Lecture 9 – Voyage Two

 The king is very attentive\ very open to many suggestions\ ideas and (that's something
good\ this is something to his credit as a king). He is not so narrow-minded like the King
of Lilliput\ he is not also fanatic ‫متعصب‬. There is no national fanaticism\ religious
fanaticism\ political fanaticism. There are no political parties here (you have to observe
how Brobdingnag is as close as could be to a Utopia (it's not a complete Utopia)\ it is at
least a model that you can look up to.
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Page 123: "When I have put an end...lords"
Comment:
 "Sixth audience": 6 sessions.
 Remember when Gulliver talked to him about the two houses of parliament (The House
of Peers and the House of Commons). He's going give him certain questions\ queries
about the system. His questions only show his doubts about the efficiency of the system
and it also shows that he can detect possible mismanagement\ possible corruption. One of
the questions he asks is: What methods were used to cultivate the mines? (It means: what
kind of education do the nobility get?). These the nobility who occupy the House of Peers
and who take a part in making the laws in legislation. So, he wants to know (what kind of
educational background they have\ are they qualified properly or is it a matter of
inheritance?). What share of knowledge these lords had in laws of their country? And
how they came by it? So, as to enable them to decide the properties of their fellow
subjects
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Page 123: "What share...among them"
Comment:
 There is the possibility of avarice, bribe and partialities (so they're not really very
objective). It is quite possible that they would be partial to what is beneficial for them.
 "Holy lords": the religious institutions. He is talking about priesthood.
 He's about the religious institutions\ about the hierarchy in the English church (What the
promotion was based on? was it based on their religious knowledge and the sanctity of
their lives? (The fact that they consent models as really very pious people). He wants
to know about: (when they were young priests, were they partial to some noblemen?).
Page 123: "Some other sinister..."
Comment:
 It is all about partialities ‫( االنحيازات‬Whether they do not have a long term vision that
could be corrupt). That's simply what this means. And, this idea of promotion. Was it
really based on the sanctity of their lives\ their knowledge of religious matters or studies?
(He's questioning the promotion in the hierarchy of the English church).
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Page 125: "He then desired..."
Comment:
 He moves on to criticize\ ask questions about what the House of Commons.
 Commoners: the preventatives of the House of Commons.
 He's talking about the system of elections. He is simply talking about bribery\ corruption
in elections and using money to influence the vulgar (the mob\ the common people).
 At the time, to enter into the House of Commons, this was considered volunteer work\
they got no salary. According to his common sense, the King asks why they fight each
other in order to get into this assembly (if there's no real benefit from that no financial
benefit\ is it simply just to serve the people?\ or is it because they are going to get
something out of it?). We can see any fighting to get a job with no salary. So, there must
be something else behind it (some benefit\ some corrupt benefit). Otherwise, why would
they go to the trouble of all this expense even to the ruin of their families\ the families
could be even bankrupt (just to pay for their campaigns\ their election campaigns.).
 Because this appeared such an exalted strain of virtue (exaggeration\ elevating) and
public spirit that his majesty seems to doubt (might possibly not always be sincere\ which
in reality can not be true). All candidates would say that they are dying to serve the
people. So, the King says how they could be willing to sacrifice money and even the
welfare of families just to get this job (It seems to be too idealistic to be true).
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Page 125: "Upon what I said..."
Comment:
 He talks about the courts of justice and has many questions to ask about the lawyers and
the judges. Questions which really expose the corruption in this institution.
  He asked: What time is usually spent in determining between right and wrong? (So,
that's the time that is needed in order to reach a verdict) and what degree of expense? \
how does much it cost?
 "Advocates" = Lawyers.
 Were lawyers allowed to take up cases? (Being a lawyer as a profession, you can take up
any case).
1. He is talking about the time that any case takes in order to reach a verdict.
2. This is a lot of criticism about the lawyers here. Whether the lawyers sometimes take up
cases that are manifestly\ quite obviously.
 Vexatious = troublesome\ oppressive.
 Another question is whether party in religion or politics was observed to be of any
weight in the scale of justice. So, in reaching a verdict, does party politics come into this?
Does religious sect come into it? Are there any partialities?

"Whether they or their judges …pleasure"

Comment:
 Do the lawyers and the judges sometimes get different interpretations (Depending on the
law\ depending on their pleasure)?
 The letter of the law ‫نص القانون‬.
 Do they play around with the interpretation of the letter of the law ‫تفسيرهم لنص‬
‫(( ?القانون‬Because later on, we will find that, in Brobdingnag, writing any interpretation
of the law is prohibited. Because then it would be playing around with the letter of the
law).
Page 126: "He fell next upon...than double"
Comment:
 There are questions about the treasury ‫وزارة المالية‬.
 Here, he is talking about corruption and mismanagement. He seems to notice that (from
the amount of money said by Gulliver) government spending is more than the national
income\ for government spending is more than the taxes (that taken from the people that
make up the income). So there must be some kind of mismanagement (how could you
spend more than you earn?).
"He was still at a loss…private person"
Comment:
 How could it be that a kingdom could fall into debt like a private person?
 The treasury should be some kind of institution to be able to keep the balance between
the income and the spending\ the government spending.

"He wondered…than our kings"

Comment:
 This attitude towards wars and armaments on moments. So, he's really abased that
these people have extensive wars all the time. He concludes: You either to be
quarrelsome or you have very bad neighbors.
 That's a remark: he notices that in this case some generals seem to be even richer than
our kings right. This means that some generals in the army, they actually profits from
war that's what he means\ these generals seem to live on wars and they make huge
profits out of it.
 Here, there is a cross-reference\ historically speaking. Swift criticizes the Whig party,
for having wanted to continue the wars in Europe (especially we have the Duke called
Marlborough who was actually famous for his wanting to continue all his battles in
Europe). It is just a form of money making actually. Whereas the Tories, they made
this treaty called the treaty of Utrecht which put an end to the wars in Europe
(something which, of course, the Whigs did not like\ The Whigs who became the
ruling government after that).

"He asked what… in the midst of peace"

Comment:
 That's what an army is for, for defensive purposes. He says: what do we want out of
the army except this?
 The King is amazed that they have a professional mercenary ‫المرتزقة‬. The problem
of having a professional mercenary army is that you always want to engage them in
wars (otherwise, how would you pay their salaries?). There's a lot of criticism, here,
by the King. The King seems to be speaking on the part of Swift himself. Swift was
very much against war\ he was anti-war\ he was a pacifist.
 Q: Compare the attitude of the King of Brobdingnag with that of the King of Lilliput
towards war.
A:
1. The King of Lilliput had a hunger for power\ he is always looking for having the
advantage of the new weaponry even using Gulliver for the sake of conquering
other people in of Blefuscu and so on.
2. Here, the King of Brobdingnag seems to be a peace lover. We will see this later on
when Gulliver actually proposes to him to give him the secret of making
gunpowder and how shocked he is (and why would he need that?).
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"He said, if we were...were to fight"
Comment:
 The king is questioning the need of an army: What do you need an army? What are you
afraid of?
 Of course, the implication is that the army is there for profit and to satisfy a lust for
power.
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Page 127: "He was perfectly astonished...could produce"

Comment:
 Gulliver is very proud of the history of this nation\ civilization.
 That's the King's impression of this nation (the history that Gulliver was very proud
about). The King considers it as conspiracies, massacres and revolutions ...etc (there's
nothing to be proud of). It is all because of the evils in human nature (envy, lust,
malice...). The King queries\ criticizes a lot of the things (Gulliver's nation\Britain\
Europe), but at the same time, there is a modern relevance of this.
 It is also an interpretation for the reader to look inside himself\ examine his current state
of affairs (have a look in human nature that is so governed by hypocrisy, cruelty and
range\ modern relevance stance). When the human nature gives itself the liberty to
indulge in these evils, then the result is murders, massacres and revolutions…etc.
(Consider the philosophical level, the level of modern relevance and the historical
level).
  The history especially Britain was all about power struggles\ conflict of power (whether
the ambition for the throne or ambition to rule the world).
 The King actually puts him in a nutshell as a kind of summary (he asks him about this
history that he is so fond of\ where he practiced no self restraint at all).
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Page 127: "You have clearly proved...of an institution"
Comment:
 The king again is speaking.
 Legislators: people who make legislations\ laws.
 The King says that he has proved that the only qualifications for the legislators is
ignorance and vice.
 So, those people who practice the law\ who make the laws, what is their only interest?
(perverting\ changing the true course). They set the laws, so when they need to, they can
pervert\ confound\ elude them. They do not have the best of intentions and these laws are
not clear\ simple. There are certain loopholes in every law (and it is intentionally put
there in order to use it n the corrupt way).
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Page 127: "It doth not appear...for yourself"
Comment:
 Morality or virtue does not seem to be required\ does not seem to be a qualification they
look for when giving any position to a person. Men are not ennobled on account of their
virtues. In every field, morality is not needed. (The King is answering the questions he
asked).
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Page 128: "I cannot conclude...of the earth"
Comment:
 It is a humiliating\ rough conclusion of the King's summary as he is the mouthpiece of
Swift. Swift wants to destroy man's false pride in their national institutions. It invites us
to look to our national institutions and this hypothetical false sense of pride in our
situations (especially when we tend to gloss over\ hide all the defects\ deficiencies.
  The king passed his verdict on Gulliver's presentation. So, when it comes to Gulliver's
situation: What does he feel? What is his attitude? As readers, do you identify with
Gulliver?
A: He shows great pride and vanity in his institutions (just like any foreign would do
because he is really defending his country because this is part of his national identity. We
all have a religious identity, national identity, human identity. Remember that Gulliver
has a problem of proving his identity\ sexual identity\ national identity. He knows that
he's evading a lot of the questions of the King. He makes it clear when he said: I wanted
to be the greatest orator in order to have this in-fluent tongue, so I could make a
wonderful presentation\ rhetorical description. Gulliver is praising whereas the King is a
scholar and what he wants to do is that he wants an object presentation\ he doesn't get it\
he is not fooled.

Q: As a reader, with whom do you identify?

A: We are on the King's side (this is the voice of the common sense). Swift sometimes makes us
criticize ourselves\ our behavior rather than being on the side of Gulliver who is the hero. So,
what happened to the hero? The hero is making a fool of himself\ Gulliver appears to be foolish.
He tries to impress the King and it backfires against him. He gets what he believes to be a very
unexpected response. He gives a reason for self-criticism\ introspection (looking to yourself in
some insight\ into human nature\ into yourself in a similar situation) that you get laugh at
yourself as well as Gulliver. Gulliver represents human behavior when the human being realizes
that he is at a disadvantage ,and all the time, he is trying to prove his identity to reassure\
confirm his identity even if it's in a very ludicrous\ ridiculous way.
 What is interesting is that by the end of this voyage, Gulliver himself identifies with the
King and with these giants. By the end of this voyage, even if he feels embarrassed by
the King, there is still the room for praise the king's virtue. The king who is a giant not
just insights but in virtue.
 So, what happens when this voyage is over?
A: Gulliver identifies with the King and with these giants and when he goes back home,
he behaves like a giant that makes him look ridiculous (this is a feeling of inferiority). So,
when he goes back to his people, he identifies with these people\ these giants in
Brobdingnag. He assumes this feeling of superiority of his own people. It's very funny
when he goes back to his country and he walks away fearing to tread over them. He
believes that he now is a giant\ he adopts the same attitude of the King (psychological
problem). The satiric device\ technique of satire that swift uses in order to criticize
human nature\ this false pride\ national pride\ national institutions\ all the institutions in
Britain (using the tongue of the King) is the use of obtuse\ self-defeating mask. This is
 when a writer chooses a character -in this case it is Gulliver-, Gulliver is used to foolishly
present and defend a lost cause\ all the time he is propagating\ defeating the cause that he
wants to use to impress the King. The more he talks about these institutions\ the more he
presents them as being idealistic\ the more he exaggerates in doing that, the more he's
making fool of himself.
 Obtuse: Not intelligent\ stupid\idiotic.
Q: Would you find yourself doing the same thing you if you were in a similar situation?
A: We all -at some point- need to defend our identity (especially when it is under
attack\ when there is a feeling of inferiority) instead of giving an objective presentation\
admitting some false in the system or some mismanagement.
 The irony is the self defeating mask. He probably would have been more respectable
if he had been reasonable instead of using exaggeration\ instead of assuming this
pride. (This whole theme of pride that we have to trace even in the two voyages).
 Keep in mind, Swift deliberately humiliated human pride (whether it is pride in one's
achievement\ whether it is pride in one's rationality and intellectuality\ whether it's
pride in one's national institutions\ false nationalism). This is the age of light and
reason and the growth of the British Empire, so there is a lot of stress\ emphasis is put
on man's intellectuality\ reason\ common sense\ stability. When it comes to Swift, his
account of reaction is really humiliating the man's pride\ There is a core for the
practice of some modesty\ some humility. All the time, there is a reminder of
man's bestiality\ gross needs\grossness of man -which is something that man always
tries to be overlook\ hide in favour of his intellectuality that distinguishes him from
animals-. This is false pretence that we are not animals because we do have some
animals instincts\ needs.
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Chapter Eight
Page 128: "Nothing but an extreme...narrowness of thinking"
Comment:
 What comes next is Gulliver's trying to save face in front of the reader (this is addressed
to the reader).
 He's trying to justify the King's response and how he humiliated him by saying: I did all
of this because of my great sense of patriotism and my love for my country, so you
cannot blame me I was doing the best I could to presents my country in a favorable
light and of course nobody can blame me for being patriotic and loving my country.
Especially after this harsh criticism, Gulliver feels embarrassed. So, he is trying to defend
 himself (because obviously he knows that he appears to be foolish) by saying: It was
useless to express my disappointments\ resentment because this would be turned into
ridicule by the King and the court. All what he has in his hands is to be patient because
he know if he shows any resentment, he would be a subject of ridicule.
 Gulliver wants the reader to excuse him and he is admitting his defeat\ he lost argument.
His excuse based on his love for his country\ being patriotic.
 He says that the king was very inquisitive\ curious to know everything. The King has put
a lot of questions for him that he had to answer many of them even though that he tried to
elude where as he should be more truthful (because a lot of these questions could only be
answered by admitting mismanagement and corruption).
 He is trying to cover up all the weaknesses of the political system in his country and to
try to put spotlights on the virtues.
 "Mighty monarch": He looks up to him even though he feels humiliated\ he admits his
defeat\ he admits that was not giving the truth to the King.
 This is a typical human behaviour\ the attitude towards national institutions especially
when you are abroad\ you are not in your own context\ environment\ surrounding, so you
are trying to get the favorable picture.
 We can see here Gulliver tries to explain why the King reacted in this way. In order to
show why the King acted in this way, Gulliver persists to wear the obtuse mask. Gulliver
shows that he is contemptuous of the King's response\ trying to explain this and say (why
the King has a very confined education\ he is narrow-minded\ he lives in an isolation
from the world\ does not know about that European civilization and the rest of the
world). So, Gulliver's contemptuous attitude only makes him more than fool because we
know that the King is well educated especially in mathematics and philosophy (the
abstract sciences as well as the practical sciences). Gulliver says that he need\ lacks this
kind of knowledge, so he is liable to many prejudices. The irony is that we as readers,
we can see how foolish he is. He persists in defending a lost case.
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Page 129: "To confirm what...fire falling"
Comment:
 He contemptuously tries to explain why the King responds in this way further makes a
fool of himself.
 All the time, instead of just leaving this case completely, he has done something which is
considered to be the peak of his stupidity. Gulliver represents mankind\human nature,
so in order to prove himself, he tells the king about the secret of the gunpowder.
  There is the sense of pride\ this feeling for false pride and superiority that he knows the
secrets of gunpowder weaponry\ mass destruction that can destroy whole cities and kill a
large number of people at the same time ( It's like saving the best for last).
 Mass destruction: Such as the nuclear armaments.
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Page 130: "The King was struck…any more"

Comment:
Q: What is the King's reaction? (Extreme counter reaction)
(The King is Swift so notice that we have to look at ourselves to see how stupid and that
we are all the time react at the same way)
A: He was shocked\ horrified\ struck with horror. He is not only describing Gulliver as an
insect, but the human nature in such diminutive people (how these diminutive size people can
be capable of such evil and destruction). In addition, he wondered that who ever invented
gunpowder, must have been an enemy to mankind. He warns Gulliver to ever mention the
secret and if he does, he would be severely punished. The King's reaction is very utopian
(comparing to the King of Lilliput who would be glad and amused).
 Compare this with Gulliver's case in Lilliput when the King wanted to subjugate a whole
nation of Blefuscu\ tom be the monarch of the world\ to use Gulliver as weapon. Gulliver
who refused to subjugate innocent and free people into slavery. Now, the irony is that
Gulliver who is the diminutive person in size. Now, he is the one who suggesting this to
the King and who cannot understand why the King would refuse to have this weaponry
which could make him the master of the world.
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Page 130: "A strange effect…his people"
Comment:
 Even if Gulliver criticizes the King, he continues to praise the King.
 Then, he says that the King has a flaw which is his doubt and conscience; however, In
Europe, they have no conception\ conscience\ doubts about this.
  The irony is that Gulliver is the object of satire.
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Page 130: "For I remember very well…"
Comment:
 This is about the civilization and the state of affairs of Brobdingnag.
 Gulliver is showing off\ proud of the facts that he has a lot of books on the art of
government (political science).
 It seems very utopian to the King. He has a government that is very simple in the way it
manages people's lives. There are no complication\ no sophistication\ no mystery\
nothing is ambiguous.
 Gulliver criticizes the King's system of government, for it is based on narrow ideas. We
as readers, we can see that this is perfect\utopian because his system of government is
based on common sense, reason, justice, lenity and the speed determination of civil and
criminal causes (unlike Europe, the criminal case could take years and years). The system
of government favours productivity\ simple governmental arrangements. For him,
productivity is more important because it's more beneficial than the whole race of
politicians.

 This point of view is very much Swift's point of view.

Q: Do you find this utopian\ too ideal (to be able to be seen in practice)?
A: It seems to be like the utopian vision\ view of government without getting into the details of
practice.

 This is not the King speaking this is Gulliver. Gulliver is presenting what he has learned
about the system of government in Brobdingnag.
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Page 131: "The learning of this… precedents are so few"
Comment:
 He continues wearing the obtuse mask\ defending the wrong case and criticizing the
winning case.
 Education is based on productivity and what is beneficial (agriculture\ mechanical arts).
 The law in Brobdingnag:
 1. Laws are written in a simple matter\ terms to anyone to understand to the point
that they don't need lawyers.
2. Even if there are lawyers, they are not allowed to write an interpretation of the law
(then you will have volumes interpreting the law). All these interpretations lead to
corruption. Can this be realized in real life or is it utopian? It is too perfect.
3. Precedent ‫سابقة‬
Page 132: "The books he treats… history and tradition"
Comment:
 Gulliver talks about one their books about morality and he says that he has read some of
their books about history and morality.
 How man is weak physically\ he cannot defend himself against wild beasts. Each animal
has a certain advantage over man whether it is strength, speed, foresight...etc.
 Remember that the King is mainly a philosopher and that he is Swift. This book of
morality quote upon people who study this book to think about the weaknesses of human
beings and to practice some humility (this is Swift against the whole approach of the 18th
century and this pride man's intellectuality\ abilities).
 Morality is declining and the belief that in the older periods, people were more gigantic
in size and virtues (Theme of size). As human civilization progressives, human beings
become smaller in size and in virtues. So. the idea is that humanity is degenerating.
 So, when people of Brobdingnag study books like this\ books of morality, they are
inclined towards to be more modest\ practice some humility. This is part of the
humiliation of the human pride.
 The state of military in Brobdingnag: All of these are Utopian ideas (This simple way of
government\ teaching of morality).
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Page 133: "As to their military affairs… their exercises"
Comment:
 They don't have the professional (it is one's profession is to fight) standing army (this is
what King of Brobdingnag was criticizing). Instead, they have a citizen militia
‫مجموعات غير نظامية‬. A citizen militia is made of trades men, farmers, nobility...etc\ it is
made of people who already have a trait which is productivity (and they practice some
martial arts).
  There is a contrast between the two concepts: the concept of having non professional
army (made of citizen militia) and the standard professional army.
 This is too utopian: The King has people who are trying every now and then in case
something happens, they would defend their land.
 Gulliver is amazed\ impresses by their efficiency (and they practice when they go back to
work). How Gulliver is impressed by these people (as they practice using their swords\
weapons) reminds us of the Lilliputians. Gulliver here is behaving in every Lilliputian
manner. It reminds us how the Lilliputians were impressed when Gulliver used his
scimitar\ sword\ fired a gunshot (tables are reversed).

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Page 134: "As For the course… strictest duty"
Comment:
 A long time ago, they had the same problems (this power struggle) until the king's
grandfather put an end and dissolved the army. The implication here is that (if you have
an army\ a weaponry, this only encourages wars). Ever since he dissolved the army and
replaced it with citizen militia, they have no wars.
 The reasons mentioned in this paragraph are the reasons for war (especially the civil
war).
 The King is anti-war just like his grandfather and Swift. There's a lot of criticism by
Swift regarding the army and the armament of the army.
 This is very Utopian\ too idealistic (this is a country with no army at all and lives in
peace)\ it is like a dream world. Lilliput was only utopian in its theoretical constitutions
but not in practice (corruption in court, intrigues...etc). Brobdingnag is more utopian even
though it is realistic, but as far as Swift is concerned, you can get that this is a model that
we can try to imitate.
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 The last chapter is not that really important except that it gives you all these details again
to establish this idea of verisimilitude.
 It tells us how Gulliver finds himself back in his country.
 There is a suggestion by the King at the beginning of this next chapter which is to try and
find a ship sailing by and to try to find a mate or a wife for Gulliver so that he can breed a
whole new race of these diminutive people (this is something very humiliating for
Gulliver and his dignity and his attempt to find freedom).
 -----------------------------------------------------

Page 134: "The king had given strict orders …canary birds"
Comment:
 They are trying to find a woman of Gulliver's size (humiliation\ an object of laboratory
examination\ how is he regarded as a spectacle).
 The king wants to breed a race of Gulliver's same size. Gulliver refuses and finds
it very undignifying. This reminds us of this humiliating feeling of being treated like a
pet\ curiosity\ cartoon character.
 When he goes back home, there is a counter reaction of him (psychological effect)
because Gulliver is too much humiliated and has this feeling of inferiority. He identifies
with those in Brobdingnag (not only just their size, but their morality). He becomes
so ludicrous when he talks to people and his wife and he shouts at them just like he used
to shout in Brobdingnag so that they could her him. He suffers from the problem of
rehabilitation\ adapting to his new surroundings. He begins to behave as if he were a
foreigner because that is something inflates his ego.
 The second voyage affected him psychologically just like the first one. Every time he
finishes, his psychology is affected.
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