The exact dimensions that Gulliver enumerates in the chapter emphasize Gulliver's smallness. The description of the church, for example, reinforces this notion: Size denotes morality. Swift also shows us another magnified view of human flesh. Gulliver sees people with obvious tumors and cysts, and he states, "But the most hateful sight of all was the lice crawling on their clothes: I could see distinctly the limbs of these vermin . . . ." Gulliver's interest as a doctor is piqued because he suggests that he would like to dissect one of these vermin, but he adds, " . . . the sight was so nauseous, that it perfectly turned my stomach." Even if we have disgust for the physique of the giant beggars, it is surpassed by our disgust for the lice that crawl over the enormous bodies. The lesson is this: The giant beggars may be physically revolting, but the pernicious little vermin (humans) are even more so.
