stroy all the
fruits and cattle of his majesty's dominions; besides, our histories
of six thousand moons make no mention of any other regions than the
two great empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu. Which two mighty powers
have, as I was going to tell you, been engaged in a most obstinate war
for six-and-thirty moons past. It began upon the following occasion:
it is allowed on all hands, that the primitive way of breaking eggs,
before we eat them, was upon the larger end; but his present majesty's
grandfather, while he was a boy, going to eat an egg, and breaking it
according to the ancient practice, happened to cut one of his fingers;
whereupon the emperor, his father, published an edict, commanding all
his subjects, upon great penalties, to break the smaller end of their
eggs. The people so highly resented this law, that our histories tell
us there have been six rebellions raised on that account; wherein one
emperor lost his life, and another his crown. These civil commotions
were constantly fomented by the monarchs of Blefuscu; and when they
were quelled, the exiles always fled for refuge to that empire. It is
computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered
death, rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end. Many
hundred large volumes have been published upon this controversy: but
the books of the Big-Endians have been long forbidden, and the whole
party rendered incapable by law of holding employments. During the
course of these troubles, the emperors of Blefuscu did frequently
expostulate by their ambassadors, accusing us of making a schism in
religion by offending against a fundamental doctrine of our great
prophet Lustrog, in the fifty-fourth chapter of the Blundecral, which
is their Alcoran. This, however, is thought to be a mere strain upon
the text; for the words are these: that all true believers break their
eggs at the convenient end; and which is the convenient end seems, in
my humble opinion, to be left to every man's conscience, or at least
in the power of the chief magistrate to determine.

"Now, the Big-Endian exiles have found so much credit in the emperor
of Blefuscu's court, and so much private assistance and encouragement
from their party here at home, that a bloody war hath been carried on
between the two empires for thirty-six moons, with various success;
during which time we have lost forty capital ships, and a much greater
number of smaller vessels, together with t