Hurgo
Hurgo is the Lilliputian title for a great lord, a high-ranking noble who acts as the emperor's representative and exercises authority in both ceremonial and practical matters. The term is first encountered when a hurgo addresses the captive Gulliver with a formal oration, and later appears in contexts of negotiation, command, and the exercise of imperial power.
Definition and Role
The word "hurgo" is explained by Gulliver as the Lilliputian term for a great lord. When the emperor's council decided how to handle the captive man-mountain, a hurgo was dispatched to deliver the imperial will. This hurgo mounted on the small of Gulliver's right leg, advanced up to his face with about a dozen attendants, and produced his credentials under the signet-royal, which he applied close to Gulliver's eyes. He then spoke for about ten minutes without any signs of anger, but with a kind of determinate resolution, often pointing forward toward the capital city, half a mile distant, whither it had been agreed by his majesty in council that Gulliver must be conveyed. The hurgo's authority was such that he could command the prisoner's compliance, and when Gulliver made signs requesting liberty, the hurgo shook his head by way of disapprobation and held his hand in a posture to show that Gulliver must be carried as a prisoner, though he also made signs to let him understand that he should have meat and drink enough and very good treatment.
Ceremonial and Diplomatic Functions
The hurgo's role extended beyond mere command to include formal oratory and diplomatic negotiation. Before the principal hurgo began his oration, he cried out three times, "Langro debul san" (these words, and the former, were afterwards repeated and explained to Gulliver). Immediately, about fifty inhabitants came and cut the strings that fastened the left side of Gulliver's head, giving him the liberty to turn it to the right and observe the person and gesture of him that was to speak. The hurgo appeared to be of middle age, taller than any of the other three who attended him, whereof one was a page that held up his train and seemed to be somewhat longer than Gulliver's middle finger; the other two stood one on each side to support him. He acted every part of an orator, and Gulliver could observe many periods of threatenings, and others of promises, pity, and kindness. When Gulliver answered in a few words in the most submissive manner, lifting up his left hand and both his eyes to the sun as calling him for a witness, and then put his finger frequently to his mouth to signify that he wanted food, the hurgo understood him very well. He descended from the stage and commanded that several ladders should be applied to Gulliver's sides, on which above a hundred inhabitants mounted and walked toward his mouth, laden with baskets full of meat that had been provided and sent thither by the king's orders upon the first intelligence he received of Gulliver.
Authority and Command
The hurgo's authority was not merely ceremonial but carried the full weight of imperial command. After the initial encounter, when Gulliver once more thought of attempting to break his bonds but again felt the smart of the arrows upon his face and hands, which were all in blisters with many darts still sticking in them, and observed that the number of his enemies increased, he gave tokens to let them know that they might do with him what they pleased. Upon this, the hurgo and his train withdrew with much civility and cheerful countenances. The hurgo's role thus encompassed both the delivery of imperial commands and the management of the prisoner's expectations, ensuring that the emperor's will was carried out with a combination of authority and apparent generosity.
