The first Professor I saw was in a very large Room, with forty Pupils
about him. After Salutation, observing me to look earnestly upon a
Frame, which took up the greatest part of both the Length and Breadth
of the Room, he said perhaps I might wonder to see him employed in a
Project for improving speculative Knowledge by practical and
mechanical Operations. But the World would soon be sensible of its
Usefulness, and he flattered himself that a more noble exalted Thought
never sprung in any other Man's Head. Every one knew how laborious the
usual Method is of attaining to Arts and Sciences; whereas by his
Contrivance, the most ignorant Person at a reasonable Charge, and with
a little bodily Labour, may write Books in Philosophy, Poetry,
Politicks, Law, Mathematicks and Theology, without the least
Assistance from Genius or Study. He then led me to the Frame, about
the Sides whereof all his Pupils stood in Ranks. It was twenty Foot
Square, placed in the middle of the Room. The Superficies was composed
of several bits of Wood, about the bigness of a Dye, but some larger
than others. They were all linked together by slender Wires. These
bits of Wood were covered on every Square with Paper pasted on them,
and on these Papers were written all the Words of their Language, in
their several Moods, Tenses, and Declensions, but without any
Order. The Professor then desired me to observe, for he was going to
set his Engine at Work. The Pupils at his Command took each of them
hold of an Iron Handle, whereof there were fourty fixed round the
Edges of the Frame, and giving them a sudden turn, the whole
Disposition of the Words was entirely changed. He then commanded six
and thirty of the Lads to read the several Lines softly as they
appeared upon the Frame; and where they found three or four Words
together that might make part of a Sentence, they dictated to the four
remaining Boys who were Scribes. This Work was repeated three or four
Times, and at every turn the Engine was so contrived that the Words
shifted into new Places, as the Square bits of Wood moved upside down.
Six Hours a-day the young Students were employed in this Labour, and
the Professor shewed me several Volumes in large Folio already
collected, of broken Sentences, which he intended to piece together,
and out of those rich Materials to give the World a compleat Body of
all Arts and Sciences; which however might be still improved, and much
expedited, if the Publick would raise a Fund for making and employing
five hundred such Frames in Lagado, and oblige the Managers to
contribute in common their several Collections.
He assured me, that this Invention had employed all his Thoughts from
his Youth, that he had emptyed the whole Vocabulary into his Frame,
and made the strictest Computation of the general Proportion there is
in Books between the Numbers of Particles, Nouns, and Verbs, and other
Parts of Speech.
(from Gulliver's Travels, Part
III, Chapter V, 1726)
Back
to Lillian Lee's home page.