The speech on Laputa as described by Gulliver required his "knowledge...in mathematics" to understand.
The knowledge I had in mathematics, gave me great assistance in acquiring their phraseology, which depended much upon that science, and music; and in the latter I was not unskilled. Their ideas are perpetually conversant in lines and figures. If they would, for example, praise the beauty of a woman, or any other animal, they describe it by rhombs, circles, parallelograms, ellipses, and other geometrical terms, or by words of art drawn from music, needless here to repeat. I observed in the king’s kitchen all sorts of mathematical and musical instruments, after the figures of which they cut up the joints that were served to his majesty’s table. (120)
I find it very hard to praise something using geometrical shapes and music. But I guess after seeing extremely short laws this is not that surprising. Also it is interesting how these are used for praising "the beauty of a woman, or any other animal", almost "animal-izing" or objectifying women, which would fit the setting of the book but would be largely unaccepted now-a-days.
I also find it quite awkward, praising things using geometrical shapes and music. How am I supposed to complement someone who is big? Should I be saying, "you are a very long rectangle?" It just doesn't make any sense praising things using geometrical shapes.
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