The author’s veracity. His design in publishing this work. His censure of those travellers who swerve from the truth. The author clears himself from any sinister ends in writing. An objection answered. The method of planting colonies. His native country commended. The right of the crown to those countries described by the author is justified. The difficulty of conquering them. The author takes his last leave of the reader; proposes his manner of living for the future; gives good advice, and concludes.
Thus, dear reader, I have provided a faithful account of my travels over the past sixteen years and seven months. In writing this, I have not aimed to impress you with flowery language or strange, improbable tales. Instead, I have chosen to relate plain facts in the simplest possible style, for my primary objective was to inform and instruct you, rather than merely to amuse.
It is far too easy for those who travel to remote lands—places rarely visited by Europeans—to invent descriptions of marvelous animals and unbelievable events. However, a traveler’s chief goal should be to make his fellow men wiser and better. I heartily wish there were a law requiring every traveler to swear an oath that their accounts were absolutely true. The world would no longer be deceived by the gross falsehoods that many writers impose upon unwary readers to ensure their books sell well. Having visited most parts of the globe myself, I have found many famous travel journals to be full of errors, which has given me a great distaste for the genre. Consequently, I have made it a personal maxim to strictly adhere to the truth, guided by the noble example of my master and the other illustrious Houyhnhnms.
I am well aware that travel writing rarely brings lasting fame. New authors constantly emerge, and their fresh accounts often push older works into oblivion. If I wrote for fame, this would be a great disappointment; however, as my sole intention is the public benefit, I cannot lose. Who can read of the virtues of the glorious Houyhnhnms without feeling a sense of shame for their own vices? I shall not dwell on the other nations I visited, though I believe the giants of Brobdingnag provide a wise example of morality and government that we would be fortunate to follow.
I am confident that my work is beyond criticism, for I relate only plain facts from countries where we have no interests in trade or politics. I have avoided any mention of political parties and have written without passion or ill-will. My goal is to educate humanity, an area in which I can claim some expertise after spending so long among the most accomplished Houyhnhnms. I seek neither profit nor praise, and I have carefully ensured that not a single word could give offense.
Some have whispered that I was duty-bound, as a British subject, to report my discoveries to the government so that these lands could be claimed by the Crown. However, I doubt that conquering these nations would be as easy as our previous colonial victories. The Lilliputians are hardly worth the expense of a fleet, and it would be neither prudent nor safe to challenge the giants of Brobdingnag. As for the Houyhnhnms, although they are perfect strangers to the science of war, their courage and unity make them formidable. I can easily imagine twenty thousand of them breaking through a European army, using their powerful hooves to crush any attacker. Rather than conquering that magnanimous nation, I wish they were able to send teachers to Europe to civilize us and remind us of the principles of honor, justice, and friendship.
Furthermore, I have developed deep doubts regarding the justice of modern colonization. Often, a crew of pirates is driven by a storm to an unknown shore. They find a harmless people, murder several natives, and take possession of the land in the name of their king. This is followed by a "pious" expedition of butchers who destroy the inhabitants and steal their gold—an act of inhumanity disguised as a civilizing mission. I must clarify, however, that this description does not apply to the British nation, which is an example to the world for its wisdom and justice in managing its colonies.
Nevertheless, as the countries I have described have no desire to be enslaved and possess no gold or silver, they are not suitable objects for our ambition. If any dispute should arise regarding the title to these lands, I am ready to testify that no European ever visited them before me—unless, of course, the two original Yahoos seen on a mountain in Houyhnhnmland were actually English, a suspicion I occasionally entertained.
Having answered these concerns, I now take my final leave of my readers and return to the quiet life of my garden in Redriff. I spend my days applying the excellent lessons of virtue I learned from the Houyhnhnms. I am also attempting to instruct the Yahoos of my own family, as far as they are capable of learning. I find it difficult to look at my own reflection, but I hope that in time I will be able to tolerate the sight of a human creature without horror. I continue to lament the way horses are treated in my country, but I always treat them with the utmost respect for the sake of my noble master.
I have recently permitted my wife to sit at the far end of a long dinner table, though I still keep my nose stopped with lavender or tobacco to block her offensive smell. Although it is difficult to change old habits, I am not entirely without hope that I may one day be able to endure the company of a neighbor without fearing his teeth or claws.
My reconciliation with humanity would be much easier if people were content with the vices they were born with. I am not provoked by the sight of a lawyer, a thief, or a politician; these are simply part of the natural order. But when I see a creature full of diseases and deformity—both in body and mind—who is also full of pride, it breaks my patience. The wise Houyhnhnms do not even have a word for pride in their language. They are no more proud of their good qualities than I would be for having a leg or an arm. I entreat anyone who possesses even a trace of this absurd vice to stay far away from my sight.