Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend

The Second Commandment, inscribed on the end wall of the big barn as part of the original Seven Commandments, declares: "Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend." It was derived directly from Old Major's speech, in which he taught that "Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend." This binary classification was intended to unite all animals against their common human oppressor and to establish a simple, memorable test of loyalty. In the early days of the Rebellion, the commandment served as a rallying cry, reinforcing the solidarity of the animal community and distinguishing them from the human world they had overthrown.

Application and Early Manipulation

From the outset, the commandment was subject to interpretation and manipulation by the pigs. When Snowball reduced the Seven Commandments to the single maxim "Four legs good, two legs bad," the birds objected, pointing out that they had two legs. Snowball argued that a bird's wing is "an organ of propulsion and not of manipulation" and should therefore be regarded as a leg, thus including birds within the category of friends. This redefinition, accepted by the birds, demonstrated how the pigs could adjust the meaning of the commandment to maintain control while appearing to adhere to its letter. The sheep, having learned the maxim, would bleat "Four legs good, two legs bad" for hours, often interrupting meetings at crucial moments, especially during Snowball's speeches. This repetitive chant became a tool for shutting down debate and enforcing the pigs' agenda.

Erosion and Revision

As Napoleon consolidated power, the Second Commandment, like all the others, was quietly altered to serve the regime's needs. After the executions of animals accused of conspiring with Snowball, Clover asked Benjamin to read the Sixth Commandment, which originally stated "No animal shall kill any other animal." Muriel read it as "No animal shall kill any other animal WITHOUT CAUSE," and the animals accepted that the killings were justified. Similarly, the Fourth Commandment was amended to "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets," and the Fifth to "No animal shall drink alcohol TO EXCESS." These revisions show a pattern: the pigs added qualifying phrases that allowed them to violate the original spirit of the laws while maintaining the appearance of legality. The Second Commandment, however, was not explicitly rewritten on the wall; instead, its meaning was inverted through practice. The pigs, who walked on two legs, began to adopt human habits—sleeping in beds, wearing clothes, drinking alcohol, and engaging in trade—yet they were never classified as enemies. The commandment's original purpose—to unite all four-legged and winged creatures against humans—was hollowed out as the pigs themselves became the new oppressors.

Final Inversion

The ultimate betrayal of the Second Commandment occurred when the pigs began walking on their hind legs. Squealer was the first to be seen strolling across the yard on two legs, followed by a long file of pigs, and finally Napoleon himself, majestically upright, carrying a whip. The sheep immediately burst into a new chant: "Four legs good, two legs BETTER!" This slogan, repeated for five minutes, silenced any potential protest. The commandment that had once defined the enemy as anything on two legs now celebrated the pigs' two-legged posture as superior. The pigs, by adopting the very form of the human oppressor, had transformed themselves from friends into the new enemy, yet the commandment's language had been so thoroughly corrupted that no animal could articulate the contradiction. The final scene, in which the pigs entertain human farmers and the farm's name is changed back to Manor Farm, completes the inversion: the pigs have become indistinguishable from the humans they once overthrew, and the Second Commandment, like all the others, has been rendered meaningless.