 He had also, in "Battle of the Books" and in general in "A Tale of a Tub", expressed a preference for the Ancients (Classical authors) because their art was based directly upon nature, and not upon other art.On the other hand, Swift was profoundly mistrustful of attempts at reason that resulted in either hubris (for example, the Projectors satirised in "A Tale of a Tub" or in Book III of "Gulliver's Travels") or immorality (such as the speaker of "A Modest Proposal", who offers an entirely logical and wholly immoral proposal for cannibalism).The Houyhnhnms embody both the good and the bad side of reason, for they have the pure language Swift wished for and the amorally rational approach to solving the problems of humanity (Yahoos); the extirpation of the Yahoo population by the horses is very like the speaker of "A Modest Proposal".