. The youngcouple meet, and are joined, merely because it is the determination oftheir parents and friends; it is what they see done every day, and theylook upon it as one of the necessary actions of a reasonable being. Butthe violation of marriage, or any other unchastity, was never heard of;and the married pair pass their lives with the same friendship and mutualbenevolence, that they bear to all others of the same species who come intheir way, without jealousy, fondness, quarrelling, or discontent.
In educating the youth of both sexes, their method is admirable, andhighly deserves our imitation. These are not suffered to taste a grainof oats, except upon certain days, till eighteen years old; nor milk, butvery rarely; and in summer they graze two hours in the morning, and asmany in the evening, which their parents likewise observe; but theservants are not allowed above half that time, and a great part of theirgrass is brought home, which they eat at the most convenient hours, whenthey can be best spared from work.
Temperance, industry, exercise, and cleanliness, are the lessons equallyenjoined to the young ones of both sexes: and my master thought itmonstrous in us, to give the females a different kind of education fromthe males, except in some articles of domestic management; whereby, as hetruly observed, one half of our natives were good for nothing butbringing children into the world; and to trust the care of our childrento such useless animals, he said, was yet a greater instance ofbrutality.
But the _Houyhnhnms_ train up their youth to strength, speed, andhardiness, by exercising them in running races up and down steep hills,and over hard stony grounds; and when they are all in a sweat, they areordered to leap over head and ears into a pond or river. Four times ayear the youth of a certain district meet to show their proficiency inrunning and leaping, and other feats of strength and agility; where thevictor is rewarded with a song in his or her praise. On this festival,the servants drive a herd of _Yahoos_ into the field, laden with hay, andoats, and milk, for a repast to the _Houyhnhnms_; after which, thesebrutes are immediately driven back again, for fear of being noisome tothe assembly.
Every fourth year, at the vernal equinox, there is a representativecouncil of the whole nation, which meets in a plain about twenty milesfrom our house, and continues about five or six days. Here they inquireinto the state and condition of the several districts; whether theyabound or be deficient in hay or oats, or cows, or _Yahoos_; and whereverthere is any want (which is but seldom) it is immediately supplied byunanimous consent and contribution. Here likewise the regulation ofchildren is settled: as for instance, if a _Houyhnhnm_ has two males, hechanges one of them with another that has two females; and when a childhas been lost by any casualty, where the mother is past breeding, it isdetermined what family in the district shall breed another to supply theloss.