Lucy’s right. If only we humans could get that “Peace on Earth” thing into our heads, hearts, and lives. And a Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night as I toddle off to bed.
This thread sounds similar to the logic in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, when it explains why dolphins consider themselves smarter than humans.
More to the point, how many opportunities have horses had to start wars? Failure to do stupid things doesn’t make one intelligent. It could just be that you haven’t figured out how to do them.
Being intelligent doesn’t mean you won’t do stupid things. It just means your stupidity is more complex.
The horses, which are the reasonable creatures of this island, call humans “Yahoos,” and keep a tight leash on them, because otherwise they’ll misbehave.
This slow introduction to the Yahoos (gross humans) and the Houyhnhnms (lovely, smart horses) makes humanity unfamiliar and horrible to the reader. Just as the tininess of Lilliput and Blefuscu make the problems and wars of Britain and France seem silly and insignificant, this moment of lack of recognition that Gulliver has with the Yahoos suddenly forces humankind itself to seem unfamiliar and revolting.
All animals are violent, and kill other living things, sometimes to eat, sometimes in defense, sometimes to stake a claim, sometimes for entertainment (see cats and dolphins for the last). Even some plants trap and kill prey (venus flytrap for one).
Horses in the wild, males at any rate, fight for territory and access to females, and will sometimes kick the pregnant females of a newly-acquired herd in order to abort the offspring of the former leader and be able to impregnate the female himself.
Domesticated horses are transportation, recreation, and food.
The one constant in life is that death comes to us all. It’s what you do with whatever time you have that is important. Now we need to convince people that hatred and war are NOT acceptable ways of spending time…
Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, and Have a Lovely Day to you all.
Lucy said, “I see it’s arranged by eras of wars … Any of them started by horses?”
Border conflicts between individuals and tribes have been constant throughout time and, as others have pointed out, are found in almost all animals and many plants. But deliberate warfare — attacking others for gain — was economically nonviable when tribes people had to carry everything they owned on their backs.
The domestication of horses, circa 4000-3000 BCE, changed that and brought about the first dark age of history when the Kurgan people conquered much of Europe and central Asia.
Gather the local warriors, ride a few days into unsuspecting territory, swoop down on a helpless village, kill the men, rape the women, enslave the children, load your horses with everything they can carry, and burn the rest. A simple life but a rewarding one.
It’s impossible to imagine any history book with no mention of horses given that they were instrumental to human agriculture, transportation and cavalries were the ancient super weapon.
joegee over 5 years ago
Well, when you find something that you’re good at, you stick to it. Unfortunately for us it happened to be killing.
Dtroutma over 5 years ago
Well, studs do have their moments, but usually non-lethal, and never en masse.
somebodyshort over 5 years ago
MERRY CHRISTMAS one and all
Odd Dog Premium Member over 5 years ago
Merry Christmas Wiley, Danae and friends. Oh and Danae you know better than to argue with Lucy.
TexTech over 5 years ago
Lucy’s right. If only we humans could get that “Peace on Earth” thing into our heads, hearts, and lives. And a Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night as I toddle off to bed.
Scorpio Premium Member over 5 years ago
A couple were started some horses ass’ – but no, not by horses themselves.
Watcher over 5 years ago
Merry Christmas everyone from The Middle Kingdom.
sirbadger over 5 years ago
Ants can fight wars. Saying that we are as smart as insects fails to prove Danae’s point.
kaffekup over 5 years ago
Well, horses carried the majority of those war starters…
kipeticolas over 5 years ago
Dear Wiley Miller, I love you and the horse….and wish you both all the warmth and joy this season inadvertently and of necessity produces.
Enter.Name.Here over 5 years ago
HUMANS make history. HORSES make piles.
Qiset over 5 years ago
Merry Christmas!
tstuarta1 over 5 years ago
This thread sounds similar to the logic in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, when it explains why dolphins consider themselves smarter than humans.
car2ner over 5 years ago
Watch Animal Planet or Nat Geo…do horses always get along with each other?
Kaputnik over 5 years ago
More to the point, how many opportunities have horses had to start wars? Failure to do stupid things doesn’t make one intelligent. It could just be that you haven’t figured out how to do them.
Being intelligent doesn’t mean you won’t do stupid things. It just means your stupidity is more complex.
Merry Christmas!
Lenavid over 5 years ago
Top of the food chain, and all that….
Amra Leo over 5 years ago
Merry Christmas!
Omniman over 5 years ago
Of course, humans are the ones to record history, so we only write about the humans.
Radish the wordsmith over 5 years ago
The horses, which are the reasonable creatures of this island, call humans “Yahoos,” and keep a tight leash on them, because otherwise they’ll misbehave.
This slow introduction to the Yahoos (gross humans) and the Houyhnhnms (lovely, smart horses) makes humanity unfamiliar and horrible to the reader. Just as the tininess of Lilliput and Blefuscu make the problems and wars of Britain and France seem silly and insignificant, this moment of lack of recognition that Gulliver has with the Yahoos suddenly forces humankind itself to seem unfamiliar and revolting.
Herb L 1954 over 5 years ago
As long as there are men,with yuge egos,there will be wars ;(
Linguist over 5 years ago
¡FELIZ NAVIDAD A TODOS!
sew-so over 5 years ago
All animals are violent, and kill other living things, sometimes to eat, sometimes in defense, sometimes to stake a claim, sometimes for entertainment (see cats and dolphins for the last). Even some plants trap and kill prey (venus flytrap for one).
Horses in the wild, males at any rate, fight for territory and access to females, and will sometimes kick the pregnant females of a newly-acquired herd in order to abort the offspring of the former leader and be able to impregnate the female himself.
Domesticated horses are transportation, recreation, and food.
The one constant in life is that death comes to us all. It’s what you do with whatever time you have that is important. Now we need to convince people that hatred and war are NOT acceptable ways of spending time…
Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, and Have a Lovely Day to you all.
Diamond Lil over 5 years ago
Oooh…zing!
loveabulldesign over 5 years ago
horses made the expansion of human territory and a lot of that warfare possible. we couldn’t have done a fraction of what we have without them.
richdell over 5 years ago
A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!
1953Baby over 5 years ago
Old Russian proverb: Fear goats from the front, horses from the back, and men from all sides.
wildman-al over 5 years ago
No war was ever won or done.
Kveldulf over 5 years ago
Lucy said, “I see it’s arranged by eras of wars … Any of them started by horses?”
Border conflicts between individuals and tribes have been constant throughout time and, as others have pointed out, are found in almost all animals and many plants. But deliberate warfare — attacking others for gain — was economically nonviable when tribes people had to carry everything they owned on their backs.
The domestication of horses, circa 4000-3000 BCE, changed that and brought about the first dark age of history when the Kurgan people conquered much of Europe and central Asia.
Gather the local warriors, ride a few days into unsuspecting territory, swoop down on a helpless village, kill the men, rape the women, enslave the children, load your horses with everything they can carry, and burn the rest. A simple life but a rewarding one.
rlaker22j over 5 years ago
If we would just remember the Golden rule life could be so much better and so could the planet
bakana over 5 years ago
What kind of History Book doesn’t mention the Huge improvement in Warfare when the Stirrup was invented?
Or the Horse drawn War Chariot?
DCBakerEsq over 5 years ago
Horses rule.
keenanthelibrarian over 5 years ago
No, none of ’em started by horses; but until quite recently, most had horses involved, whether they wanted to be or not.
RonBerg13 Premium Member over 5 years ago
But a whole lot of them FOUGHT by horses, mores the pity.
whelan_jj over 5 years ago
It’s impossible to imagine any history book with no mention of horses given that they were instrumental to human agriculture, transportation and cavalries were the ancient super weapon.
cabalonrye over 5 years ago
The horse of Troy?