death as the greatest evil, from which nature always prompted him to retreat; only in this ifland of Luggnagg the appetite for living was not fo eager, from the continual example of the Struldbrugs before their eyes.

That the fyftem of living contrived by me was unrea fonable and unjuft; because it fuppofed a perpetuity of youth, health, and vigour, which no man could be fo foolish to hope, however extravagant he may be in his withes *. That the question therefore was not, whether a man would chufe to be always in the prime of youth, attended with profperity and health; but how he would pafs a perpetual life under all the ufual disadvantages, which old age brings along with it. For although few men will avow their defires of being immortal upon fuch hard conditions, yet in the two kingdoms before mentioned, of Balnibarbi and Japan, he obferved that every man defired to put off death for fome time longer, let it approach ever so late; and he rarely heard of any man who died willingly, except he were incited by the extre mity of grief or torture. And he appealed to me, whe-ther, in thofe countries I had travelled, as well as my own, I had not obferved the fame general difpofition †.

After

To this it may poffibly be objected, That the perpetuity of youth, health, and vigour would be lefs a prodigy than the perpetuity of life in a body fubject to gradual decay, and might therefore be hoped without greater extravagance of folly. But the fentiment here expreffed, is that of a being to whom im mortality, though not perpetual youth, was familiar; and in whom the wish of perpetual youth only would have been ex. travagant, because that only appeared from facts to be impoffible. Hawkef.

+ If it be faid, That although the folly of defiring life to be prolonged under the difadvantages of old age, is here finely ex-posed; yet the defire of terrestrial immortality upon terms, on which alone, in the nature of things, it is possible, an exemption from difeafe, accident and decay, is tacitely allowed: It may be answered, That as we grow old by imperceptible degrees, fo for the most part we grow old without repining, and every man is ready to profefs himfelf willing to die, when he shall be overtaken by the decrepitude of age in fome future period; : yet when every other eye fees that this period is arrived, he is

After this preface he gave me a particular account of the Struldbrugs among them. He faid, they commonly acted like mortals, till about thirty years old, after which by degrees they grew melancholly and dejected, encreafing in both till they came to fourfcore. This he learned

from their own confeffion; for otherwife, there not be ing above two or three of that fpecies born in an age, they were too few to form a general obfervation by. When they came to fourfcore years, which is reckoned the extremity of living in this country, they had not only all the follies and infirmities of other old men, but many more, which arofe from the dreadful profpect of never dying. They were not only opinionative, peevish, covetous, morofe, vain, talkative; but incapable of friendfhip, and dead to all natural affection, which never defcended below their grand-children. Envy and impotent defires are their prevailing paffions. But thofe objects, against which their envy feems principally directed, are the vices of the younger fort, and the deaths of the old. By reflecting on the former they find themselves cut off from all poffibility of pleafure; and whenever they fee a funeral, they lament and repine that others are gone to an harbour of reft, to which they themselves never can hope to arrive. They have no remembrance of any thing, but what they learned and obferved in their youth. and middle age, and even that is very imperfect. And for the truth or particulars of any fact it is fafer to de-. pend on common tradition, than upon their beft recol fections. The leaft miferable among them appear to bethofe, who turn to dotage, and entirely lofe their me. mories; these meet with more pity and assistance, becaufe they want many bad qualities, which abound in

others.

If a Struldbrug happen to marry one of his own kind, the marriage is diffolved of course by the courtesy of the kingdom, as foon as the younger of the two comes to be fourfcore. For the law thinks it a reasonable indulgence,

Bill tenacious of life, and murmurs at the condition upon which he received his existence. To reconcile old age therefore to the thoughts of a diffolution, appears to be all that was necessary in a moral writer for practical purposes. Hawkef..

that

that thofe, who are condemned without any fault of their own to a perpetual continuance in the world, fhould not have their mifery doubled by the load of a wife.

As foon as they have compleated the term of eighty years, they are looked on as dead in law; their heirs im mediately fucceed to their estates, only a small pittance is referved for their fupport; and the poor ones are main, tained at the publick charge. After that period they are held incapable of any employment of trust or profit; they cannot purchase lands or take leafes; neither are they allowed to be witneffes in any caufe, either civil or crimi, nal, not even for the decifion of meers and bounds.

At ninety they lose their teeth and hair; they have at that age no diftinction of taste, but eat and drink whate ver they can get without relish or appetite. The dif cafes they were fubject to still continue, without encreaf, ing or diminishing. In talking they forget the common appellation of things, and the names of perfons, even of those who are their nearest friends and relations. For the fame reason they never can amuse themselves with reading, because their memory will not ferve to carry them from the beginning of a sentence to the end; and by this defect they are deprived of the only entertain ment, whereof they might otherwise be capable.

years

The language of this country being always upon the flux, the Struldbrugs of one age do not understand those of another; neither are they able after two hundred to hold any conversation (farther than by a few general words) with their neighbours, the mortals; and thus they lie under the disadvantage of living like foreignersin their own country.

This was the account given me of the Struldbrugs, as near as I can remember. I afterwards faw five or fix of different ages, the youngest not above two hundred years old, who were brought to me at feveral times by fome of my friends; but, although they were told, that I was a great traveller, and had seen all the world, they had not the least curiofity to ask me a question; only defired' I would give them flumskudask, or a token of remem brance; which is a modeft way of begging, to avoid the law,, that strictly forbids it,, because they are provided

for

for by the public, although indeed with a very feanty

allowance.

They are defpifed and hated by all forts of people ; when one of them is born, it is reckoned ominous, and their birth is recorded very particularly; fo that you may know their age by confulting the register; which howe-ver hath not been kept above a thousand years past, or at least hath been destroyed by time or public disturban-ces. But the ufual way of computing how old they are, is, by asking them what kings or great perfons they can remember, and then confulting history; for infallibly the laft prince in their mind did not begin his reign after they were fourfcore years old.

They were the most mortifying fight I ever beheld; and the women more horrible than men. Befides the ufual deformities in extreme old age, they acquired an additional ghastliness in proportion to their number of years, which is not to be described; and among half a dozen, I foon diftinguished which was the eldest, although there was not above a century or two between them.

The reader will eafily believe, that from what I had heard and feen, my keen appetite for perpetuity of life was much abated. I grew heartily afhamed of the pleafing vifions I had formed; and thought no tyrant could invent a death, into which I would not run with pleasure from fuch a life. The king heard of all that had paffed between me and my friends upon this occafion, and ralli ed me very pleasantly; wishing I could fend a couple of Struldbrugs to my own country to arm our people against the fear of death*, but this it seems is forbidden by the fundamental laws of the kingdom, or else I should have been well content with the trouble and expence of trans-porting them.

I could not but agree, that the laws of this kingdom relating to the Struldbrugs were founded upon the ftrong

Perhaps it may not be wholly useless to remark, that the fight of a Struldbrug would no otherwise arm those against the fear of death, who have no hope beyond it, than a man is afın ed against the fear of breaking his limbs, who jumps out of a window when his house is on file. Hawkef

eft reafons, and fuch as any other country would be una der the neceffity of enacting in the like circumftances. Otherwise, as avarice is the neceffary confequent of old age, thofe immortals would in time become proprietors of the whole nation, and engross the civil power; which, for want of abilities to manage, muft end in the ruin of the public.

CHAP. XI.

The author leaves Luggnagg, and fails to Japan. From thence he returns in a Dutch Ship to Amsterdam, and from Amfterdam to England.

Thought this account of the Struldbrugs might be

to be a little out of the common way; at least I do not remember to have met the like in any book of travels, that hath come to my hands and if I am deceived, my excufe must be, that it is neceffary* for travellers, who describe the same country, very often to agree in dwelling on the fame particulars, without deferving the cenfure of having borrowed or tranfcribed from those who wrote before them.

There is indeed a perpetual commerce between this kingdom and the great empire of Japan; and it is very probable, that the Japanese authors may have given fome account of the Struldbrugs; but my ftay in Japan was fo short, and I was fo intirely a ftranger to the language, that I was not qualified to make any enquiries. But I hope the Dutch upon this notice will be curious and able enough to fupply my defects.

His Majesty having often preffed me to accept fome

* The word neceffary is here used in the fame manner, as when by the idiom of our language it means convenient, though it is to be understood in its proper and original fignification.. "Travellers who defcribe the fame country, very often necess "farily agree in dwelling on the fame particulars, and theres "fore do not deserve the cenfufe of having borrowed, etc.", Hawkes

eme