Book III

ftmment, and took into his own poiTcffion the wealth which his rapacity and injuflice had heaped together. " How unhappy, said he, are those, whom the Gods have exaked above the rest of mankind! They see no objedl, but through a medium which diftorts it: they are fiirrounded by wretches who intercept truth in its approaches; eveiy one imagines that it is his interest to deceive them, and every one conceals his own ambition under the appearance of zeal for their service: that regard is profefTed for the prince, of which th£ wealth and honours that he difpenfes are indeed the objects; and fo flagitious is the negledlof his interest, that, for these, he is flattered and betrayed."

" From this time, Sefoftris treated me with a tender friendship; and resolved to send me back to Ithaca, in a fleet that should carry troops fuflicient to deliver Penelope from all her fuitors: this fleet was at length ready to fail, and waited only for our embarkation. I refledled, with wonder, upon the caprice of fortune, who frequently most exalts those, whom, the moment before, she had mofl; depreflfed; and the experience of this inconftancy encouraged me to hope, that Ulysses, whatever he should fuffcr, might at last return to his kingdom. My thoughts also fuggcfted, that I might again meet with Mentor, even though he should have been carried into the remoteft part of Ethiopia: I, therefore, delayed my departure a few days, that I might make some enquiry after him j but, in this interval, Sefoftris, who was very old, died suddenly, and by his death I was involved in new calamity. .

" This event filled all Egypt with grief and despair; every family lamented Sefoftris, as its most valuable friend, its proted:or, its father. The old, lifting, up their hands to Heaven, uttered the most pailionate exclamations: " O Egypt! thou hast known no king, like Sefoftris, in the times that arc past; nor shalt thou know any 3 like like him, in those that are to come! Ye Gods! ye should not have given Sefollris to mankind, or ye should not have taken him away. O! wherefore do we furvive Sefollris r" The young cried out, " The hope of Egypt is cut off! Our fathers were long happy under the government of a king, whom we have known only to regret!" His domeflics wept inceflantly; and during forty days, the inhabitants of the remoteft provinces came in crowds to his funeral. Every one was eagerly solicitous yet once more to gaze upon the body of his prince; all desired to preserve the idea in their memory, and some requeiled to be shut up with him in the tomb.

" The loss of Sefollris was more fenfibly felt, as Bocchoris, his son, was dellitute of humanity to strangers, and of curiosity for science; of esteem for merit, and love of glory. The greatness of the father contributed to degrade the son; his education had rendered him effeminately voluptuous, and brutally proud: he looked down upon mankind, as creatures of an inferior species, that exilled only for his pleasure; he thought only of gratifying his passions, and diffipating the immense treasures that had been amaffed for public use by the oeconomy of his father; of procuring new resources for extravagances by the moll cruel rapacity, impoverilliing the rich, familliing the poor, and perpetrating every other evil, that was advised by the beardlefs fycophants, whom he permitted to difgrace his presence, while he drove away with derilion the hoary fages in whom his father had confided. Such was Bocchoris; not a king, but a monfter. Egypt groaned under his tyranny; and though the reverence of the people for the memory of Sefollris, rendered them patient under the government of his son, however odious and cruel; yet he precipitated his own dellru6lion: and, iniieed, it was impossible that he ftiould long possess a throne, which jhe fo little deserved.

" My

B O O K II. 33

" My hopes of returning to Ithaca, were now at an end: I was shut up in a tower that flood upon the sea shore near Pelufium, where we should have embarked, if the death of Sefoflris had not prevented us; for Metophis having, by some intrigue, procured his enlargement, and an admiflion into the councils of the foungking, almoil the firfl adl of his power was to imprifon me in this place, to revenge the difgrace into which I had brought him. There I paflcd whole days and nights in the agonies of despair. All that Termofiris had predided, and all that I had heard in the cave, was remembered but as a dream. Sometimes, while I was absorbed in reflexions upon my own misery, I flood gazing at the waves that broke against the foot of the tower; and sometimes I contemplated the veflels that were agitated by the tempeft, and in danger of fplitting against the rocks upon which the tower was built: but I was fo far from commiferating those who were threatened with iliipwreck, that I regarded them with envy; " Their misfortunes, said I to myself, and their lives, will quickly be at an end together, or they will return in safety to their country; but neither is permitted to me."

'* One day, while I was thus pining with inefle(5tual sorrow, I suddenly perceived the marts of ships at a distance like a forefl; the sea was prefently covered with fails fwelling with the wind, and the waves foamed with the ftroke of innumerable oars. I heard a confused found on every flde. On the sea coafl I perceived one party of Egyptians run to arms with terror and precipitation, and another waiting quietly for the fleet which was bearing down upon them. I soon discovered that some of these veflels were of Phenicia, and others of the isle of Cyprus: for my misfortunes had acquainted me with many things that relate to navigation. The Egyptians appeared to be divided among themselves; and I could easily believe, that the folly and the violence of Bocchoris had pro-

34 B O O K II.

yoked his fubjccfls to a revolt, and kindled a civil war; nor was k long before I became a fpccftator of an obstinate engagement from the top of my tower. Thofc Egyptians, who had called in the assistance of the foreign power, after having favoured the descent, attacked the other party which was commanded by the king and animated by his example. He appeared like the God of war; rivers of blood flowed around him j the wheels of his chariot were fmeared with gore that was black clotted and frothy, and could fcarce be dragged over the heaps of ilain which they cruftied as they pafTed: his figure was graceful and his constitution vigorous; his afpedl was haughty and fierce, and his eyes fparkled with rage and despair. Like a high fpirited horse that had never been broke, he was precis pitated upon danger by his courage, and his force was not dire<fted by wisdom: he knew not how to retrieve an error, nor to give orders with sus^icient exaclnefs; he neither forefaw the evils that threatened him, nor employed the troops he had to the greatcfl advantage, though he was in the utmofl need of more: not that he wanted abilities, for his underflanding was equal to his courage } but he had never been inflru^led by adverfity. Thofp who had been intrufled with his education, had corrupted an excellent natural difpofnion by flattery; he was intoxicated with the consciousness of his power, and the advantagesof his situation: he believed that every tiling ought to yield to the impetuofity of his wishes, and the leaf! appearance of opposition tranfported him with rage; he was then deaf to the expoftulations of realbn, and had no longer the power of recolle(5tion. The fury of his pride ti'ansformed him to a brute, and left him neither the afFecflions nor the underflanding of a man; the mod faithful of his servants fled terrified from his prefcncc, and he was gentle only to the most abjedl fervility and the mod criminal compliance: thus his conducTt, always violent, w^as always dire(5lly opposite to his interest, and he was detefled by all whose approbation is to be desired. His valour now fuftained him zs him long against a multitude of his enemies, but at length the dart of a Phcnician entered his breall; the reins dropt from his hands, and I saw him fall from his chariot imder the feet of his horses: a soldier of the isle of Cyprus immediately struck off his head; and holding it up by the hair, Ihewed it to the confederates as a trophy of their victory. Of this head, no time or circumftancc can ever obliterate the idea: methinks I still see it dropping blood, the eyes closed and funk, the vifage pale and disfigured, the mouth half open as if it would still finish the interrupted fcntence, and the look which even in death was haughty and threatening: nor shall I forget, if the Gods hereafter place me upon a throne, fo dreadful a demonftration, that a king is not worthy to comniand, nor can be happy in the cxcrcife of his power, but in proportion as he is himself obedient to rcafon. Alas! how deplorable is his ftatc, who, by the perverfion of that jx)wer with which the Gods have invciled him as the instrument of public happincfs, difFufes mifcrr among the multitudes that he governs, and wiio is knQwn to be -j^ king only as he is a curfe."

The E N D of the SECOND BOO K..

/X

C-^^num. ^eu^f

CALYPSO was astonished at the wisdom which she discovered in Telemachus; but she was delighted with his ingenuous confession of the errors into which he had been betrayed, by the precipitation of his own resolutions, and by his negledl of Mentor's counsel; She was furprized to perceive, in a youth, such strength and dignity of mind, as enabled him to judge of his own acHiions with impartiality; and, by a review of the failings of his life, bC' come prudent, cautious, and deliberate. " Proceed, said she, my dear Telemachus; for I am impatient to know by what means you escaped from T^gypt, and where you again found Mentor, whose loss you had fo much reason to regret," Tei^emachus then continued his relation.

" The party of Egyptians who had prcferved their virtue and their lo)'alty, being greatly inferior to the rebels, were obliged to yield when the king fell. Another prince, whose name was Termutis, mntis, was established in his stead; and die Phenician and Cyprian troops, after they had concluded a treaty with him, departed. By this treaty, all the Phenician prifoners were to be rellored; and, as I was deemed one of the number, I was set at liberty, and put on board with the rest: a change of fortune, which once more dilTipated the gloom of despair, and difTufed the dawn of hope in my bosom!

" Our fails were now fwellcd by a profperous wind, and the foaming waves were divided by our oars; the fpacious deep was covered with vefTels, the mariners Ihouted, the Ihores of Egypt fled from us, and the hills and mountains grew level by degrees: our view began to be bounded only by the sea and the sky, and the fparkling fires of the sun, which was rising, seemed to emerge from the abyss of waters; his rays tinged with gold the tops of the mountains, which were still jull to be perceived in the horizon; and the deep azure with which the whole firmament was painted, was an omen of a happy voyage.

*' Though I had been difmilTed as a Phenician, yet I was not known to any of those with whom I embarked; and Narbal, who commanded the vefi^el, asked me my name and my country: " Of what city of Phenicia are you?" said he: " Of none, I replied; but I was taken at sea in a Phenician vefTel, and as a Phenician remained captive in Egypt; under this name I have been long a flavc, and by this name I am at length free." " Of what country are you then?" said Narbal. " I am, said I, Telemachus, the son of Ulysses king of Ithaca, an island of Greece: my father has acquired a mighty name among the confederate princes who laid fiegc to Troy; but the Gods have not permitted him to return to his kingdom: I have fought him in many countries, and am, like him, perfccutcd by fortune. I am wretched, though my life is private and my my wlihcs are few; I am wretched, though I dellre no happiness, but the endearments of my family, and the protection of my father."

" Narbal gazed upon me with astonishment, and thought he perceived in my afpecSt something that diftinguillies the favourites of Heaven: he was, by nature, generous and sincere; my misfortmieaexcited his compaflion; and he addrcffed me with a confidence, which the Gods doubtless inspired, for my preservation in the mofl imminent danger.

" Telemachus, said he, I doubt not the truth of what you hare told me: such, indeed, are the fignatures of candour and' integrity which I discover in your countenance, that it is not in: my pov/er to fufpedl you of falsehood. I am irrefiflibly determined, by a secret impulse, to believe that you are beloved by the Gods whom. I have always served, and that it is their pleasure I also IhouLd love youas- 3uy son: I will, therefore, give you salutary coun£el,. jfor which I alk no return but fecrecy." " Fear not, said I, that I flioidd find it ilillicult to be fdent; for, however young, it is long since I I'xiarned not to reveal my own. secret, much Icfs. not to betray, under any pretence, the secret of another." " By what means, said he, could' the habit of fccrecy be acquired by a child? I Ihould rejoice to leani how that may be attained early, without which a prudent conduct is impoiliblc, and every other qualification ufelels."

" I have been informed, said I, that when Ulysses went to- the ficge of Troy, he placed me upon his knees, threw his amis about me, and, after having killed me with the utmost tenderness, pronounced these words, though I could not then understand their import: ^' O my son! may the Gods ordain me to perish before I _ see thee again j or may the fatal fillers cut the thread of thy life while while it is yet short, as the reaper cuts down a tender flower that is but beginning to blow; may my enemies dafh thee in pieces before the eyes of thy mother and of me, if thou art one day to be corrupted, and feduced from virtue! O, my friends [ I leave with you this son, whom I fo tenderly love: watch over his infancy; if you have any love for me, keep fl.attery far from him; and whiles he is yet flexible like a young plant, keep him upright: but, above ail, let nothing be forgotten, that may render him just, beneficent, fmcere, and fccret. He that is capable of a lie, deserves not the name of a man; and he that knows not how to be silent, is unworthy the dignity of a prince."

" I have repeated the very words of Ulysses to you, because, to me, they have been repeated fo often, that they perpetually occur to my mind; and I frequently repeat them to myfclf. The friends of my father began very early to teach me fecrecy, by giving mc frequent opportunities to pra(n:ife it; and I made fo rapid a progress in the art, that, while I was yet an infant, they communicated to me their apprchcnfions from the crowd of prefumptuous rivals that addrefled my mother: at that time they treated me, not as a child, but as a man, whose reason might afllft them, and in whose firninefs they could confide: they frequently conferred with me, in private, upon the most important fubjedls; and communicated the fchemes which had been formed, to deliver Penelope from her fuitors. I exulted in this confidence, which I considered as a proof of my real dignity and importance; I was, therefore, ambitious to sustain my character, and never suffered the lead intimation of what had been intrufled with me as a secret, to escape mc: the fuitors often engaged me to talk, hoping that a child, who had fcen or heard any circumflance of importance, would relate it without caution or dcfign; but I had learnt to answer them, without for- Iciting my veracity, or difclofing my secret.

4 " Naihil

" Narbal then addressed me in these terms: " You see, TelemacHus, of what power the Phenicians are poflcffed, and how much then- innumerable fleets are dreaded by the neighbouring nations. The commerce which they have extended to the pillars of Hercule s has given them riches, which the most flourishing countries cannot supply to themselves: even the great Sefoftris could never have prevailed against them at sea; and the veterans, by whom he had fubjugated all the East, found it extremely difficult to conquer them in the field. He impofcd a tribute, which they have long neglected to pay; for they are too sensible of their own wealth and power, to Hoop patiently under the yoke of fubjecSlion: they have, therefore, thrown it off; and the war which Sefoftris commenced against them, has been terminated by his death. The power of Sefoftris was, indeed, rendered formidable by his policy; but when, without his policy, his power descended to his son, it was no longer to be dreaded; and the Egyptians, instead of entering Phenicia with a military force to reduce to obedience a revolted people, have been compelled to call in the assistance of the Phenicians, to deliver them from the oppression of an impious tyrant: this deliverance the Phenicians have cffeded; and added new glory to independence, and new power to wealth.

" But while we deliver others, we are cnflaved ourselves. O Telemachus! do not rafhly put your life into the hands of Pygmalion our king: his hands are already ftained with tlic blood of Sichaeus, the husband of Dido his sister; and Dido, impatient to revenge his death, is fled, with the greater part of the friends of virtue and of liberty, in a numerous fleet, from Tyre, and has laid the foundations of a magnificent city on the coast of Africa, which she calls Carthage. An infatiable thirst of riches renders Pygmalion, every day, more wretched and more deteftable: in his dominions, it is a crime to be wealthy: avarice makes him jealous, fufpicious> fufpicious, and cruel; he pcrfecutes the rich, and he dreads the poor.

" Biit, at Tyre, to be virtuous, is yet a greater crime, than to be wealthy: for Pygmalion supposes, that virtue cannot patiently endure a condudt that is unjufl: and infamous; and, as virtue is an enemy to Pygmalion, Pygmalion is an enemy to virtue: every incident torments him with inquietude perplexity and apprehenlion, he is terrified at his own shadow, and sleep is a llranger to his eyes. The Gods have punilhed him, by heaping treasures before him which he does not dare to enjoy; and that, in which alone he seeks for happiness, is the source of his misery: he regrets whatever he gives, he dreads the loss of the wealth which he pofTefles, and sacrifices every comfort to the acquifition of more: he is fcarce ever to be seen, but fits in the inmost recefs of his palace, alone, penfive, and deje(fbed; his friends dare not approach him, for to approach him is to be fufpe(5lcd as an enemy. A guard, with fwords drawn and pikes levelled, furrounds his dwelling with an horrid security; and the apartment in which he hides himself, confifls of thirty chambers, which communicate with each other, and to each of which there is an iron door with fix bolts. It is never known in which of these chambers he pafTes the night; and it is said, that, the better to fccure himself against afTaflination, he never fleeps in the fame two nights together: he is equally infenfible to the joys of society, and the more refined and tender delights of friendship: if he is excited to the pursuit of pleasure, he perceives that pleasure is far from him, and fits down in despair. His eyes are hollow eager and piercing, and he is continually looking round him with a reftlefs and inquifitive suspicion. At every noise, however trivial, he fl:arts, lillens, is alarmed, and trembles: he is pale and emaciated; the gloom of care is diflfufed over his countenance, and his brow is contracled into wrinkles. He seldom speaks, but he fighs perpetually; and the remorse and anguish of his mind are discovered by groans, which he endeavours in vain to fupprefs: the richefl: delicacies of his table are taftelcfs; and his children, ■whom he has made his moil: dangerous enemies, are not the objeds of hope, but of terror. He believes himself to be in perpetual danger; and attempts his own prefcrvation, by cutting off all those whom he fears; not knowing, that cruelty, in which alone he confides for safety, will inevitably precipitate his deftrudion; and that some of his domeftics, dreading the eiFetSIs of his caprice and suspicion, will suddenly deliver the world from fo horrid a monfter.

" As for me, I fear the Gods; and will, at whatever hazard, continue faithful to the king whom they have set over me: I had rather he should take away my life, than lift my hand against his, or negledt to defend him against the attempts of another. But do not you, O Tel em a ch us, acquaint him with the name of your father; for he will then certainly shut you up in prison, hoping that Ulysses, when he returns to Ithaca, will pay him a large sum for your ranfom."

" When we arrived at Tyre, I followed the counsel of Narbal, and was soon convinced that all he had related was true; though, before, I could fcarce conceive it possible for any man, to render himself fo extremely wretched as he had represented Pygmalion.

" I was the more fenfibly touched at the appearances of his tyranny and wretchednefs, as they had the force of novelty; and I said to myself, " This is the man who has been seeking happiness, and imagined it was to be found in unlimited power and inexhauftible wealth: wealth and power he has acquired, but the acquifition has made him miserable. If he was a shepherd, as 1 have lately been, he would be equally happy in the enjoyment of rural pleasures, I which, which, as they are innocent, ai-e never regretted; he would fear neither daggers nor poison, but would be the love and the lover of mankind: he would not, indeed, pofTcfs that immense treasure, which, to him who hides it, is ufelcfs as an heap of fand; but he would rejoice in the bounty of nature, by which every want would be supplied. He appears to ad: only by the diiStates of his own will, but he is indeed the Have of appetite; he is condemned to do the drudgery of avarice, and to fmart under the fcourge of fear and suspicion. He appears to have dominion over others, but he is not the mailer even of himself; for, in every irregular paflion, he has not only a mailer, but a tormentor."

*' Such were my reflections upon the condition of Pygmalion without having seen him, for he was fecn by none; and his people could only gaze, with a kind of secret dread, upon those lofty towers, which were surrounded night and day by his guards, and in which he had immured himself with his treasures as in a prison. I compared this invisible king with Scfoftris, the mild, the affable, the good; who was fo easy of access to his fubje6ls, and fo desirous to converse with llrangers; fo attentive to all who willicd to be heard, and fo inquifitive after truth, which those who furround a throne are solicitous to conceal: " Sefoftris, said I, feared nothing, and had nothing to fear; he fhewed himself to all his fubjcdls as to his children: but, by Pygmalion," every thing is to be feared, and he fears every thing. This execrable tyrant is in perpetual danger of a violent death, even in the centre of his inaccessible palace, and surrounded by his guards; but the good Sefollris, when his people were gathered in crowds about him, was in perfe(5l safety, like a kind father, who in his own house is surrounded by hig children.

" Pygmalion gave orders to send back the troops of the ille of Cyprus, who, to fulfil a treaty, had afliflcd his own in their expedition to Egypt; and Narbal took this opportunity to set me at liberty. He caused me to pass in review among the Cyprian soldiers; for the king always enquired into the minuteft incidents, with the mod fcrupulous suspicion. The failingof negligent and indolent princes, is the giving themselves up, with a boundless and implicit confidence,' to the discretion of some crafty and iniquitous favourite; but the failing of Pygmalion was, to fufpedl the mod ingenuous and upright: he knew not how to distinguish the native features of integrity, from the mafk of diffimulation; for integrity, who difdained to approach fo corrupt a prince, he had never seen; and he had been fo often defrauded and betrayed, and had fo often detected every species of vice under the femblance of virtue, in the wretches who were about him, that he imagined every man walked in difguifc, that virtue exilled only in idea, and that all men were nearly the fame. When he found one man fraudulent and corrupt, he took no care to difplace him for another, because he took for granted that another would be as bad; and he had a worse opinion of those in whom he discovered an appearance of merit, than of those who were mofl openly vicious, because he believed them to be equally knaves and greater hypocrites*

" But, to return to myself: the piercing suspicion of the king did not distinguish me from the Cyprian soldiers; but Narbal trembled for fear of a discovery, which would have been fatal both to him and to me: he, therefore, exprefTed the utmost impatience to see me embark; but I was detained at Tyre a considerable time by contrary winds.

" During this interval, I acquainted myself with the manners of the Phenicians, a people that were become famous through all the known world. I admired the situation of their city, which is built upon an island in the midst of the sea: the neighbouring coast is rendered rendered extremely delightful by its uncommon fertility, the exquifite flavour of its fruits, the number of towns and villages which are almofl contiguous to each other, and the excellent temperature of the climate: it is fheltercd by a ridge of mountains from the burning winds that pass over the southern continent, and refreflied by the northern breezes that blow from the sea: it is situated at the foot of Libanus, whose head is concealed within the clouds, and hoary with evcrlafting froft. Torrents of water, mingled wish snow, rufli from the craggy precipices that furround it; and at a small diflance below, is a vast forefl of cedars, which appears to be as ancient as the earth, and almofl; as lofty as the iky: the declivity of the mountain below the forefl:, is covered with pafture, where innumerable cattle and sleep are continually feeding among a thousand rivulets of the purefl: water; and at the foot of the mountain below the pafture s, the plain has the appearance of a garden, where spring and autumn seem to unite their influence, to produce at once both flowers and fruit, which are never parched by the peftilential heat of the southern blaft, nor blighted by the piercing cold of the northern tempeft.

" Near this delightful coast, the island, on which Tyre is buih, emerges from the sea: the city seems to float iipon the waters, and looks like the sovereign of the deep. It is crowded with merchants of every nation, and its inhabitants are themselves the most eminent merchants in the world: it appears, at first, not to be the city of any particular people, but to be common to all as the center of their commerce. There are two large moles, which, like two arms fl:retched out into the sea, embrace a fpacious harbour, which is a shelter from every wind. The vcflTels in this harbour are fo numerous, as almost to hide the water in^ which they float; and: the mafts look at a diflance like a forefl. All the citizens of Tyreapply themselves to trade, and their wealth does not render theiii impatient impatient of that labour by which it is encreafed. Their city abounds with the fine linen of Egypt, and cloth that has been doubly dyed with the Tyrian purple, a colour which has a luftre that time itself can fcarce diminifli, and which they frequently heighten by embroidery of gold and filvcr. The commerce of the Phenicians extends to the flraits of Gadcs; they have even;entered the vail ocean, by which the world is encircled; and made long voyages up the Red Sea, to islands which are unknown to the rest of mankind, from whence they bring gold, perfumes, and many animals, that ^re to be found in no other country.

" I gazed, with infatiable curiosity, upon this great city, in which every thing was in motion; and where none of those idle and inquifitive persons are to be found, who, in Greece, faunter about the public places in quell of news, or observe the foreigners who come on shore in the port. The men are bufied in unloading the velTels, in sending away or in felling their merchandize, in putting their warehoufes in order, or in keeping an account of the sums due to them from foreign merchants; and the women are conilantly employed in fpinning wool, in drawing patterns for embroidery, or in folding up rich fluffs.

" By what means, said I to Narbal, have the Phenicians monopolized the commerce of the world, and enriched themfclves at the expenceof every other nation?" " You see the means, answered Narbal: the situation of Tyre renders it more fit for commerce, than any other place; and the invention of navigation, is the peculiar glory of our country. If the accounts are to be believed that are transmitted to us from the moll remote antiquity, the Tyrians rendered the waves fubfervient to their purpose, long before Tiphys and the Argonauts became the boaft of Greece. They were the firll who defied the rage of the billows and the tempeft, on on a few floating planks, and fathomed the abyiTes of the ocean: they reduced the theories of Egyptian and Babylonian science to pra(5lice, regulating their course, where there was no land-mark, by the flars; and they brought innumerable nations together which the sea had separated. The Tyrians are ingenious, persevering, and laborious; they have, beside, great manual dexterity, and arc remarkable for temperance and frugality: the laws are executed with the mod fcrupulous pun<5tuality; the people are, among themselves, perfectly unanimous; and, to strangers, they are, above all others, friendly, courteous, and faithful.

" Such are the means, nor is it neccflary to seek for any other, by which they have fubjedled the sea to their dominion, and included every nation in their commerce. But if jealousy and fa<5lion fhovild break in among them; if they should be feduced by pleasure, or by indolence; if the great lliould regard labour and oeconomy with contempt, and the manual arts should no longer be deemed honourable; if public faith should not be kept with the stranger, and the laws of a free commerce should be violated; if manufadlures should be neglected, and thofc sums spared which are necelTary to render every commodity perffeft in its kind; that power, which is now the objedl of your admiration, would be soon Y at an end."

" But how, said I, can such a commerce be eflablifhed at Ithaca?" *' By the fame means, said he, that have eflablifhed it here. Receive all strangers with readinefs and hofpitality; let them findl safety convenience and liberty in your ports, and be careful never' to difguft them by avarice or pride. He that would succeed in ai proje<ft of gain, must never attempt to gain too much; and, upom proper occasions, must know how to lose. Endeavour to gain thegood will of foreigners; rather suffer some injury, than oiTend them by doing justice to yourself j and, cfpecially, do not keep thcmi ate at a distance by an haughty behaviour. Let the laws of trade be neither compHcated nor burdenfome; but do not violate them yourself, nor suffer them to be violated with impunity. Always punish fraud with severity: nor let even the negligence or prodigality of a trader escape; for follies, as well as vice, efFedually ruin trade, by ruining those who carry it on. But, above all, never reflrain the freedom of commerce, by rendering it fubfervient to your own immediate gain; the pecuniary iadvantages of commerce should be left wholly to those by whose labour it fubfiils, left this labour, for want of a sufficient motive, should cease: there are more than equivalent advantages of another kind, which must neceflarily result to the prince, from the wealth which a free commerce will bring into his state j and commerce is a kind of spring, which, to divert from its natural channel, is to lose. There are but two things which invite foreigners, profit and conveniency: if you render commerce less convenient, or less gainful, they will infenfibly forfake you; and those that once depart will never return; because other nations, taking advantage of your imprudence, will invite them to their ports, and an habit will soon be contracTied of trading without you. It must, indeed, be confelTed, that the glory, even of Tyre, has for some time been obfcured: O my dear Tele- MACHUS, hadst thou beheld it before the reign of Pygmalion, how much greater would have been thy astonishment! the remains of Tyre only are now to be seen -, ruins, which have yet the appearance of magnificence, but will shortly be mingled with the dust. O! unhappy Tyre, to what a wretch art thou fubje(5ted; thou, to whom, as to the sovereign of the world, the sea fo lately rolled the tribute of every nation!

" Both strangers and fubjeds are equally dreaded by Pygmalion; and, inflead of throwing open our ports to traders of the most remote C3untries, like his predecellors, without any ftipulation or enquiry, enquiry, he demands an exadl account of the number of velTels that arrive, the countries to which they belong, the name of every person on board, the manner of their trading, the species and the vahie of their commodities, and the time they are to continue upon his coafts.- but this is not the word; for he puts in practice all the little artifices of cunning, to draw the foreign merchants into some breach of his innumerable regulations, that, under the appearance of justice, he may confifcate their goods. He is perpetually haraffing those persons whom he imagines to be most wealthy, and increasing under various pretences the incumbrances of trade by multiplying taxes: he affedts to merchandize himself; but every one is afraid to deal with him. And thus, commerce languiflies; foreigners forget, by degrees, the way to Tyre, with which they were once fo well acquainted; and if Pygmalion perfifts in a condudl fo impolitic and fo injurious, our glory and our power will be transferred to some other nation, which is governed upon better principles."

" I then enquired of Narbal, by what means the Tyrians had become fo powerfid at sea; for I was not willing to be ignorant of any of the arts of government. " We have, said he, the forefls of Lebanon, which furniQi sufficient timber for building ships; and we are careful to rcferve it all for that purpose, never fufTering a fmgle tree to be felled but for the use of the public; and we have a gi-eat number of artificers, who are very fkilful in this species of architcclurc." " Where could these artificers be procured?" laid I. " They are the gradual produce, said he, of our own country. When those who excel in any art, are constantly and liberally rewarded, it will soon be prad:ifed in the grcateft pofiible perfection; for persons of the highell abilities will always apply themfclves to those arts, by which great rewards are to be obtained, liut bcfides pecuniary rewards, whoever excels in any art or science upon which

5° navigation depends, receives great honpur: a good geometric iar^; is much refpecSted, an able ailronomer yet rppre, and no reward^ are thought too great for a pilot Avho excels in his pjofcflion. A Ikilful carpenter is not only well paid, but treated with fom^ deference; and even-a dexterous rower is fureof a reward proportionecf to his services; his provision is the bell of. its kind, proper care is taken of him when he is sick, and of his wife and children when* he is absent: if any perish by shipwreck, their families are provided for; and those who have been in the service a certain number of years, are difmilled with honour, and enabled to spend the remainder of their days without labour or foiicitude. We are,therefore, never in want of fkilful mariners; for it is. the ambition, of every father to qualify his son for fo advantageous a flation i and boys, almofl as soon as they can walk, are taught to manage an oar, to climb the flirouds, and to despise a storm. Men are thus rendered willingly fubfervient to the purposes of government, by an administration fo regular, that it operates with the force of cuflom; and by rewards fo certain, that the impulse of hope is irrefilliblc. And, indeed, by authority alone, little can be efFefted;■ mere obedience, like that of a vafFal to his lord, is not sufficient; obedience mufl be animated by affe(51:ion; and men muil find their own advantage in that labour, which is nccelTary to effefl the purposes of others."

" After this discourse Narbal carried me to the public store-houses,; the arfenals, and all the manufactories that relate to the fliipping. I enquired minutely into every article, and wrote down all that I learnt, left some useful circumstance should afterwards be forgotten.

" But Narbal, who was well acquainted with the temper of Pygmalion^ and had conceived a zealous affection for me, was still impatient

SI impatient for my departure, dreading a difcovcry by the king's spes, who were night and day going about the city; bvft the wind would not yet permit me to embark: and one day while we were bufied in examining the harbour with more than common attention and queflioning several merchants of commercial affairs, one of Pygmalion's officers came up to Narbal, and Hiid, " The king has just learnt, from the captain of one of the veflels which' returned with you from Eg}'pt, that you have; brought hither a perfoh, who paflcs fdr a native of Cyprus j but who is, indeed, a stranger of some other country. It is the'king's plcafure, that this person be immediately secured, and the country to which he belongs certainly known; and for this you are to answer with your head.'' Just at this moment, I had left Narbal at a little dillance, to examine more nearly the proportions of a Tyrian veiTel Which was almofl new, and which was said to be the best failer that had ever entered the port; and I was then Hating some questions to the fliipwright, under whose directions it had been built.

" Narbal answered, with the utmost conllernation and terror^ that the foreigner was really a native of the island of Cyprus, and that he would immediately go in fcarch of him." but the moment the officer was out of fight, he ran to me, and acquainted me with my danger. " My apprehenfions, said he, were but too just: my dear Telemachus, our ruin is inevitable: the king, who is night and day tormented with miftruft, fufpccls that you are not a Cypi'ian, and has commanded me to fccure your person under pain of death. What shall we do? May the Gods deliver us by more than human wisdom, or we pcriffi! I must produce vou to the king: but do you confidently affirm, that you are a Cyprian of the city of Ariiathus, and son of a ftatuary of Venus: I will confirm your account, by declaring that I was formerly acquainted with your father; and, perhaps, the king, without entering into a more

H z severe severe fcrutiny, will suffer you to depart: this, however, is the only expedient, by which a chance of life can be procured for us both."

" To this counsel of Narbal, I answered, " Let an unhappy ■wretch perish, whose dellru(51:ion is the decree of fate. I can die without terror; and I would not involve you in my calamity, bccaufe I would live without ingratitude; but I cannot consent to lie. I am a Greek; and to say that I am a Cyprian, is to cease to be a man: the Gods, who know my sincerity, may, if it is consistent with their wisdom, preserve me by their power; but fear shall never feduce me to attempt my own preservation by falsehood."

" This falsehood, answered Narbal, is wholly without guilt, nor can it be condemned even by the Gods: it will produce ill to none; it will preserve the innocent; and it will no otherwise deceive the king, than as it will prevent his incurring the guilt of cruelty and injustice. Your love of virtue is romantic, and your zeal for religion fuperftitious."

" That it is a falsehood, said I, is, to me, a fufEcient proof, that it can never become a man who speaks in the presence of the Gods, and is under perpetual and unlimited obligations to truth. He, who offers violence to truth, as he counteradls the dictates of conscience, mull offend the Gods, and injure himself: do not, therefore, urge me to a conduft, that is unworthy both of you and of me. If the Gods regard us with pity, they can easily effect cur deliverance; and if they suffer us to perish, we shall die the martyrs of truth, and leave one example to mankind, that virtue has been preferred to life. My life has been already too long, since it has been only a ferics of misfortunes; and it is the danger of yours only, my dear Narbal, that I regret. Why, alas,

'fllQUld should your fricndfliip for a wretched fugitive, be fatal to yourself!"

" This dispute, which had continued a considerable time, was at length interrupted by the arrival of a person, who had run till he was not able immediately to speak; but we soon learnt, that he was another of the king's officers, and had been difpatched by Aftarbe. Aftarbe had beauty that appeared to be more than human, and a mind that had almost the power of fafcination; her general manner was fprightly, and her particular address foft and infinuating: but, with all this power to please, Ihe was, like the Syrens, cruel and malignant; and knew how to conceal the worfl purposes, by infcrutible diffimulation. She had gained an absolute afcendancy over Pygmalion by her beauty and her wit, the sweetness of her song, and the harmony of her lyre; and Pygmalion, in the ardour of his passion for this millrefs, had put away Topha his queen. He thought only how he should gratify Aftarbe, who was enterprifmg and ambitious; and his avarice, however infamous, was fcarce more a curfe, than his extravagant fondnefs for this woman. But though he was paffionately enamoured of her, fhc regarded him with contempt and aversion: she difguifed, indeed, her real sentiments; and appeared to desire life itself only as the means of enjoying his society, at the very moment in which her heart fickened at his approach.

" At this time, there was, at Tyre, ayoungLydian named Mclachon, who was extremely beautiful, but dilTolute, voluptuous, and effeminate: his principal care was to preserve the delicacy of his complexion, and to spread his flaxen hair in ringlets over his Ihoulders, to perfume his person, adjuft his dress, and chaunt amorous ditties to the music of his lyre. Of this youth, Aftarbe became enamoured to diftracftion; but he declined her favours, because he was

Si was himself equally enamoured of another, and dreaded the jealousy of the king. Aflarbe perceived herself flighted; and, in the rage of difappointment, refolvcd, that he, who rejec5led her love» should at least gratify her revenge: she thought of representing Melachon, to the king, as the stranger, whom he had been informed Narbal had brought into Tyre, and after whom he had caused' enquiry to be made: in this fraud she succeeded, by her own arts of perfuafion, and by bribing to fecrecy all who might have difcovcred it to Pygmalion; for, as he neither loved virtue himself, nor could difcovcr it in others, he was surrounded by abandoned mercenaries, who would, without fcruple, execute his commands, however iniquitous and cruel: to these wretches, the authority of Aftarbe was formidable; and they afTifted her to deceive the king, left they should give offence to an imperious woman, who monopolized his confidence. Thus Melachon, though known to be a Lydian by the whole city, was cast into prison, as the foreigner whom Narbal had brought out of Egypt.

" But Aflarbe fearing that, if Narbal should come before the king, he might discover the impofture, difpatched this officer v/ith the utmost expedition, who delivered her commands in these words: " It is the pleasure of Aftarbe, that you do not discover the stranger whom you brought hither to the king; she requires nothing of you but to be silent, and will herself be anfwcrable for whatever is ncceftary to your justification: but let your friend immediately embark with the Cyprians, that he may be no more fecn in the city." Narbal, who received this proposal of deliverance with ecftafy, readily promised to fulfil the conditions; and the officer, well fatisficd to have succeeded in his commiflion, returned to Aftarbe to make his report.

" Upon this occasion we could not but admire the Divine Goodness, which had fo suddenly rewarded our integrity, and interpofcd, pofcd, almost by miracle, in favour of them, that were ready to have sacrificed every thing to truth: and we refledcd, with horror, upon a king, who had given himself up to avarice and fenfuahty. " He, who is thus fufpicious of deceit, said we, deserves to be deceived; and, indeed, that which he deserves, he suffers; for as he fufpcds the upright of hypocrisy, he puts himself into the hands of wretches who profcfs the villainy that they pradife, and almost every other person in the kingdom perceives the fraud by which he is over-reached. Thus, while Pygmalion is made the tool of a ihamelefs ftrumpet, the Gods render the falsehood of the wicked an instrument of preservation to the righteous, to whom it' is less dreadful to perish than to lie."

" At the very time in which we were making these reflexions, we perceived the wind change: it now blew fair for the Cyprian fleet; and Narbal cried out, " The Gods declare for thee, my dear Telemachus, and will compleat thy deliverance; fly from this a-uel, this execrable coast: to follow thee, to whatever climate, to follow thee in life and death, would be happiness and honour; but alas! fate has connected me. with this wretched country: with my country I am born to fufler; and perhaps, in her ruins, I shall perish: but of what moment is this, if my tongue shall be still faithful to truth, and my heart shall hold fast its integrity. As for thee, my dear Telemachus, may the Gods, who guide thee by their wisdom, reward thee to the utmost of their boimty, by giving and continuing to thee that virtue, which is pure, generous, and exalted. Mayst thou furvive every danger, return in safety to Ithaca, and deliver Penelope from the presumption of her fuitors. May thy eyes behold, and thy arms embrace the wife Ulysses thy father; and may he rejoice in a son, that will add yet new honours to his name. But, in the midst of thy felicity, fufler, at leafl, the sorrows of friendship, the pleaflng ipiguifli of virtue to fleal upon

2, thee s^ thee for a moment j and remember unhappy Narbal with a figh, that shall at once express his misfortunes and thy affedlion."

" My heart mehed within me as he spoke; and when he expecftcd my reply, I threw myself upon his neck, and bedewed it with my tears, but was unable to utter a word: we, therefore, embraced in lilence, and he then conducted me to the vefTel. While we weighed anchor, he flood upon the beach; and when the vefTel was under fail, we mutually looked towards each other, till the objed became confused, and at length totally difappearcd."

The END of the THIRD BOOK.

/^.^ir^liut. J'Clh.'

IV.

CALYPSO, who had till this instant sat motionlefs, and liftcning with inexpreffible delight to the adventures of Tel em acHus J now interrupted him, that he might enjoy some refpite.- " It is time, said she, that, after fo many toils, you Ihould taste the fweets of repose. In this illand, you have nothing to fear; every thing is here fubfervient to yovir wishes; open your hearts, therefore, to joy, and make room for all the blessings of peace, which the Gods are preparing for you; and, to-morrow, when the roCy fingers of Aurora shall unlock the golden doors of the East, and the Heeds of Phoebus shall spring up from the deep, difFufing the beams of day, and driving before them the stars of heaven, the hiilory of your misfortunes, my dearTELEMACHus, shall be resumed. You have exceeded even your father in wisdom and in courage: nor has Achilles the conqueror of He(5lor, nor Thefeus who returned from hell, nor even the great Alcides who delivered the earth from

^ B O O K IV.

fy many monfters, clifplayed cither fortitude or virtue equal to yours. May one deep and unbroken flumber render the night short to you; though, to me, alas! it will be wearifome and long. With what impatience lliall I desire again to see you; to hear your voice; to urge you to repeat what I have been told already, and enquire after what! am still to learn! Go then, my dear Tele ma- CHUS, with that' friend whom the bounty of the Gods has again rcflored; retire into the grotto wdiich has been prepared for your rcpofe. May Morpheus fled his benigneft influence upon your eyelids, that are now heavy with watching; and difFufe a pleasing languor through your limbs, that are fatigued by labour; may he cause the most delightful dreams to fport around you, fill your imagination with gay ideas, and keep far from you whatever might chafe them away too soon."

The Goddefs then condu6i:ed Telemaghus into the separate grotto, which was not less rural or pleasant than her own. In one part of it, the lulling murmurs of a fountain invited Ileep to the weary; and in another, the nymphs had prepared two beds of the fof teil mofs, and covered them with two large fkins, one with that of a lion for Telemaghus, and the other with that of a bear for Mentor.

They were now alone; but Mentor, before he religned his eyes to sleep, spoke thus to Telejmachus: " .The pleasure of relating your adventures has enfnared you; for, by difplaying the dangers which you have furmounted by your courage and your ingenuity,^ you have captivated Calypso; and, in proportion as you have enflamed her paiTions, you have enfured your own captivity. Can it be hoped, that she will fuifer him to depart, who has displayed such power to please? You have been betrayed to indifcretion by your vanity. She promised to relate some stories to you, 2 and

B O O K IV. ^9 and to acquaint you with the adventures and the fate of Ulysses; but {he has found means to say much without giving you any inforaiation, and to draw from you whatever she desired to know. Such are the arts of the flatterer and the wanton! When, O Telema chus! will you be wife enough to refill the impulfc of vanity; and know how to fupprefs incidents that do you honour, when it is not fit they should be related? Others, indeed, admire the wisdom, which you polTefs at an age, in which they think folly might be forgiven; but I can forgive you nothing: your heart is known only to me; and there is no other who loves you well enough to tell you your faults. How much does your father ilill furpafs you in wisdom!"

" Could I then, anfwercd Telemachus, have refused an account of my misfortunes to Calypso?" " No, replied Mentor; but you should have gratified her curiosity, only by reciting such circumstances as might have raifcd her compaflion: you might have told her, that, after having long wandered from place to place, you was first a captive in Sicily, and then a slave in Egypt. This would have been enough; and all that was more, fcrved only to render that poison more adive, which now rages at her heart: a poison, from which I pray the Gods that thy heart may be defended!"

" But what can now be done?" said Telemachus. " Now, replied Mentor, the fequel of your ilory cannot be suppressed: Calypso knows too much, to be deceived in that, which she is yet to learn; and, to attempt it, would be only to displease her. Proceed, therefore, to-morrow, in your account of all that the Gods have done for you; and speak, another time, with more modesty of such a(5lions of your own, as may be thought to merit praise." This salutary advice was received by Telemachus with the fame friendihip, with which it was given by Mentor; and they immediately lay down to rcll.

I 2 As

6o BOO K IV.

As soon as the first rays of Phcebus glanced upon the mountains, Mentor heard the voice of Calypso calhng to her nymphs in the neighbouring wood, and awakened Telemachus. " It is time, said he, to repress the incroachment of deep: let us now return to Calypso, but put no confidence in her words; shut your heart against her, and dread the delicious poison of her praise. Yellerday, file exalted you above the wife Ulysses your father, and the invincible Achilles; above Thefeus wJio filled the earth with his fame, and Hercules who obtained a place in the skies: did you perceive the excess of such adulation, or did you believe her praises to be just? Calypso herself laughs in secret at fo romantic a falsehood, which she uttered, only because she believed you to be fo vain as to be gratified by the grofTeft flattery, and fo weak as to be imposed upon by the most extravagant improbability."

They now approached the place where they were expecTied by the Goddcfs. The moment she perceived them, she forced a fmilej and attempted to conceal, under the appearance of joy, the dread and anxiety which agitated her bosom; for she forefaw, that, under the direftion of Mentor, Telemachus, like Ulysses, would elude her fnares. " Come, said she, my dear Telemachus, and relieve me from the impatience of curiosity: I have dreamt all the night of your departure from Phcnicia, to seek new adventures in the isle of Cyprus: let us not, therefore, lose another moment; make hafte to satisfy me with knowledge, and put an end to the illufions of conjecture." They then sat down upon grafs, that was intermingled with violets; and a lofty grove spread its shadow over them.

■ Calypso could not refrain from looking frequently, with the most paffionate tenderness, at Telemachus j nor perceive, without indignation, that every glance of her eye was remarked by Mentor. All her nymphs filently ranged themselves in a femicircle, and leaned forward with the utmost eagerness of attention: the eyes of

B O O K IV. 6i of the whole aflembly were immovcably fixed upon Telemachus; who looking downward, and blufliing wiih the mofl graceful modesty, thus continued his narrative.

" Our fails had not been long filled with the gentle breath of a favouring wind, before the level coast of Phenicia disappeared. As I was now aflbciated with Cyprians, of whose manners I was totally ignorant, I determined to remain silent, that I might the better remark all that palTcd, and recommend myself to my companions by the most fcrupulous decorum. But, during my silence, a deep sleep stole infenfibly upon me; the voluntary exercise of all myfaculties was suspended, I funk into the most luxurious tranquillity, and my heart overflowed with delight. On a sudden, I thought the clouds parted, and that I saw Venus in her chariot drawn by two doves: ilie appeared in all that radiance of beauty, that gaiety of youth, that fmiling foftnefs, and irrefiftible grace, which the thunderer himfclf could fcarce ftedfaftly behold, when she first iiTued from the foam of the sea: I thought she descended with aftonifhing rapidity, and in a moment reached the spot on which I stood j that flic then, with a fmilcy laid her hand upon my shoulder, and pronounced tlicfc words: " Young Greek, thou art now about to. enter into my dominions: thou shalt shortly arrive at that fortunate illand, where every pleasure springs up under myfteps; there thou shalt burn incense upon my altars, and I will lavilh vtponthce inexhauftible delight: let thy heart, therefore, indulge the utmost luxuriancy of hope; and rejci5l not the happiness, which the most powerful of all the Deities is now willing to bestow."

" At the fame time, I perceived the boy Cupid, fluttering, on his little wings, round his mother: the lovely foftnefs and laughing simplicity of childhood, appeared in his countenance; but, in his eyes, which fparkled with a piercing brightness, there was something

6z B O O R aV.

thing that I could not behold without fear. He looked at mc, indeed, with a smile; but it was the malignant smile of derifion and cruelty: he feleded from his golden quiver the keeneft of all his arrows, and, having bent his bow, the iliaft was just parting from the firing, when Minerva suddenly appeared, and lifted her immortal cegis before me. In her afpecSl there was not that exquifite foftnefs, that amorous languor, which I had remarked in the countenance and attitude of Venus: the beauty of Minerva was simple, chafle, and unaffected; all was easy and natural, yet fpirited, striking, and majeftic. The lliaft of Cupid not having sufficient force to penetrate the fhield that intercepted it, fell to the ground; and the God, touched at once with Ihame and indignation, withdrew, his bow, and betrayed his difappointment by a figh. " Away! prefumptuous boy, said Minerva; thou hast power only over the base, who prefer the fordid pleasures of fcnfuality to the sublime enjoyments of wisdom, virtue and honour." Love blufhing with restrained anger, slew away without reply; and Venus again afcending to Olympus, I long traced her chariot and her doves in a cloud of intermingled azure and gold; but at length they were not to be diftinguilhed j and, when I turned my eyes downwards, I perceived that Minerva also had difappearcd.

*' I then fancied myself tranfported to a delightful garden, which revived in my mind the descriptions that I had heard of Elyiium. Here! met withMENTOR, whoaccoftedme in these words: " Fly from this fatal country, this illand of contagion, where every breeze is tainted with sensuality, where the most heroic virtue has cause for fear, and safety can be obtained only by flight!" The moment I saw Mentor, I attempted to thiow my arms about him in an ecftafy of joy J but I strove in vain to lift my feet from the ground, my knees failed under me, and my arms clofcd over an empty fliade which eluded their grasp. The effort waked me; and I perceived, that