Island over
their heads. The _Houyhnhnms_ indeed appear not to be so well prepared
for war, a science to which they are perfect strangers, and especially
against missive weapons. However, supposing myself to be a minister of
state, I could never give my advice for invading them. Their prudence,
unanimity, unacquaintedness with fear, and their love of their country,
would amply supply all defects in the military art. Imagine twenty
thousand of them breaking into the midst of an European army, confounding
the ranks, overturning the carriages, battering the warriors' faces into
mummy by terrible yerks from their hinder hoofs; for they would well
deserve the character given to Augustus, _Recalcitrat undique tutus_.
But, instead of proposals for conquering that magnanimous nation, I
rather wish they were in a capacity, or disposition, to send a sufficient
number of their inhabitants for civilizing Europe, by teaching us the
first principles of honour, justice, truth, temperance, public spirit,
fortitude, chastity, friendship, benevolence, and fidelity. The names of
all which virtues are still retained among us in most languages, and are
to be met with in modern, as well as ancient authors; which I am able to
assert from my own small reading.

But I had another reason, which made me less forward to enlarge his
majesty's dominions by my discoveries. To say the truth, I had conceived
a few scruples with relation to the distributive justice of princes upon
those occasions. For instance, a crew of pirates are driven by a storm
they know not whither; at length a boy discovers land from the topmast;
they go on shore to rob and plunder, they see a harmless people, are
entertained with kindness; they give the country a new name; they take
formal possession of it for their king; they set up a rotten plank, or a
stone, for a memorial; they murder two or three dozen of the natives,
bring away a couple more, by force, for a sample; return home, and get
their pardon. Here commences a new dominion acquired with a title by
divine right. Ships are sent with the first opportunity; the natives
driven out or destroyed; their princes tortured to discover their gold; a
free license given to all acts of inhumanity and lust, the earth reeking
with the blood of its inhabitants: and this execrable crew of butchers,
employed in so pious an expedition, is a modern colony, sent to convert
and civilize an idolatrous and barbarous people!

But