"And I remember in frequent discourses with my master concerning the nature of manhood, in other parts of the world, having occasion to talk of lying and false representation... For he argued thus; that the use of speech was to make us understand one another, and to receive information of facts; now if any one said the thing which was not, these ends were defeated...he leaves me worse than in ignorance, for I am led to believe a thing black when it is white, and short when it is long." ― Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels Gulliver's Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift recounts the story of Lemuel Gulliver, an English surgeon who takes to the seas when his business declines. His adventures begin as he travels to unknown and mysterious lands-Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib and the land of Houyhnhnms, where he encounters strange creatures with unusual body proportions, beliefs and values, customs and practices including horses that talk.