Book VI

" 'TpHE fages immediately went out of the confccrated grove; J- and the chief of them, taking me by the hand, declared to the people, who were waiting impatiently for the decision, that the prize had been decreed to me. The words were no sooner uttered, than the dead silence of expeftation was followed by an universal fhout; every one cried out, " Let the son of Ulysses, a second Minos, be our king!" and the echoes of the neighbouring mountain repeated the acclamation.

" I waited a few moments, and then made a sign with my hand, that I desired to be heard: in this interval Mentor whifpered me, "*' Wilt thou renounce thy country? Can ambition obliterate the remembrance of Penelope, who longs for thy return as the lafl objedt of her hope; and alienate thy heart from the great Ulysses, whom the Gods have resolved to restore to Ithaca?" These words roufed

^6 B o o K vr.

roufed every tender paflion in my bosom, and the fond desire of royalty was inllantly absorbed in the love of my parents and my country. In the mean time, the multitude was again become motionlefs and iilent, and I addrefled them in these terms: " Illustrious Cretans! I am not worthy the dignity which you offer. The oracle of which you have been reminded, does indeed express, that the fovereignty of Crete shall depart from the race of Minos, when a stranger Ihall eflablifh the dominion of his laws j but it does not say, that this flranger shall be king. I am willing to believe, that

I am the flranger foretold by the oracle, and that I have accomplished the predi<5tion: fortune has cafl me upon this island; I have discovered the true sense of the laws of Minos; and I willi, that my explanation may contribute to join them in the fovereignty, with the man whom your choice shall appoint to fo important a trust. As for me, I prefer my country, the obscure and inconfiderable island of Ithaca, to the hundred cities of Crete, with all their opulence and glory; permit me, therefore, to wander, whereevcr the fates shall have marked my course. If I have contended in your fports, I was not prompted by a desire to govern you; but only to obtain your efleem, and your pity, that you might the more readily afford me the means of returning to the place of my birth:

for I would rather obey my father Ulysses, and comfort Penelope my mother, than govern all the nations upon the earth. You see,

O Cretans! the secret receffes of my heart: I am compelled to leave you, but death only can put an end to my gi'atitudc; your interefl

Ihall never be less dear to me, than my own honour; and I will remember you with affediion, till death shall efface the lafl idea from my mind."

" I had fcarce finished the lafl fentcnce, before there rose from the innumerable multitude that surrounded me a deep hoarfe murmur, like the found of waves that are broken against each other other in a storm. Some queflioned, whether I was not a God under the appearance of a man; others affirmed, that they had seen me in foreign countries, and knew me to be Telemachus; and manycried out, that I should be compelled to ascend the throne of Idomeneus: I, therefore, again signified my intention to speak, and they were again silent in a moment, not knowing but that I was now about to accept what before I had refused. " Permit me, said I, O Cretans! to tell you my thoughts without difguife: I believe you to be the wifeil of all people; and yet there is one important diftindtion, which I think you have not made: your choice ought not to feledt the man who is bell acquainted with the theory of your laws, but he who, with the moll Heady virtue, has reduced them to pra(5tice. I am, as yet, but a youth j and, consequently, without experience, and fubje<5t to the tyranny of impetuous passions: I am in that state, which renders it more fit for me to learn, by obedience, how to command hereafter, than now to pradtife a science, which is at once fo difficult and important. Do not, therefore, seek a man, who, in any exercises, either of the mind or of the body, has conquered others; but one, who has atchieved the conquest of himself: seek a man, who has the laws of Minos written upon his heart; and whose life has illustrated every precept by an example: let your choice be determined, not by what he says, but what he has done."

" The venerable fathers, being much pleased with these sentiments, and hearing the applaufe of the alTembly grow Hill louder, addrelTed me in these terms: " Since the Gods no longer permit us to hope, that you will reign over us; assist us, at least, in the choice of a king, who will eflablifti the reign of our laws. Is any man known to you, who, iipon a throne, will be content with this equitable though limited authority?" " There is a man, said I, to whom I ow« whatever merit I poITefs, whose wisdom has

5)8 B O O K VI.

spoken by my lips, and whose conversation suggested every fentimcnt which you have approved." While I was yet speaking, the eyes of the whole aflembly were turned upon Mentor, whom I took by the hand, and presented to them; at the fame time, I related the protedion which he had afforded to my infancy, the dangers from which he had delivered me, and the calamities that fell upon me when I rejecfted his counsel. Mentor had, till now, flood unnoticed among the crowd; for his habit was plain and negligent, his countenance was modest, he fpakc little, and had an air of coldncfs and reserve: but, as soon as he became the obje(ft of attention, a dignity and firmness, not to be described, were difcovcred in his countenance; it was remarked, that his eyes were peculiarly piercing, and every motion exprclTed uncommon vigour and adivity. Some questions were immediately proposed; his answers excited univcrfal admiration, and the kingdom was immediately offered him: the kingdom, however, he refused without the least emotion; and said, that he preferred the fweets of a private life, to the splendour of royalty; that the best princes were almoll neceflarily unhappy, because ihty were fcldom able to efTccft the good which they designed, and were often betrayed, by the circumvention of fycophants, to the perpetration of evils which they intended to prevent. " If servitude, continued he, is a state of wretchcdnefs, there can be no happiness in royalty, for royalty is nothing more than servitude in difguife; a king is always dependent upon those, by whom he mufl enforce his commands: happy are those, to whom the toil of government is not a duty; a duty, which implies the sacrifice of private liberty to public advantage, which our country only can claim, and which those alone who are invested with supreme authority can owe!"

" The Cretans were at first; flruck filcnt with astonishment; but at length they aflced Mentor, what person he would advife them

4 to

B O O K \a. 99 to chufe. *' I would advife ycJu, said Mentor, to chufc a man who well knows the people he is to govern; and who is also sus~ ficiently acquainted with government, to fear it as a ftatc of difficidty and danger: he that desires royalty, does not know the duties which royalty requires; and by him, who does not know them, they can never be fulfilled: such a man desires regal authority, only to gratify himself; but regal authority should be intrufttd with him only, who would not accept it but for the love of others.'

" The whole aflembly still wondering to see two strangers refuse a kingdom, which fo many others had fought, began to enquire with whom they had come to Crete; and Nauficrates, who had condudted us from the port to the circus, immediately pointed to Hazael, with whom Mkntor and myself had failed from the island of Cyprus: but their wonder, however great, became still greater, when they understood, that he, who had just refused to be the sovereign of Crete, had been lately the slave of Hazael; that Hazael, llruck with the wisdom and virtue of his slave, now considered him as his monitor and his friend; and had been urged, merely by his desire of knowledge, to travel from Damascus in Syria to Crete, that he might acquaint himself with the laws of Minos.

" The fages then addrefled themselves to HazacI: " We do not dare, said they, to oifer to Hazael, the crown which has been refused by Mentor, because we believe the sentiments of both to be the fame: you dcfpife mankind too much to rule them; nor is there any thing in wealth, or in power, that, to you, would compenfate the toils of government." Hazael replied, " Think not, O Cretans! that I despise mankind; or that I am infenfible to the glory, that rewards the labour by which they are rendered virtuous and happy: but this labour, however glorious, is attended

•with pain and danger; and the external glitter of regal pomp captivates only the foolish and the vain. Life is short, and greatness rather irritates than gratifies desire; it is one of those deceitful acquifitions, which I am come fo far, not to obtain, but to defpifcr Farewel! I have no wish but to return once more to retirement and tranquillity, where my foul may feast on knowledge with divine refe(5lion; and where that hope of immortality which is derived from virtue, may afford me comfort under the infirmities of old age: or, if I have a willi besides this, it is never to be separated from the two persons who now stand before you."

" The Cretans then cried out to Mentor, " Tell us, O wifeftand greatest of mortals! tell us, who shall be our king? We will not fuflfer thee to depart, till thou hast dire(5led this important choice." Mentor immediately answered: " As I flood among the crowd of fpecftators whom the fports had drawn together, I perceived a man, who, in the midst of all that tumult and impatience, appeared recolledted and fed ate; he was still vigorous, though advanced in years; and upon enquiring who he was, I soon learned that his name was Ariftodemus. I afterwards heard some that stood near, tell him, that his two sons were among the candidates; but he exprefTed no fatisfadtion at the news: he said, " That he loved one of them too well, to wish him involved in the dangers of royalty; and that he had too great a regard for his country, to wish it should be governed by the other." I immediately conceived, that the old man loved one of his sons who had virtue, with a rational affection; and that he was too wife, to indulge the other in vicious irregularities. My curiosity being now greatly encreafed, I enquired more particularly into the circumflances of his life, and one of the citizens gave me this account: " Ariftodemus, said he, bore arms in the service of his country many years, and is almofl covered with fears; but his abhorrence of infincerity and flattery, rendered rendered him disagreeable to Idomeneus, who, therefore, left him at Crete, when he went to the siege of Troy -, and, indeed, he was kept in perpetual anxiety by a man, who gave him such counsel as he could not but approve, yet wanted resolution to follow: he was besides, jealous of the glory which he knew Ariftodemus would soon acquire. The king, therefore, forgetting the services of his soldier, left him here exposed to the diftrelTes of poverty, and to the fcorn of the brutal and the fordid, who consider nothing as merit but riches. With poverty, however, Ariftodemus was contented; and lived chearfully in a remote corner of the island, where he cultivated a few acres of ground with his own hands. In this employment, he was afTifted by one of his sons, whom he loved with great tenderness; and labour and frugality soon made them happy, in the pofTefTion of whatever is necessary to a life of rural simplicity, and something more: the old man, who was not less a philosopher than a hero, diftriburcd this furplus among the decrepit and the lick; the youth he ftimulated to industry; he exhorted the refractory, and inflrudled the ignorant; he was the arbitrator of every dispute, and the father of every family; in his own, he considers no circuinftance as unfortunate, but the bad difpolition of his second son, upon whom all admonition has been lost. The father, after having long endured his irregularities, in hopes that some means would be found to corre<5t them, has at length expelled him from his family; and the son has since given himself up to the groffeft sensuality, and, in the folly of his ambition, is become a candidate for the kingdom."

" Such, O Cretans! is the account that was given me of Ariftodemus; whether it is true or false, is best known to you. But, if this man is, indeed, such as he has been represented, why have public excrcifes been appointed, and why have fo many ftrangcrs been brought together?

ro2 BOOK Vf.

together? You have, in the mklft of ^-ou, a man whom you well know, and by whom you are well known: a man, to whom all the arts of war are familiar; and whose courage has fuilained him, not only againll the fpcar and the dart, but the formidable afTaults of poverty; who has despised the riches that are acquired by flattery, who has pi-efcrred labour to idleness, and knows the advantages which are derived to the public from agriculture; who is an enemy to parade and pomp, and whose paflions are under the controul of reason; for even the parental affection, which in others is fo often a blind inftindt, a(5ts, in him, as a rational and a moral principle; since, of two sons, he cherifhes one for his virtue, and renounces the other for his vices: a man, who, to express all his virtue at once, is already the father of the people. In this man, therefore, O Cretans! if, indeed, you desire to be governed by the laws of Minos, behold your king!"

" The multitude immediately cried out, Avith one voice, " Ariftodcmus is, indeed, such as he has been reprcfented; Ariftodemus is worthy to be our king!" The fathers of the council then ordered that he should be brought before them; and he was immediately fought among the crowd, where he was mixed with the lowest of the people. When he was brought before the afTembly, he appeared to be pcrfecflly calm and unconcerned; and v/hen he was told, that the people had determined to make him king, he anfwercd, that he would not accept of the office but upon three conditions: " First, says he, the throne shall be declared vacant at the end of two years, if within that time, I do not render you belter than you are, or if you lliall refill the execution of the laws j secondly, I will be Hill at liberty to live in a fnnple and frugal manner; thirdly, my sons shall not rank above their fellow citizens, and, after my death, shall be treated, without dillinclion according to their merit."

-' At

" At thcfe words, the air was filled with acclamations of joy; the diadem was placed upon the head of Ariftodcmus, by the chief of the hoary guardians of the law j and sacrifices were offered to Jupiter and the other superior deities. Ariftodemus made us frefcnts, not with an oflentatious magnificence, but a noble simplicity. He gave to Hazael a copy of the laws of Minos written by the legiflator himself, and a colle<5lion of trads which contained the compleat hiilory of Crete from the time of Saturn and the golden age; he sent on board his vessel every kind of fruit that flouriflies in Crete, and is unknown in Syria, and offered him whatever l>c should need.

" As we were now impatient to depart, he caused a vcffcl to be immediately fitted out for us; he manned it with a great number of able rowers, and a detachment of his bell troops; and he put on board several changes of apparel, and great plenty of provision. As soon as the vessel was ready to fail, the wind became fair for Ithaca; but as Hazael was bound on a contrary course, it compelled him to continue at Crete. He took leave of us with great tenderness; and embraced us as friends, v/ith whom he was about to part for life: " The Gods, said he, are juil; and they know that the sacred bond of our friendship is virtue: and, therefore, they will one day reftorc us to each other; and those happy fields, in which the juil are said to enjoy everlafling refl:, shall see our spirits reunited to part no more. O! that my ashes also might be mixed with yours!" Here his words became inarticulate, and he buril into tears: our eyes overflowed with equal tenderness and grief.

" Our parting with Ariftodemus was fcarce less affcd:ionatc. " As you have made me a king, said he, remember the dangers to which you have exposed me I and requeff the Gods, to irradiate my mind with wiiclom from above, and give me power over myself in proportion to my authority over others. May they condu(5t you in safety to your country, abafe the infolence of your enemies, and give

/ give you the joy to behold Ulysses again upon the throne of Ithaca, supremely happy in the pofTeffion of Penelope and peace. To thee, Telemachus, I have given a good vefTel well manned with mariners and soldiers, who may affilt thee against the perfecutors of thy mother. For thee, Mentor, thy wisdom is sufficient; poiTefllng this, thou hast need of nothing: all that I can give, would be superfluous; and all that I can wilh, is precluded. Go, both of you, in peace; and may you long be the felicity of each other! Remember Ariftodemus; and if Ithaca should need the afliftance of Crete, depend upon my friendship to the last hour of my life." He then embraced us, and we could not thank him without tears.

" The wind, which now fwelled our fails, promised us a happy voyage. Mount Ida already appeared but like a hillock, the shores of Crete in a short time totally disappeared, and the coast of Peloponefus seemed to advance into the sea to meet us. But a tempeft suddenly obfcured the sky, and irritated the billows of the deep; night ruflied upon us unawares, and death presented himself in all his terrors. It was thy awful trident, O Neptune! that agitated the ocean to its remoteft shores: Venus, to revenge the contempt with which we had treated her even in her temple at Cythera, hafted to the father cf the floods, whom she addrefTed with a voice broken by grief, and her eyes fvvimming in tears: thus, at least, I have been informed by Mentor, who is acquainted with celestial things: " "Wilt thou suffer, said she, these impious men to deride my power, and escape unpunilhed? My power has been confefled by the Gods themfclves; and yet all who acknowledge it in my favourite island, theic prefumptuous mortals have dared to condemn: they pride themfclves in a frigid wisdom, which was never warmed by the rays of beauty; and they despise, as folly, the delights of love: hast thou forgot that I was born in thy dominions? wherefore dost thou delay to overwhelm the wretches whom I abhor?"

" Neptime