That, from the evidence before him, it appeared that we were of a race who had either wholly fallen from virtue, or were at least very much under the influence of the worst passions of our nature; that a great proportion of the race were governed by an inveterate selfishness, that canker of the soul, which is wholly incompatible with ingenuous and affectionate good-will towards our fellow-beings; that we were given to the practice of injustice, violence, and oppression, even to such a degree as to maintain bodies of armed men, trained to destroy their fellow-creatures; that we were guilty of enslaving our fellow-men for the purpose of procuring the means of gratifying our sensual appetites; that we were inordinately addicted to traffic, and sent out our people to the extreme parts of the external world to procure, by exchange, or fraud, or force, things pernicious to the health and morals of those who receive them, and that this practice was carried so far as to be supported with armed ships, a thing unheard of, except from some very ancient manuscript accounts of the Belzubians, which had been considered by the Good men of Symzonia, for ages, as nothing more than fables. After stating these and many other charges against the externals, he added, that many of his council seriously apprehended that it was only our inordinate thirst for gain, that had induced me and my people to hazard our lives in an unknown region, and that it had not escaped their notice, that my vessel was provided with terrific engines of destruction, no doubt to enforce our will where our purposes required it: Wherefore he, the Best Man, in council, had come to a resolution, that the safety and happiness of his people would be endangered by permitting any further intercourse with so corrupt and depraved a race. He therefore required that I should repair forthwith to my vessel, and there remain until the season of bright light was sufficiently advanced to enable me to return to my country in safety; and ordered that all necessary supplies of food, and whatever was wanted to refit my vessel, should be furnished at the expense of the state; but that I should not be permitted to take away any of the products of the country which I esteemed valuable for traffic, lest the cupidity of my countrymen should lead them to send an armed force to obtain such things. They were fully aware, he said, of the articles which were most coveted by the externals; for my books had described them, and the purposes to which they were applied; and Efficients would therefore be appointed to examine my vessel, and see that I took away none of those articles. He felt confident that they had additional security for a strict compliance with this prohibitory order, in my integrity, of which he had formed a favourable estimate, notwithstanding the corruption of my nature, and did not apprehend that I would break through his injunctions, after partaking so largely of the hospitality of the country.