GULLIVER'S TRAVELS

Into Several Remote Regions of the World

by

JONATHAN SWIFT, D.D.

Edited with Introduction and Notes by Thomas M. Balliet
Superintendent of Schools, Springfield, Mass.

With Thirty-Eight Illustrations and a Map

PART I: A VOYAGE TO LILLIPUT

PART II: A VOYAGE TO BROBDINGNAG

D.C. Heath & Co., Publishers
Boston, New York, Chicago
1900

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PREFACE

And lo! the book, from all its end beguiled,
A harmless wonder to some happy child.
—LORD LYTTON

Gulliver's Travels was published in 1726. Although Swift never intended it as a children's book, young readers quickly claimed it for their own, and it has remained one of their favorite adventure stories ever since. Children can't fully grasp why Swift wrote the book, nor can they appreciate the sharp political satire (mockery used to criticize people or institutions) woven through it. But they delight in the fantastic adventures, wandering wide-eyed into strange new worlds that Swift's vivid, carefully logical imagination creates for them. And there's a meaning and a moral in the Lilliput and Brobdingnag voyages that has nothing to do with political satire—a meaning any young reader will grasp without a teacher's help.

For younger readers, the book blends the excitement of Robinson Crusoe with the wonder of a fairy tale. Its style is direct, its story simple, and its content perfectly suited to a child's imagination. For older readers and adults, the appeal lies mainly in the biting satire beneath the surface. The book therefore speaks to a huge range of readers, from a ten-year-old to a grown adult.

This edition is essentially a reprint of the original 1726–27 text. Punctuation and capitalization have been modernized, some outdated words changed, and paragraphs broken up more often for easier reading. A few passages that might offend modern readers or that aren't suitable for children have been cut, and footnotes have been added to explain old-fashioned words and unclear phrases.

As a school reading book meant to suit the average student, these stories work well for classes from about fifth or sixth grade through the end of grammar school.

—THOMAS M. BALLIET

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CONTENTS

VOYAGE TO LILLIPUT

Chapter I. The Author describes himself and his family, and explains what first drove him to travel. He is shipwrecked and swims for his life, reaches the shore of Lilliput safely, is taken prisoner, and is brought inland.

Chapter II. The Emperor of Lilliput, along with several nobles, visits the Author while he is held captive. The emperor's appearance and habits are described. Scholars are assigned to teach the Author their language. He wins favor through his gentle behavior. His pockets are searched, and his sword and pistols are taken away.

Chapter III. The Author entertains the emperor and his court in an unusual way. The amusements of the Lilliputian court are described. The Author is granted his freedom, but only under certain conditions.

Chapter IV. Mildendo, Lilliput's capital city, is described, along with the emperor's palace. The Author has a conversation with a high-ranking secretary about the empire's affairs. The Author offers to help the emperor in his wars.

Chapter V. The Author prevents an invasion through a clever trick. He receives a high honor. Ambassadors from the Emperor of Blefuscu arrive to request peace.

Chapter VI. This chapter covers the people of Lilliput—their learning, laws, customs, and methods of raising children—along with the Author's daily life there and his defense of a noblewoman's reputation.

Chapter VII. The Author learns of a plot to accuse him of treason and escapes to Blefuscu, where he is welcomed.

Chapter VIII. Through a stroke of luck, the Author finds a way to leave Blefuscu, and after some struggles, returns safely to his homeland.

(List of full-page illustrations and twenty-three smaller ones in the text omitted here.)

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A VOYAGE TO BROBDINGNAG

Chapter I. A violent storm is described. The ship's long-boat is sent to find water, and the Author goes along to explore the land. He is left behind, captured by one of the giant inhabitants, and brought to a farmer's house. His experiences there are described, along with a description of the people.

Chapter II. The farmer's daughter is described. The Author is taken to a market town and then to the capital city, and the details of his journey are given.

Chapter III. The Author is summoned to court. The queen buys him from the farmer and presents him to the king. He debates with the king's leading scholars. He is given quarters at court and becomes a favorite of the queen. He defends his own country's honor and clashes with the queen's dwarf.

Chapter IV. The country is described, along with a suggestion for correcting modern maps. The king's palace and the capital city are described, as well as how the Author gets around and a description of the main temple.

Chapter V. Several adventures happen to the Author, including witnessing a criminal's execution. The Author demonstrates his knowledge of navigation.

Chapter VI. The Author comes up with several ways to please the king and queen, including showing off his musical skill. The king asks about conditions in Europe, which the Author explains, and the king shares his reactions.

Chapter VII. The Author's love for his homeland is shown. He makes a proposal meant to benefit the king, but it is rejected. The king's deep ignorance of politics is revealed, along with the limited and narrow state of learning in that country—including their laws and military affairs.

Chapter VIII. The king and queen travel to the country's borders, and the Author goes along. His departure from the country is described in detail, and he returns to England.

(List of illustrations omitted here.)

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THE FIRST PUBLISHER TO THE READER

The author of these travels, Mr. Lemuel Gulliver, is an old and close friend of mine—we're even distantly related through my mother's side. About three years ago, tired of the constant stream of curious visitors showing up at his house in Redriff, Mr. Gulliver bought a modest piece of land with a comfortable house near Newark, in Nottinghamshire, his home county. He now lives there quietly, well respected by his neighbors.

Although Mr. Gulliver was born in Nottinghamshire, where his father lived, I've heard him say his family originally came from Oxfordshire. This seems to check out, since I've seen several Gulliver family tombs and monuments in the churchyard at Banbury, in that county. Before leaving Redriff, he entrusted me with the following papers and gave me full freedom to do with them as I saw fit. I've read them carefully three times. The writing is plain and straightforward, and if I have one complaint, it's that the author—like many travelers—goes into a bit too much detail. Still, a sense of honesty runs through the whole account. In fact, Mr. Gulliver was so well known for telling the truth that his neighbors in Redriff used to say, when confirming something was accurate, that it was "as true as if Mr. Gulliver had said it."

On the advice of several respected people I shared these papers with (with the author's permission), I've decided to publish them, hoping they might offer better entertainment, at least for a while, than the usual political scribbling that fills the shelves.

This book would have been at least twice as long if I hadn't cut out countless passages about winds, tides, and the exact directions and positions recorded during the voyages—along with detailed, sailor-style descriptions of how the ship was handled during storms, and notes on longitude and latitude (the ship's exact position on the globe). I suspect Mr. Gulliver may be a bit unhappy about these cuts, but I wanted the book to appeal to as many readers as possible. That said, if my own limited knowledge of sailing led me to make mistakes in the editing, the fault is mine alone. Any traveler curious to see the complete, unedited work exactly as the author wrote it is welcome to ask me for it.

For any further details about the author, readers will find what they need in the opening pages of the book itself.

—RICHARD SYMPSON

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TRAVELS

PART I: A VOYAGE TO LILLIPUT

CHAPTER I

The Author describes himself and his family, and explains what first drove him to travel. He is shipwrecked and swims for his life, reaches the shore of Lilliput safely, is taken prisoner, and is brought inland.

My father owned a small piece of land in Nottinghamshire. I was the third of five sons. He sent me to Emmanuel College at Cambridge when I was just fourteen, and I studied there for three years, working hard at my lessons. But even with a very tight budget, the cost of keeping me there was too much for our modest family finances, so I was apprenticed to Mr. James Bates, a well-respected surgeon in London, and stayed with him for four years. My father occasionally sent me small amounts of money, which I spent learning navigation and other branches of mathematics useful to anyone planning to travel—since I always believed travel would someday be part of my future.

When I finished my time with Mr. Bates, I went home to my father, and with help from him, my uncle John, and a few other relatives, I gathered forty pounds and secured a promise of thirty pounds a year to support me while studying at Leyden. There I studied medicine for two years and seven months, knowing it would prove useful on long voyages.

Soon after returning from Leyden, my former teacher Mr. Bates recommended me for the position of ship's surgeon aboard the Swallow, under Captain Abraham Pannell. I served with him for three and a half years, sailing once or twice to the Levant (the eastern Mediterranean region) and other areas. When I returned, I decided to settle down in London, a plan Mr. Bates encouraged, and through him I gained several patients. I rented part of a small house...