Book XXI

affair of importance can fuccecd; you can never make those hold virtue sacred, whom you have once taught to despise it. And, after all, what have you to fear? Will not your courage conquer, v/iihout fo base an auxiliary as fraud? Arc not your own powers, and the flrcngth of united nations, sufficient? Let us fight; and, if wc must, let us die; but let us not conquer, with the loss of virtue and of fame. Adraftus, the impious Adraftus, is in our pov/er; and nothing can deliver him, but our participation of the crimes,, that expose him to the wrath of Heaven."

When Telemachus had done speaking, he perceived that his words had carried convi<5lion to the heart. He observed, that, of all who were present, not one offered to reply: their thoughts were fixed; not, indeed, upon him, nor the graces of his elocution; but upon the truths that he had displayed. At firfl, all was silent aftoniflimcnt, expressed only by the countenance; but, after a short time, a confused murmur spread by degrees through the whole ailcmbly: they looked upon each other; and all were impatient to declare their sentiments, though every one was afraid to speak firfl. It was expected, that the chiefs of the army should give their opinion; and the venerable Neftor, at length, spoke as follov.s.

" The Gods, O son of Ulysses! have f}X)ken by thy voice: Minerva, who has fo often inspired thy father, has fuggcfted to thee, the wife and generous counfcl which thou hast given to us. I think not of thy youth; for when I hear thee, Pallas only is present to my mind. Thou hast been the advocate of virtue. Tiic greatest advantage, without virtue, is loss: without virtue, men arc fuddcnly overtaken by the vengeance of their enemies, they are diftruftcd by their friends, abhorred by good men, and obnoxious to the righteous anger of the Gods. Let us, then, leave

B b b Venufium

Venufium in the hands of the Lucanians, and think of defeatinn- •Adraflus only by our own magnanimity."

Thus Nellor spoke, and the whole aflembly applauded: but their eyes were fixed upon Telemachus; and every one thought he saw the wisdom of the Goddcfs, that inspired him, lighten in his countenance.

This question being determined, the council began immediately to debate another, in which Telemachus acquired equal reputation. Adraflus, with a perfidy and cruelty natural to his character, had sent one Acanthus into the camp as a dcferter, who had undertaken to deilroy the principal commanders of the army by poison; and had a particular charge not to spare Telemachus, who was already become the terror of theDaunians. Telemachus, who was too generous and brave easily to entertain suspicion, readily admitted this wretch to his presence, and treated him with great kindneft; for, having seen Ulysses in Sicily, he recommended himself by relating his adventures. Telemachus took him under his immediate protection, and consoled him under his misfortunes; for he pretended to have been defrauded, and treated with indignity, by Adraflus. Telemachus, however, was wai-ming and cherifliing a viper in his bosom, which his kindness only could enable todeflroy him. Acanthus had difpatched another deferter, whose name was Arion, from the camp of the allies to Adraflus, with particular intelligence of its situation; and afTurances, that he would give poison to the chief commanders, and in particular to Telemachus, the next day, at an entertainment to which he had been invited as a guefl. It happened, that this man was dete(5led and seized, as he was efcaping from the camp; and, in the terror and confusion of conscious guilt, he confessed his treachery. Acanthus was suspect:ed peeled to have been his accompHcc, bccaiife a remarkable intimacy had been observed between them; but Acanthus, who had great courage, and was profoundly fkilled in difllmulation, made fo artful a defence, that nothing could be proved against him, nor could the confpiracy be traced to its source.

Many of the princes were of opinion, that he ought certainly to be sacrificed to the public safety: " He must, at all events, said they, be put to death; for the life of a private individual is nothing, in competition with the Hves of fo many kings. It is poilible he may die innocent; but that confederation should have no weight, when the vicegerents of the Gods are to be secured from danger."

" This horrid maxim, said Telemachus, this barbarous policy, is a difgrace to human nature. Is the blood of men to be fo lightly fpilt y and are they to be thus wantonly destroyed by those, that are set over them only for their preservation? The Gods have made you, to mankind, what the shepherd is to his flock; and will you degrade yourselves into wolves, and worry and devour those, whom you ought to cherifli and protect? Upon vour principles, to be accufcd, and to be guilty, is the fame thing; and every one that is fufpedled, must die. Envy and calumny will destroy innocence at pleasure; the opprelled will be sacrificed to the opprcflbr; and, in proportion as tyranny makes kings diflruflful, judicial murders will depopulate the flatc."

Telemachus uttered this remonftrance, with a vehemence and authority that gave it invincible force; and covered those, who gave the counsel he had reproved, with confusion. He perceived it, and foftened his voice: " As for myself, said hCj I am not fo fond of life, as to secure it upon such terms. I had rather Acanthus

B b b 2 ilaould should be wicked, than Telemachus; and would more willingly perish by his treafon, than destroy him unjiiftly while I doubt only -of his crime. A king is, by his office, the judge of his people; and his deciiions Ihould be direcfted by wisdom, justice, and moderation: let me, then, examine Acanthus in your prcfence."

Every one acquiefccd, and Telemachus immediately queflioned^ him concerning his connecftion with Arion: he prefTed him with a great variety of particulars; and he frequently took occasion, to intimate a design of sending him back to Adi-allus, as a deferter: this, if he had really deferted, would have alarmed him; for. Adraflus would certainly have punished him with death: but Te- LEMACHus, who watched the efFecft of this experiment with great attention, perceived not the least token of fear, either in his countenance or his voice; and, therefore, thought it probable, that he. was guilty of the confpiracy.

Not being able, however, fully to convi(5l him, he demanded his ring: " I will send it, said he, to Adraftus." At the demand, of his ring, Acanthus turned pale; and Telemachus, who kept his eyes fixed upon him, perceived that he was in great confusion.- The ring being delivered, " I will send Polytropus, said Telemachus, a Lucanian whom you well know, to Adrallus, as a melTenger difpatched with private intelligence from yeu; and he shall produce this ring as a token. If it is acknowledged by Adraftus, and, by this means, we discover that you are his emifTary, you (hall be put to death by torture; but if you will now voluntarily confess your guilt, we will remit the punishment it deserves, and only banifli you to some remote island, where every thing shall be provided for your fubfiftence. Acanthus being now urged both by fear and hope, made a full confeflion; and Telemachus prevailed with xvith the kings, to give him his hfe, as he had promised it; and he was sent into one of the Echinadian islands, where he palled his days in security and peace.

Not long afterwards, a Daunian of obscure birth, but of a daring and violent spirit, whose name was Diofcorus, came into the camp of the allies by night, and ofTered to alTaflinate Adraftus in his tent: this offer, it was in his power to make good; for, whoever defpifes his own life, can command that of another. Diofcorus had no wish, but for revenge; Adraflus had forcibly taken away his wife, whom he loved to diftraftion, and who was equal in beauty to Venus herself; and' he had determined, either to kill the tyrant and recover his wife, or perish in the attempt. He had received secret inflru(ftions, how to enter the tent in the night; and had learnt, that his enterprife would be favoured by many officers in the service: but he thought it would also be necelTary, that the allies lliould attack the camp at the fame time; as the confusion would facilitate his escape, and iafford him a fairer opportunity to carry off his wife.

As soon as this man had made the confederate princes acquainted with his dclign, they turned towards Telemachus, as referring implicitly to his decision. " The Gods, said he, who have prefcrved us from traitors, forbid us to employ them. It would be our interefl to reje(5l treachery, if we had not sufficient virtue to detest it: if we Ihould once pradlife it against others, our example would justify others in the practice of it against us; and then, who among us will be safe? If Adraftus should avoid the mifchicf that threatens him, it will recoil upon ourfclves j the nature of war will be changed; military skill and heroic virtue will have no obje6l; and we shall see nothing but perfidy, treafon, and afTaffination: we shall, ourfclves, experience their fatal efFe(5ts; and deserve deserve to fuJTer every evil, to ^vllich we have given fandlion by our pradice. I am, therefore, of opinion, that we ought to send back this traitor to Adraftus; not for his sake, indeed; but the eyes of all Hefperia, and of all Greece, are upon us, and we owe this teflimony of our abhorrence of perfidy to them, anH to ourselves; we owe it also to the Gods, for the Gods are just." ~

Diofcorus was accordingly sent away to Adraftus, who trembled at a review of his danger, and was beyond expreilion amazed at jhe generosity of his enemies; for the wicked have no idea of difinterelled virtue: he contemplated what had happened, with admiration, a secret and involuntary praise; but he did not dare to applaud it openly, being conscious that it would condemn himself; it brought into his mind the fraud and cruelty he had pracStifed, with a painful sense both of guilt and shame. He endeavoured to account for appearances, without imputing, to his enemies, such virtue as he could not emulate; and, while he felt himself indebted to them for his life, he could not think of ingratitude without compuuvlion: but, in those who are habitually wicked, remorse is of Ihort duration.

Adraflus, who saw the reputation of the allies perpetually increafc, thought it abfolutcly neceffiiry, to attempt something of importance againfl; them immediately: as he found they must, of jiecefTity, soil him in virtue, he could only hope to gain the advantage of them in arms j and, therefore, prepared to give them battle without delay.

The day of action arrived; and Aurora had fcarce llrewed her rofes in the path of the sun, and thrown open the gates of the east before him, when Telemaghus, anticipating the vigilance of experience and age, broke from the foft embraces of lleep, and put put all the commanders in motion. His morion, covered with horse-hair that floated in the wind, already fhonc upon his head; Iiis cuiras diffufed a newfun-shine upon the plain; and his fliield the work of Vulcan, besides its natural beauty, flionje with a divine etRdgencc, which it derived from the a^gis of Mineuva that was concealed under it: in one hand he held a lance, and, with the other, he pointed out the polls, which the several divisions of the army were to occupy. Minerva had given a fire to his eye that Avas more than human, arid animated his countenance with an expreflion of awful majesty, that seemed to be an earned of vic5tory. He marched, and all the princes of the confederacy, forgetting their dignity and their age, followed him by an irrefiftible impulse: their hearts were inaccessible even to envy j and every one yielded, with a fpontaneous obedience, to him, who was under the immediate but invisible condudt of Minerva. There was now nothing, impetuous or precipitate in his deportment; he pofTefled himself, with the most placid tranquillity, and condefcending patience; he was ready to hear every opinion, and to improve every hint: but he fliewed alfa, the greatcil activity, vigilance, and foresight; he provided againfl the remotcft contingencies; he was neither difconcerted himself, nor difconcerted others: he excused allmiftakes; regulated all that was amifs; and obviated difficulties even in their caulcs, before they could take effect: he exacT:ed no unreasonable service, he left every man at liberty, and enjoyed every man's confidence. When he gave an order, he expreiled himself with the greacell plainnefs and pcrfpicuity; he repeated it, to afliil the apprchenfion and memory of those that were to execute it; he consulted their looks while he was fpcaking, to know whether he was perfecftly undcrftood, and he made them express. their sense of his orders in their own words. When he had satisfied himself of the abilities of the persons he employed, and perceived that they perfedly entered into his views, he never difmiilcd them without

2. fomc

376 E O O K XX.

some mark of his cfleem and confidence: every one, therefore, that was engaged in the execution of his designs, was intcrefted in the fiiccefs, from a principle of love to their commander, whom they wished, more than all things, to please. ISor wa3 their aftivity restrained, by the fear of having misfortune imputed to them as a fault; for he blamed none that were unfuccefsful even by mistake, if their intentions appeared to have been good.

The first rays of the sun now tinged the horizon with a glowing red, and the sea fparklcd with the refledted fires of the rising day; the plain was thronged with men and arms, and horses and chariots were every where in motion. An almost infinite variety of sounds produced a loud but hoarfe noise, like that of the sea, when a mighty tempcft, at the command of Neptune, moves the world of waters to its foundation; and Mars, by the din of arms, and the dreadful apparatus of war, began to fcatter the feeds of rage in every breast. Spears flood ereft in the field as thick as corn, that hides the furrows of the plough in autumn; a cloud of dust rose in the air, which hid both heaven and earth, by degrees, from the fight of man; and inexorable death advanced, with con^ fufion, horror, and carnage in his train.

The moment the firfi: flight of arrows was difcharged, Telemachus, lifting up his hands and eyes to Heaven, pronounced these words; *' O Jupiter, Father both of Gods and men! Thou seest jufiice on our fide; and peace, which we have not been ashamed to seek: we draw the sword with relinftance; and would spare the blood of man. Against even this enemy, however cruel, perfidious, and prophane, we have no malice. Judge, therefore, between him and us. If we must die, it is thy hand that refumes the life it has given! If Hefperia is to be deliveredj and the tyrant abafed, it is thy power, and the wisdom of Minerva, that shall give us victory!

The

The glory will be due to Thee; for the fate of battle is weighed in thy balance. We fight in thy behalf, for thou art righteous; and Adraftus is, therefore, more thy enemy, than ours! If, in thy behalf we conquer, the blood of a whole hecatomb shall fmokc upon thy altars, before the day is past!"

Then, fliaking the reins over the fiery and foaming courfers of his chariot, he rufhcd into the thickeft rank of the enemy. The first that opposed him, was Periander the Locrian: he was covered with the fkin of a lion, which he had slain when he was travelling in Cilicia; and he was armed, like Hercules, with a club of enormous size: he had the flature, and the flrength of a giant; and, as soon as he saw Telemachus, he dcfpifcd his youth, and the beauty of his countenance: " Is it for thee, said he, effeminate boy! to dispute the glory of arms with us? Hence; and seek thy father in the dominions of the dead!" He spoke, and lifted his ponderous and knotted mace against him; it was fludded with fpikes of fteel, and had the appearance of a maft. All that were near, trembled at its descent; but Telemachus avoided the blow, and ruflied upon his enemy, with a rapidity equal to the flight of an eagle. The mace, falling upon the wheel of a chariot that was near him, daflied it to pieces; and, before Periander could recover it, Telemachus pierced his neck with a dart. The blood which gufhed in a torrent from the wound, instantly fl;ifled his voice; his hand relaxed; and the reins falling upon the neck of his courfers, they started away with ungoverned fury. He fell from the chariot; his eyes were fuff'used with everlasting darkness; and his countenance, pale and disfigured, was still imprelTed with the agonies of death. Telemachus was touched with pity at the fight, and immediately gave the body to his attendants; rcferving to himself the lion's fkin and mace, as trophies of his vidory.

C c c He

He then fought Adraftus in the thickeft of the battle, and overturned a croud of heroes in his way: Hileus, who had harneffed to his chariot two courfers, bred in the vail plains that are watered by the Aufidus, and scarcely infcriour to thofc of the sun; Demoleon, who, in Sicily, had almost rivaled Eryx in combats with the ceftus; Grantor, who had been the host and the friend of Hercules, when he pafTcd through Hefpcria, to punish the villanies of Cacus with death; Menecrates, who, in wreftling, was said to have rivalled Pollux; Hypocoon the Salapian, who, in managing the horse, had the grace and dexterity of Caftor; the mighty Imnter Eurymcdes, who was always ftained with the blood of bears and wild boars that he slew upon the frozen fummits of the Appenine, and who was said to have been fo great a favourite of Diana, that fhc taught him the use of the bow herself; Nicoftratus, who had conquered a giant, among the rocks of mount Garganus, that vomited fire; and Eleanthus, who was betrothed to Pholoe, a youthful beauty, the daughter of the God that pours the river Liris from his urn.

She had been promifcd, by her father, to him, who should deliver her from a winged serpent, which was bred on the borders of the ftream, and which an oracle had predicted should, in a few days, devour her, Elcanthus,^. for the love of Pholoe, undertook to dcftroy the monfler, and succeeded; but the fates withheld from him the fruits of his victory; and, while Pholoe was preparing for their union, and expe(5ling the return of her hero with a tender and timid joy, she learnt, that he had followed Adraftus to the war, and that his life was cut off by an untimely ftroke. Her fighs were wafted to the f urrounding woods and mountains, upon every gale; her eyes overflowed with tears; and the flowers, which Ihe had been wreathing into garlands, were negledied:

BO OK XX: 379 ncgle(5led: in the cliflrad:ion of her grief, she accufcd Heaven of injulUce; but the Qods beheld her with compaflion; and, accepting the prayers of her father, put an end to hei- diftrcfs. Her tears flowed in such abundance, that she was suddenly changed into a. fountain, which, at length, mingled with the parent ftrcatn: but the waters ai-e ilill bitter; no herbage bloflpms upon the banks; and no tree, but the cyprefs, rcfreflics theni with a Ihade.

hi the mean time, Adraftus, who learnt that Telemachus was spreading terror on every fide, went in search of him with the utmoil ardour and impatience. He hoped to find him an easy conqucft, as he had yet scarcely. acquired the full strength of a man: the tyrant did not, however, trufl wholly to this advantage, but took with him thirty Daunians, of uncommon boldnefs, dexterity, and flrength, to whom he had promised great rewards, for killing Telemachus in any manner. If, at this time, they had met, and the thirty Daunians had surrounded the chariot of the young hero, while Adraftus had attacked him in front, he would certahily have been cut oflf without difficulty: but Minerva turned.this formidable band another way.

Adraftus, thinking he difthiguiflied the voice and figure of Telemachus among a croud of combatants, that were engaged in a. small hollow at the foot of a hill, ruflied to the spot, that he might fatiate his revenge: but, inftcad of Telemachus, he found Neftor, who, with a feeble hand, threw some random fliafts, that did no execution. Adraftus, in the rage of difappointment, would iiiftantly have slain him, if a troop of Pylians had not surrounded their king. And now, a multitude of arrows obfcured the day, and covered the contending armies like a cloud: nothing was to be heard, but the groans of death, and the clafiring armour of those that fell: the ground was loaded with mountains of the fiain, and deluged with rivers of blood. Mars and BcUona, attended

C c c 2 by by the infernal furies, and cloathed in garments that dropped with gore, enjoyed the horrors of the battle, and animated the combatants with new fury. By thefc relentlefs Deities, enemies to man, pity, generous valour, and mild humanity, were driven from the field; andflaughter, revenge, despair, and cruelty, raged amidst the tumult without controul. Minerva, the wife and invincible, fliuddered, and turned with horror from the scene.

Philod:etes, in the mean time, though he walked with difficulty with the fliafts of Hercules, limped to the afliftance of Nellor with all his might: Adraftus, not being able to penetrate the guard of Pylians that surrounded him, laid many of them in the dust. He llew Etefilaus, who was fo light of foot, that he scarcely imprinted the fand; and, in his own country, left the rapid waves of Eurotas and Alpheus behind him: he overthrew also Eutiphron, who exceeded Hylas in beauty, and Hypolitus in the chace; Pterelaus» who had followed Neftor to the siege of Troy, and was beloved by Achilles for his prowefs and valour; Ariftogiton, who, having bathed in the river Achelous, was said to have received, from the Deity of the ftream, the secret gift of afTuming whatever form he defircd, and who had, indeed, a fupplenefs and agility that eluded the strongest grasp; but Adraftus, by one flrokc of his lance, rendered him motionlefs for ever, and his foul rufhed from the wound with his blood.

Neftor, who saw the braveft of his commanders fall under the cruel hand of Adraftus, as ears of corn, ripened into a golden harvest, fall before the fickle of the reaper; forgot the danger, to which, tremulous and feeble with age, he exposed himself in vain: his atrention was wholly fixed upon his son Pififtratus, whom he followed with his eye, as he was bravely fuftaining the party that defended his father. But now the fatal moment was come, when Neftor was once more to feel the infelicity of having lived too long.

Pififtratus rififlratiis made a ftrokc against Adraftus with his lance, fo violent, that if the Daunian had not avoided it, it mufl have been fataK The aflailant having misled his blow, ftaggered with its force; and, before he could recover his position, Adraftus wounded him with a javelin in the belly: his bowels, in a torrent of blood, followed the weapon; his colour faded like a flower, that is broken from its root; his eyes became dim, and his voice faltered. Alctcus, his governor, who fought near him, fuftained him as he fell; and had just time to place him in the arms of his father, before he expired. He looked up, and made an effort to give the last token of his tenderness; but, having opened his lips to speak, the spirit iffiied with his breath.

Neftor, now defended against Adraftus by Philo<5letes, who spread carnage and horror round him, still supported the body of his son, and prefled it in an agony to his bosom. The light was now hateful to his eyes; and his pallion burst out in exclamation and complaint: " Wretched man, said he, to have been once a father, and to have lived fo long! Wherefore, O inexorable fates! would ye not take my life, when I was chafmg the Caledonian boar, failing in the expedition to Colchis, or courting danger in the first liege of Troy? I Ihould then have died with glory, and tafted no bitterness in death. I now languifh with age and sorrow; I am now feeble, and despised; I live only to suffer, and have fenfibility only for affliction! O my son! O my dear son, Piliftratus! when I lost thy brother Antilochus, I had still thee to comfort me; but I now have thee no more! i polTefs nothing, and can receive no comfort! with me, all is at an end; and even, in hope, that only folace of human misery, I have no portion! O my children! Antilochus and Pififiratus! I feel, this day, as if this day I had lost ye both; and the first wound in my heart, now bleeds afrefli. Alas! I shall see you no more! Who shall close my eyes when I die, and who shall •eolled my ashes for the urn! Thou hast died, O my dear Piliftratus!

ttrs! like thy brother, the death of a hero* ; and to die, is forbidden only to me!"

In this tranfport of grief, he "would have killed himself with i, javelin that he held in his hand; but he was prevented by thofc that flood by. The body of his son was forced from his arms^ and, finki"hg under the confiicl, he faint(^d: lie was carried, in a Hate of infenfibility, to his tent; where, soon after reviving, lie would have returned to the combat, if he had not, by a gentle force, been restrained.

In the mean time, Adraflus and Philo(5tetes were mutually in search of each other. Their eyes fparkled like those of the leopard and the lion, when they fight in the plains that are watered by the Caiflcr: their looks were favage, and cxprelTed hostile fury and unrelenting vengeance: every lance that they difmiffed, was fatal; and the surrounding warriors gazed at them with terror. . At last they got fight of each other; and Philodtctcs applied one of those dreadful arrows to his bow, which, from his hand, never milled the mark, and which inflicted a wound that no medicine could cure. But Mars, who favoured the fearlefs cruelty of Adraftus, would not yet fufler him to pcrifli: it was the pleasure of the God, that he should prolong the horrors of the war, and increase the Rumber of the dead: and lie was flill neccflary to Divine juflice, for the punishment of man.

Philodetcs, at the very moment when he was fitting the Ihaft againfl Adraflus, was himself wounded with a lance: the blow was given by Amphimachus, a young Lucanian, more beautiful than Nircus, who, among all the commanders at thcficgc of Troy, was excelled in person only by Achilles. Philo(5tetes, the moment he received the wound, difcharged the arrow at Amphimachus. The weapon transfixed his heart: the luflre of his eyes, fo beautifully

4 black, hhc^, wa? extinguiflicd, ^n4 they w^r? covered with the fliades o£ death: his lips, ia cgmparifo^of whiph, the rofes, th^t Aurora featters in the horizon, are pale, loll their colour; and his countenance> fo hlooming and lovely, became ghaftly and disfigured. Philodletes himself was touched with companion; and, when his body lay weltering in his blood, and his trefles, which might have been mistaken for Apollo's, were trailed in the dust, every one lamented his fall.

Philo(5letes, having flaip Amphimachus, was himself obliged to retire from the field: he became feeble by the loss of blood; and he had exerted himself fo much in the battle, that his old wound becar>e painful, and seemed ready to break out afrefli; for, notwithftaKding the Divine science of the sons of jEfculapius, the cure was not perfect. Thus exhaufled, and ready to fall upon the heaps of ilain that furroundcd him, he was born off by Archidamas, who excelled all the Ocbalians, that he brought with him to found the city of Petilia, in dexterity and courage, just at the moment, when Adraflus might, with eafc, have laid him dead at his feet. And now the tyrant found none that dared to refill: him, or retard his vi(5lory: all his enemies were cither fallen or fled; and he might jullly be refembled to a torrent, which, having overflowed its bounds, ruflies on with tumultuous impetuofity, and fweeps away the harvcfl; and the flock, the shepherd and the village, together.

Telfmachus heard the fliouts of the vi(5lors at a diflance; and saw his people flying before Adraflus, with disorder and precipitation, like a timid herd, that, pcrfued by the hunter, traverfcs the plain, ruflics through the forest, leaps the precipice, and plunges into the flood. A groan ifllied from his breall, and his eyes fparkled with indignation: he quitted the spot wh^rc he had long fought with fo much danger and glory, and hafied to fuilain his party:

he he advanced, covered with the blood of a multitude, whom he had extended in the dull; and, in his way, he gave a fliout, that was at once heard by both armies.

Minerva had communicated a kind of namelcfs terror to his voice, which the neighbouring mountains returned. The voice even of Mars, was never louder in Thrace, when he called up the infernal furies, War and Death. The fliout of Telemachus animated his people with new courage, and chilled his enemies with fear; Adraftus himself was moved, and bluflied at the confusion that he felt. A thousand fatal prefages thrilled him with secret horror; and he was actuated, rather by despair, than courage: his trembling knees thrice bent under him, and he thrice drew back, without knowing what he did; his countenance faded to & deadly pale, and a cold sweat covered his body -, his voice became hollow, tremulous and interrupted; and a kind of fullen fire gleamed in his eyes, which appeared to be starting from their fockets. All his motions had the sudden violence of a convulfion, and he looked like Oreftes when he was pofleflcd by the furies. He now began to believe there were Gods j he fancied that he saw them, denouncing vengeance; and that he heard a hollow voice ilFuing from the depths of hell, and calling him to everlafling torment. Every thing imprefled him with a sense, that a Divine and invisible hand was raised against him; and that it would crufh him in its dcfccnt. Hope was cxtinguiflied in his breafl; and his courage fled, as light flics, when the sun plunges in the deep, and the earth is inveloped in the fliades of night.

Adraftus, whose tyranny would already have been too long, if the earth had not needed fo fevcrc a fcourge; the impious Adraftus had now filled up the measure of his iniquity, and his hour was come. He ruflied forward, to meet his fate, with a blind fury, which horror, remorse, indignation, and despair, united to inspire.

At

At the first fight of Telemachus, he thought that Avernus opened at his feet, and the fiery waves of Phlcgeton roared to receive him: he uttered a cry of terror, and his mouth continued open, but he was unable to speak; hkc a man terrified with a frightful dream, who makes an effort to complain, but can articulate nothing. He difcharged a lance at Telemachus, with tremor and precipitation: but Telemachus, ferene and fearlefs, as the friend of Heaven, covered himself with his buckler; and Victory seemed to overfliadow him with her wings, and fufpend a crown over his head: in his eye there was something that expressed, at once, courage and tranquillity; and such was his apparent fuperiority to danger, that he might have been taken for Minerva hcrfclf. He turned aside the lance, that was thrown againfl: him by AdraRus, who inflantly drew his fvvord, that he might prevent Telemachus from difcharging his lance in return: Telemachus, therefore, relinquished his fpear; and, seeing the sword of Adraftus in his handj immediately unlheathed his own.

When the other combatants on each fide saw them thus closely engaged, they laid down their arms; and, fixing their eyes upon them, waited, in silence, for the event that would determine the war. Their fwords flaflicd like the bolts of Jove, when he thunders from the sky; and their polifhed armour refounded with the flrokes. They advanced, retired, {looped, and fprung suddenly up; til!, at length clofing, each fciz;ed his antagonift at the fame moment. The clafping ivy less closely embraces the elm, than these combatants each other. The llrength of Adraftus was undiminifhed; but that of Telemachus was not yet mature. Adraftus frequently endeavoured to furprize and ftagger him, by a sudden and violent effort, but without success: he then endeavoured to fcrzc his sword; but the moment he relinquifhed his grasp for that puf; )fe, Teli'Machus lifted him from the ground and laid him is feet. In this dreadful moment, the wretch who had fo long

D d d defied defied the Gods, betrayed an unmanly fear of death. He was ashamed to beg his life; yet, not able to fupprefs his desire to live, he endeavoured to move Telemachus with compassion: "O son of Ulyssks! said he, I now acknowledge, that there are Gods, and that the Gods are jufl: their righteous retribution has overtaken me! It is misfortune only, that opens our eyes to truth: I now see it, and it condemns me. But let an unhappy prince bring thy father, now distant from his country, to thy remembrance, and touch thy breast with compassion!"

Telemachus, who kept the tyrant under him with his knee, and had raised the sword to difpatch him, suspended the blow: " I fight, said he, only for vi6lory, and for peace; not for vengeance, or for blood! Live, then; but live, to atone for the wrongs you have committed: rellore the dominions you have ufurped; and establish justice and tranquillity upon the coast of Hcfperia, which you have fo long polluted by cruelty and fraud: live, from henceforth, a convert to truth and virtue. Learn, from your defeat, that the Gods are juil; and that the wicked are miserable: that, to seek happiness in violence and deceit, is to enfure difappointment; and that there is no enjoyment, like the constant cxercife of integrity and benevolence! As a pledge of your sincerity, give us your son Metrodorus, and twelve chiefs of your nation, for hollages."

Telemachus then fuffcred Adrafi:us to rise; and, not fufpecfling his infinccrity, offered him his hand. But the tyrant, in this unguarded moment, perfidioufly threw a short javelin at him, which he had hitherto kept concealed: the weapon was fo keen, and thrown with such dexterity and strength, that it would have pierced the armour of Telemachus, if it had not been of Divine temper; and Adraftus, being now without arms, placed himself, forfecurity, behind a tree. Telemachus then cried out, " Bear witness, Daunians, the victory is ours! The life of your king was mine, by

4 ' conquest;

XX.

;87 conquest; and it is now forfeited by treachery. He, that fears not the Gods, is afraid of death; he, that fears the Gods, can fear nothing else." He advanced haftily towards the Daunians, as he spoke; and made a sign to his people, that were on the other lide of the tree, where AdrafUis had taken refuge, to cut off his retreat. The tyrant, perceiving his situation, would have made a dcfperate effort, to force his way through the Cretans; but Tel e mac h us, rufliing upon him, sudden and irrefidible as the bolt, which the Father of the Gods launches, from the fummit of Olympus, to dellroy the guilty, seized him with hi^ victorious hand, and laid him proftrate in the dust; as the northern tempeft levels the harvest, not yet ripe for the fickle. The vi(5lor was then deaf to entreaty; though the perfidious tyrant again attempted to abuse the goodness of his heart: he plunged the sword in his breast; and difmiffed his foul to the flapies of Tartarus, the just punifliraent of his crimes!

The END of the TWENTIETH BOOK,

•/rir.A'.

ca./^ j\yi^u^

C- ffr^^nkftf/J

XXI.

THE Daunians, as soon as Adraftus was dead, instead of deploring their defeat, and the loss of their chief, rejoiced in their deliverance; and gave their hands to the allies, in token of peace and reconciliation. Mctrodorus, the son of Adraftus, whom the tyrant had brought up in the principles of diflimulation, injustice, and cruelty, pufilanimoufly fled: but a slave, who had been the confident and companion of his vices, whom he had enfranchifed, and loaded with benefits, and to whom alone he trusted in his flight, thought only, how he might improve the opportunity to his own advantage: he, therefore, attacked him behind, as he fled; and having cut off his head, brought it into the camp of the allies, hoping to receive a great reward for a crime, which would put an end to the war: the allies, however, were struck with horror at the sad, and put the traytor to death.

Telemachus,

Telemachus, when he saw the head of Metrodorus, a youth of great beauty and excellent endowments, whom the love of pleasure and bad examples had corrupted, could not refrain from tears: " What an instance, said he, of the mischief of prosperity to a young prince! the greater his elevation, and the keener his fenfibility, the more easy, and the more certain, is his fedudion from virtue! And what has now happened to Metrodorus, might, perhaps, have happened to me; if I had not been favoured, by the Gods, with early misfortune, and the counsels of Mentor."

The Daunians, being alTembled, required, as the only condition of peace, that they should be permitted to chufe a king of their own nation, whose virtues might remove the difgrace which Adpflus had brought upon royalty: they were thankful to the Gods, who had cut him off; they came, in crowds, to kiss the Ixand of Telehiachus, as the inflrument of Divine juflice; and ihey celebrated their defeat as a triumph. Thus, the power, which threatened all Hefperia, and llruck united nations with terror, fell, in a moment, totally, and for ever! So the ground, that is gradually undermined, in appearance maintains its liability: the (low progress of the work below, is difregarded or despised; nothing Ihakes, nothing is broken, and, in appearance, nothing is weak: yet, the secret support is certainly, though infenfibly deflroyed; and the moment, at last, arrives, when t|ie whole falls at once into ruin, and nothing remains but an abyss, in which the surface, and all that covered it, is fwallowed up. An illegal authority, however founded, is gradually fubverted by fraud and cruelty: it is gazed at with admiration and terror, and every one trembles before it, till the moment when it fmks into nothing: it falls by its own weight, and it can rise no more 5 for its support is not only removed, biu annihilated; juitice and integrity are wanting, which alone can produce confidence and love.

Oa

On the next day, the chiefs of the army afTcmbled, to give the Daiinians a king: they saw the two camps intermingled by an amity fo sudden and unexpected, and the two armies, as it were, incorporated into one, with infinite pleasure. Neftor, indeed, could not be present; for the death of his son was more than the weakness of age could support: he funk under this misfortune, in the decline of life, as a flower finks under the Ihowers of the evening, which was the glory of the field when Aurora first gave the day: his eyes continually overflowed, from an inexhauftible source -, the lenient hand of sleep closed them no more; and the foothing profpe(5ls of hope, in which misery itself can rejoice, were cut off. All food was bitter to his taste, and light was painful to his eye; he had no wilh, but to be difmilTed from life, and covered with the veil of eternal darkness. The voice of friendship foothed and expofl.ulated in vain; for even kindness itself difgufted him, as the richest dainties are difguftful to the sick. To foft condolence, apd tender expoftulation, he anfwercd only by sounds of inarticulate sorrow: yet he was, fomctimes, heard to break out into paflionate exclamations, alone: " O Pififtratus! he would say, O my son! thou calleft me, and I will follow thee: thou hafl: made death welcome J and I have no wish, but once more to behold thee upon the borders of the Styx!" After such burfts of grief, he would pass whole hours in silence; except that, lifting up his hands and eyes to Heaven, groans would involuntarily escape him.

In the mean time, the princes that were aflembled, waited impatiendy for Telemachus, who still continued near the body of Pififtratus, burning the richest perfumes, Scattering flowers over it with a liberal hand, and mingling the fragrant fliower with his tears: " O my dear companion! said he, can our first meeting at Pylos, our journey to Sparta, and our meeting on the coast of Hefperia, be forgotten! How many obligations am I under to thee!

how how tenderly did I love thee! and how faithfully was my love returned! I knew thy valour; it would have rivalled the greatefl heroes of Greece: but alas! it has deftroycd thee! It has, indeed, confccrated thy name; but it has impovcriflied the world! We have lost the virtues, that would have been equal to those of thy father; another Neftor, whose wifdoni and eloquence would, in future times, have been the pride and achniration of Greece! That foft perfuafion was already upon thy lips, which, when Neftor fpcaks, is irrefiftiblc: that native simplicity and truth, that gentle expoftulation, which fooths anger into peace j and that authority, which equanimity and wisdom necclTarily acquire, were already thy own! To thy voice, every ear was attentive; and every heart was inclined to approve thy judgment! Thy words, plain and artlefs, diftilled upon the heart, as the dews of heaven diftil upon the riftng herbage of the field! hi thee, how many bleftings, within a few hours, did we poflefs! with thee, how many blellings have we now lost for ever! Pififtratus, whom, but yesterday, I clafped to my brcaft, is now infenfible to my friendship; and a mournful remembrance of him is all that remains! If, instead of our clofing thy eyes, thou hadst closed the eyes of Neftor, the Gods would have spared him this fight of anguilh and horror; and he would not have been distinguished, among fathers, by unexampled calamity!"

After these exclamations of tenderness and pity, Telemachus ordered the blood to be washed from the wounded fide of Pififtratus, and the body to be laid upon a purple bier. Upon this bed of death, his head reclined, and his coinitenancc pale, he refembled a young tree, which, having covered the earth with its fliade, and Ihot up its branches to heaven, is cut down by the axe with an untimely ftrokc: it is fevered, at once, from its root, and from the earth, a prolific mother, that chcrilhes her oflspring in herbofom!

The

The branches languifh, and the verdure fades; it is no longer self-supported; it falls to the ground, and its spreading honours, that concealed the sky, are flretched, withered, and faplefs in the dufl: it is no more a tree, but a lifelefs trunk; it afpires, and is graceful, no more! Thus fallen, and thus changed, Pififtratus was now borne to the funeral pile, attended by a band of Pylians, moving with a flow and mournful pace; their arms reverfed, and their eyes, fwimming in tears, fixed upon the ground! And now the flame afcends, in ruddy fpires, to the sky; the body is quickly consumed, and the ashes depofited in a golden urn. This urn, as an invaluable treasure, Telemachus, who fuperintended the whole, confided to Callimachus, to whom Neftor had once confided the ■ son, whose remains it contained: " Preserve, said he, these mournful but precious relicks, of one whom you tenderly loved! Preserve them for his father! but do not give them, till he has fortitude enough to aflc for them: that, which at one time exafperates sorrow, will footh it at another."

Telemachus, having thus fulfilled the last duties to his friend, repaired to the aflembly of the confederate princes, who, the moment they saw him, became silent with attention: he bluflied at the deference that was paid him, and could not be prevailed upon to speak. The acclamations that followed, increased his confiifion; he wished to hide himself, and now, for the firll time, appeared to be irrefolute and difconcerted. At last he intreated, as a favour, that they would praise him no more; " Not, says he, because it difpleafes me, especially from those who are fo well able to diitinguiih virtue; but because I am afraid, it should please me too much: praise is the great corrupter of mankind; it renders them arrogant, prefumptuous, and vain; and ought, alike to be deserved and avoided. Nothing is fo like honest praise, as flattery: tyrants, the most wicked of all men, are mod the objeds of adulation i lation; and what pleasure can I derive from such tribute? Honcft praifc, if I am fo happy totleferve it, will be paid when I am absent; and, if you believe that I have merit, you must also believe that I defirc to be humble, and am afraid of being vain. Spare me, then, if you ellecm me; and do not praise me, as if you thought praifc was delightful to my ear."

Telemachus, having thus cxprefled the fcntiments of his heart, took no farther notice of those, who still continued loud in extravagant encomiums, and his negletfl soon put them to silence; for they began to fear, that their zeal would displease him: praise, therefore, was at an end, but admiration increafcd; for the tendcrnefs which he had Ihcwn to Pififtratus, and the affec^lionate afliduity with which he had paid the lall duties of a friend, were universally known; and the whole army was more touched with these teflimonies of fenfibility and benevolence, than with all the prodigies of wdfdom and valour, that had diflinguiilied his charadler with unrivalled luftre. *' He is wife, said they to each other; and he is brave.- he is beloved of the Gods; he flands alone, the hero of our age; he is more than man! but this is only wonderful, this excites no pallion but allonifhment. He is, besides, humane; he is good; he is a faithful and a tender friend;' he is companionate, liberal, beneficent, and devoted, without reserve, to those who merit his aiFe(5lion! Of his haughtincfs, indifference, and ferocity, nothing remains; and he is now, not the wonder only, but the delight of mankind! His characfter is now distinguished, by useful and endearing excellence; by qualities that reach the heart, that melt us with tenderness, that make us not only acknowledge, but feel his virtues; and would prompt us to redeem his life with our own!"

The princes, having thus given vent to their elleem and admiration, proceeded to debate the necefiity of giving the Daunians

E e e a king.

5p^ BOO K XXT.

a king. The greater part of the aflembly was of opinion, that the territories of Adraftus &ould be divided among them, as a conquered country; and Telemachtjs was offered, as his share, thefertile country of Arpos, where Ceres pours out her golden treafurcs, Bacchus presents his delicious fruit, and the olive, consecrated to Minerva, pays her green tribute twice a year. •' This country, said they, ought to obliterate Ithaca from your remembrance, its barren soil, its mean cottages, the dreary rocks of Dulichium, and the favage forests of Zacynthus. Think no more of your father, who has certainly been buried in the deep at the promontary of Caphareus, by the vengeance of Nauplius, and the anger of Neptune; nor of your mother, who mull have yielded to her fuitors in your absence; nor of your country, which the Gods have riot favoured like that,.which is now offered you."

Te'lemachus heard them patiently} but the rocks of TliefTaly and Thrace are not more deaf and inexorable to the complaints of defpairing love, than the son of Ulysses to these offers. " I have no wish, said he, either for luxury, or wealth; and why should I pofTefs a wider extent of country, or command a greater number of men? I Ihould only be more embarraiTed, and less at libertyo Men of the greatefl wisdom, and mofl moderate desires, have found* life full of trouble; without taking upon them the government of' others, who arerefllefs and untradlable, injurious, fraudulent, ancl? ungrateful. He, that desires to command others for his own sake,, without any view but to -his own power, and pleasure, and glory,,> is a tyrant; an enemy to the Gods^ and a punishment to man! He, who governs mankind with juflice and equity, fbr their own advantage, is rather their guardian than their lord: his trouble isinconceivable; and he is far from williing to increase iti by extending his authority. The Ihepherd, who does not riot upon the flellx of his flock, who defends them from the wolf at the hazard of his life, who leads them to the befl paflure, and watches over them night and day, has no desire to increase the number of his ihecp, or to seize upon those that belong to his neighbour; for this would only increase his care, by multiplying its objedls. Though I have never governed, I have learnt from the laws, and from the fages by whom laws have been made, that government is an anxious and laborious task: i am, therefore, content with Ithaca, however small, and however poor; and if I can reign there, with fortitude, jullice, and piety, I fhali have no need to wish for a larger dominion, to increase my glory. My reign, indeed, may commence but too soon. Would to Heaven, that my father, efcaping the fury of the waves, may reign himself to the longeft period of human life; and that, under him, I may learn to fubdue my own passions, till I know how to rellrain those of a whole nation!"

Telemachus then addrefled the aflembly in these terms: " Hear, O ye princes! what your interest makes it my duty to declare. If you give the Daunians a just king, he will make them a just people; he will slew them the advantage of keeping their faith unbroken, and of not invading the territories of their neighbours j a leflbn, which, under the impious Adraftus, they could never learn. From these people, while they are under the dire<flion of a wife and good prince, you will have nothing to fear; if such a prince you Ihall give them, they will be indebted for him to you; and they will be indebted to you, for the peace and prosperity that they will enjoy under him: instead of attacking, they will bless you j and both king and people will be, as it were, the work of your own hands. But, on the contrary, if you divide their country among you, the mifchiefs, which I now predift, will certainly come to pass. The Daunians, pufhed to defperation, will renew the war; they will fight in a just cause, the cause of liberty; and the Gods, who abhor tyranny, will fight for them: if the Gods should take

E e e 2 part

55)6 BOOK XXL part against you, firil or lafl: you mufl be confounded, and your prosperity will diffipate like a vapour: counsel and wisdom will be withdrawn from your chiefs, courage from your armies, and plenty from your country j your hope will be prefumptuous, and your undertakings rafli; you will impose silence upon those, that warn you of your danger; and your ruin will be sudden and irretrievable: it will then be said, " Is this the mighty nation that was to give laws to the world? this, that is now vanquiflied, pursued, and trampled in the dull I Such is the desert of the lawlefs, the haughty, and the cruel; and such is the righteous retribution of Heaven!"

" Consider also, that, if you undertake to divide your conquell, you will unite all the surrounding nations againfl you: your alliance, which was formed in defence of the common liberty of Hefperia, against the ufurpations of Adraflus, will become odious; and you will yourselves be juflly accused, of afpiring at auniverfal tyranny. But suppose that you should be victorious against the Daunians, and every other people, your iuccefs will inevitably be your ruin. This measure will difunite you: it cannot be taken,, without a violation of those very rules, by which alone you can. regulate your own pretcnfions; it will fubftitute power for justice,. and, therefore, each of you will make his power the meafm-e of his claim. Not one of you will have fufiicient authority over the rest, to make a peaceable division of the common property; and thus a new war will commence, of which your descendants, that ai^e not yet born, will probably never see the end. Is it not better to fit down in peace^ with justice and moderation, than to follow ambition, where all is tumult, danger, and calamity? Is not perfed: tranquillity and blamclcfs pleasure, a plentiful country and friendly neighbours, the glory that is infeparable from justice? and the authority, that must result from an integrity, to which foreign nations nations refer their contefts for decision, more defirablc, than the idle vanity of lawlefs conquefl? I speak, O princes! without interest; I oppose your opinions, because I love you; I tell you the truth, though I risk your displeasure: Ihould the counsel of integrity be lightly rejeded?" While Telemachus wvls thus speaking, with a new and irreliftible authority j and the princes were admiring the wisdom of his counsels, in astonishment and fufpenfe j a confused noise spread through the camp, and came at last to the place where they were afTembled. It was said, that a stranger had just landed, with a company of men in arms; that he was of a lofty port, and had a military greatness in his afpedl and demeanour; that he appeared to have endured great adverlity, and to be fuperiour to all fufferance. The soldiers, who were stationed to guard the coast, at first prepared to repulfc him as an enemy that was invading their country: upon which he drew his sword with an air of intrepidity, and declared that, if he was attacked, he could make good his defence; but that he required only peace and hofpitality. He then held out an olive branch as a fupplicant; and, desiring to be conducted to those who commanded that part of the coast, he was accordingly brought to the royal aiTembly.

The moment after this intelligence was received, the stranger entered. His majeftic appearance struck the whole aflcmbly with furprize; he looked like the God of war, when he calls together his fanguinary bands upon the mountains of Thrace; and he addrefled the princes in these terms:

" Surely, I see the guardians of mankind, afTembled to defend their country, or distribute justice! ' Here, then, a man, persecuted by fortune, may hope to be heard: may the Gods preferye you from the like calamity! I am Diomede, the king of iEtolia, wJio wounded Venus at the iiege of Troy; and her vengeance perfues jae.

3^ BOO K XXI.

me, whitherfocver I fly. Neptune, who can refuse nothing to the Divine daughter of the sea, has given me up to the fury of the winds and waves; and 1 have fufFcred shipwreck almofl upon every fock. Inexorable Venus has left me no hope of again returning to my kingdom, or clafping my family to my breast! In the country, where I first beheld the light, I shall behold it no more: from all that is dear to me, I am fevered for ever! Upon this unknown coall, after all my fhipwrecks, I fcek only security and rest. Jupiter himself, is the Granger's tutelary God: if, therefore, ye have any reverence of Heaven, if ye have any feelings of compaflion; vouchfafe me Tome negle<5ted corner of this vast country, some barren spot, some untrodden waste, some fandy plain, some craggy rock, where I may take refuge with my aflbciates in misfortune, and build a little town, a sad memorial of the country we have lofl! We ask but a small traft of such ground, as is useless to you; we will be peaceful neighbours, and firm allies j we will have no enemy, and no interest, but yours; and we desire no other,diflin6tion or peculiarity, than the liberty of living according to.our own laws."

While Diomede was speaking, Telemachus kept his eyes fixed upon him •, and all the changes of pafiion were, by turns, exprefifed in his afpedl. When the hero, at first, mentioned his long misfortunes, he thought this majeftic flranger might be his father, and his countenance brightened with hope; the moment he declare^ himself to be Diomede, it faded, like a flower at the chill blaft of the north.; and, when he complained of inexorable anger, and an offended Goddefs, the heart of Telemachus was melted, by the remembrance of what his father and himself had suffered froiTi the fame cause: the conflid was, at last, more than he could sustain; and, burfling into tears of grief and joy, he threw himself tupon the neck of Diomede, and enabraced him.

3 " I am.

" I am, said he, the son of Ulysses, your aflbciate in the war; who, when you carried ofF the horses of Rhefus, was not idle. The Gods have treated him with unrelenting severity, as they have treated you. If the oracles of Erebus may be believed, he is dill alive; but alas! he is not alive to me. I have left Ithaca, to seek him; and I have now lost him, and my country, for ever! Judge, from my misfoi'tuncs, of my compaflion for yours; for misfortune is the parent of pity, and fo far it is an advantage. In this country, I am but a stranger myself; and I have, from my infancy^ suffered various distress in my own. Yet, O mighty Diomede! {E was not there ignorant of the glory you have acquired; nor am I, here, unable, O next to Achilles in courage and prowefs! to procure" you some fuccour. The princes which you see in this aflembljr, are not strangers to humanity; they are sensible, that, without it, there is neither virtue, nor courage, nor honour. The truly great become more illustrious by adverfity; without adverfity, fomcthing is wanting in their character j they cannot be examples, either of patience, or of fortitude: when virtue fufTers, every heart is melted, that is not infenfible to virtue. Entrust, then, your affairsimplicitly with us, to whom the Gods have given you: we receive you, as a bounty from their hands; and shall think ourselves happy, in the power of alleviating your distress."

Diomede, astonished at what he heard, fixed his eyes upon Te- LEMACHUS; and, feeling himfclf moved to the heart, they embraced, as if they had been long united by the most intimate friendship. " O son of the wife Ulysses, said he, how worthy art thou of such a father! Thou hast the fame fwe'etnefs of countenance, the fame graceful elocution, the fame force of eloquence, the fame elevation of sentiment, and the fame reftitude of thought!"

"Hie hero was also embraced by PhiIo(ftetes; and they related • tiheir unfortunate adventures to each other: " You would, certainly.

tainly, said Philocletcs, be glad once more to feeNeflor: he has just lost his last surviving child, Pififtratus; and, to him, this world is now only a vale of tears, leading to the grave. Come with me, and comfort him: an unfortunate friend is more likely, than any other, to footh his distress."

They went immediately to his tent: but grief had fo much affeded both his senses, and his understanding, that he recolleded ■Diomede with difficulty. • Diomede, at first, wept with him; and the old man felt his grief increased by the interview: the presence •of his friend, however, foothed his anguish by degrees; and it was easy to perceive, that the sense of his misfortunes was, in some ■degree, suspended, by the pleasure of relating them, and of hearing what had befallen Diomede in return.

in the mean time, the aflembled princes consulted with Tele- MACHus, what was proper to be done. Telemachus advised them, to bestow the country of Arpos upon Diomede, and to give Polydamas to the Daunians for their king. Polydamas was their countryman; a soldier, of whose eminent abilities Adraftus was jealous; and whom, therefore, he would never employ, left he Ihould Ihare the glory of success, which he wished to secure to himself. Polydamas had often 4old him, in private, that, in a war against united nations, his life, and the public welfare, were too much exposed; and would have persuaded him, to treat the neighbouring states with more justice and equity: but men, who hate truth, hate those also who are bold enough to speak it; they are not touched, either with their finccrity, their zeal, or their difintereft- .ednefs. A delufive prosperity hardened the heart of Adraftus, against the counsels of virtue; and the negledl of them, aftbrded 3iim, every day, a new triumph; for fraud, and violence, gave ■him the advantage over all his enemies. The misfortunes, which

Polydamas