Snillpall

Snillpall, also translated as "legal," is a distinctive title of honor within the legal and social framework of Lilliput. It represents a fundamental principle of that nation's governance: that the law should not only punish transgression but also actively reward sustained virtue. The title is granted to any person who can bring sufficient proof that they have strictly observed the laws of the country for a period of seventy-three moons. Upon receiving this honor, the individual gains certain privileges according to their quality and condition of life, along with a proportionable sum of money from a fund appropriated for that use. The title is added to the person's name but does not descend to their posterity, making it a personal mark of civic achievement rather than a hereditary distinction.

The Philosophy of Reward and Punishment

The Lilliputian system of rewarding long-term legal obedience stands in stark contrast to the practices Gulliver describes from his own country. When Gulliver informed the Lilliputians that English laws were enforced only by penalties, without any mention of reward, they considered this a prodigious defect of policy. This philosophy is embodied in the Lilliputian image of Justice, which is formed with six eyes—two before, as many behind, and on each side one—to signify circumspection. In her right hand she holds a bag of gold open, and in her left a sword sheathed, demonstrating that she is more disposed to reward than to punish. The Snillpall title is the practical application of this principle, creating a direct incentive for citizens to internalize and uphold the law over an extended period.

The Broader Legal Context

The Snillpall system is part of a larger legal code that emphasizes moral responsibility and the protection of the innocent. Crimes against the state are punished with the utmost severity, but if the person accused makes their innocence plainly appear upon trial, the accuser is immediately put to an ignominious death. The innocent person is quadruply recompensed for their loss of time, danger, hardship, imprisonment, and legal charges, with any deficiency supplied by the crown. The emperor also confers on them some public mark of favor, and a proclamation of their innocence is made through the whole city. Fraud is considered a greater crime than theft and is seldom punished with less than death, as the Lilliputians argue that honesty has no defense against superior cunning. Ingratitude is also a capital crime, as one who makes ill returns to a benefactor is deemed a common enemy to mankind. The Snillpall title thus exists within a legal ecosystem that consistently prioritizes the encouragement of virtue and the severe punishment of those who undermine social trust.

Narrative and Thematic Significance

Gulliver's account of the Snillpall title and the Lilliputian legal system serves as a satirical counterpoint to the corruption and political maneuvering he witnesses at court. The ideal of a government that rewards long-term legal obedience is sharply contrasted with the reality of courtiers who acquire great employments by dancing on ropes or leaping over sticks—practices introduced by the current emperor's grandfather and grown to their present height by the gradual increase of party and faction. Gulliver explicitly notes that he is describing the original institutions, not the most scandalous corruptions into which the people have fallen by the degenerate nature of man. The Snillpall thus becomes a symbol of a lost or eroded ideal, a legal mechanism designed to foster civic virtue that exists alongside a court culture of intrigue, favoritism, and moral decay. This tension between the stated principles of Lilliputian law and the actual behavior of its rulers and ministers is central to Swift's satire of contemporary European politics, where systems of reward and punishment are often subverted by personal ambition and party interest.