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Hereupon he oppofed it no longer, but prepared for his departure; though not without regretting the defert where he fo many years had lived. Alas! faid he, must I leave you, my delightful grotto, where peaceful flumbers nightly came to refresh me after the toils of the day! Here the fatal filters; in the midst of my poverty, fpun my days of a gold and filken thread. He fell on the earth, and weeping adored the naiad who had fo long flaked his thirt with her limpid wave, and the nymphs that dwelt on all the neighbouring mountains. Echo heard his wailings, and with a plaintive voice repeated them to all the rural deities.

Philocles then went to the city with Hegefippus, in order to embark. He imagined that the unhappy Protefilaus, overwhelmed with shame and indignation, would avoid seeing him; but he was mistaken: For corrupt men have no shame, and are always ready to ftoop to any kind of meannefs. Philocles modeftly kept out of the way, that he might not be feen by this wretch; being apprehensive that the fight of a profperous rival, who was going to be raifed on his ruin, would increafe his mifery. But Protefilaus eagerly fought after Philocles, and endeavoured to move his pity, and to engage him to folicit the king that he might return to Salentum. Philocles was too fincere to promife, that he would try to get him recalled, for he knew better than any one how pernicious his return would have been. He talked to him however with great mildnefs; he pitied him, endeavoured to comfort him, and exhorted him to appease the Gods by the purity of his manners, and an exemplary patience under his fufferings. And as he had heard that the king had ftript Protefilaus of all his ill-gotten wealth, he promifed him two things which he afterwards faithfully performed: One was, to take care of his wife and children, who remained at Salentum, in a frightful ftate of poverty, expofed to public indignation; the other was, to fend Protefilaus, in this remote ifland, fome fupplies of money to alleviate his mifery,

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Cependant les voiles s'enflent d'un vent favorable. Hégéfippe impatient fe hâte de faire partir Philoclès. Protéfilas les voit embarquer, fes yeux demeurent attachés & immobiles fur le rivage; ils fuivent le vaiffeau qui fend les ondes, & que le vent éloigne toujours. Lors même qu'il ne peut plus le voir, il en repeint encore l'image dans fon efprit. Enfin troublé, furieux, livré à fon défespoir, il s'arrache les cheveux, fe roule fur le fable, reproche aux Dieux leur rigueur, appelle en vain à fon fecours la cruelle mort, qui fourde à fes prieres ne daigne point le délivrer de tant de maux, & qu'il n'a pas le courage de fe donner lui-même.

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Cependant le vaiffeau, favorifé de Neptune & des vents arriva bientôt à Salente. On vint dire au roi qu'il entroit déjà dans le port. Auffitôt il courut au devant de Philoclès avec Mentor; il l'embrassa tendrement, lui témoigna un fenfible regret de l'avoir perfécuté avec tant d'injuftice. Cet aveu, bien loin de paroître une foibleffe dans un roi, fut regardé par tous les Salentins comme l'effort d'une grande ame qui s'éleve au-deffus de fes propres fautes, en les avouant avec courage pour les réparer. Tout le monde pleuroit de joie de revoir l'homme de bien qui avoit aimé le peuple, & d'entendre le roi parler avec tant de fageffe & de bonté.

Philoclès, avec un air refpectueux & modefte, recevoit les careffes du roi, & avoit impatience de se dérober aux acclamations du peuple; il fuivit le roi au palais. Bientôt Mentor & lui furent dans la même confiance que s'ils avoient paffé leur vie enfemble, quoiqu'ils ne fe fuffent jamais vus; c'est que les Dieux, qui ont refufé aux méchans des yeux pour connoître les bons, ont donné aux bons de quoi fe connoître les uns les autres. Ceux qui ont le goût de la vertu, ne peuvent être ensemble, fans être unis par la vertu qu'ils aiment. Bientôt Philoclès demanda au roi à fe retirer auprès de Salente dans une folitude où il continua à vivre pauvrement, comme il avoit vécu à Samos. Le roi alloit avec Mentor le voir prefque tous les jours dans fon défert. C'est là

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Mean while the fails fwelling with a favourable gale, Hegefippus grows impatient, and haftens the departure of Philocles. Protefilaus fees them embark; his eyes are motionlefs and fixed on the shore;. they then purfue the bark as it cleaves the waves. and is continually driven farther off by the winds. And even when he could fee it no longer, its image remains in his mind. At length diftracted, furious defpairing, he tears off his hair, rolls himself on the fand, upbraids the Gods with their rigour, and calls relentless death to his aid, but, calls in vain; for death, regardless of his prayers, deigns not to deliver him from his numerous wees, nor has he the courage to deliver himself.

Mean time the bark, favoured by Neptune and the winds, quickly arrives at Salentum. The king being told that it was entering the port, immediately ran with Mentor to meet Philocles. He tenderly embraced him, and expreffed a great concern for having fo unjustly perfecuted him. This confeffion, inftead of feeming a weakness in a prince, was looked upon by all the Salentines as the effort of a great foul, which rifes above its error by owning and refolving to repair them. Every body wept with joy to fee this virtuous lover of the people, and to hear the king talk with fo much wifdom and goodness.

Philocles received the king's careffes with a refpectful modest air; he was impatient to steal away from the acclamations of the people, and followed Idomeneus to the palace. Mentor and he quickly repofed as much confidence in each other, as if they had paffed their lives together though they never faw one another before; for the Gods, who have not given eyes to the wicked to know the good, have given eyes to the good to know one another. They who relish virtue, cannot be together without contracting a friendship, by means of the virtue they love. Philocles foon asked the king's leave to retire to a folitary place near Salentum, where he continued to live in poverty as he had done at Samos. The king and Mentor went almost every day to wifit his

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qu'on examinoit les moyens d'affermir les loix, & de donner une forme folide au gouvernement pour le bonheur public.

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Les deux principales chofes qu'on examina fut l'éducation des enfans, & la maniere de vivre pendant la paix. Pour les enfans, Mentor difoit qu'ils appartiennent moins à leurs parens qu'à la république; ils font les enfans du peuple, ils en font l'efpérance & la force; il n'eft pas temps de les corriger, quand ils fe font corrompus. C'est peu que de les exclure des emplois lorfqu'on voit qu'ils s'en font rendus indignes il vaut bien mieux prévenir le mal que d'être réduit à le punir. Le roi, ajoutoit-il, qui eft le pere de tout fon peuple, eft encore plus particulierement le pere de toute la jeuneffe, qui eft la fleur de toute la nation. C'eft dans la fleur qu'il faut préparer les fruits. Que le roi ne dédaigne donc pas de veiller, & de faire veiller fur l'éducation qu'on donne aux enfans. Qu'il tienne ferme pour faire obferver les loix de Minos qui ordonnent qu'on éléve les enfans dans le mépris de la douleur & de la mort qu'on mette l'honneur à fuir les délices & les richeffes; que l'injuftice, le menfonge, l'ingratitude, la molleffe paffent pour des vices infâmes; qu'on leur apprenne dès leur plus tendre enfance à chanter les louanges des héros qui ont fait des actions généreufes pour leur patrie, & qui ont fait éclater leur courage dans les combats; que le charme de la mufique faififfe leurs ames pour rendre leurs mœurs douces & pures; qu'ils apprennent à être tendres pour leurs amis, fidéles à leurs alliés, équitables pour tous les hommes, même pour leurs plus cruels ennemis; qu'ils craignent moins la mort & les tourmens que le moindre reproche de leurs confciences. Si de bonne heure on remplit les enfans de ces grandes maximes, & qu'on les faffe entrer dans leur cœur par la douceur du chant, il y en aura peu qui ne s'enflamment de l'amour de la gloire & de la vertu.

Mentor ajoutoit qu'il étoit capital d'établir des écoles publiques pour accoutumer la jeuneffe aux

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in his retirement, where they concerted the means of ftrengthening the laws, and of giving a folid form to the government for the good of the public.

The two principal things which they confidered were the education of children, and the manner of living in time of peace. As to children, faid Mentor, they are lefs the property of their parents than of the public; they are the children of the people, and are their hope and ftrength; it is too late to correct them, when they are corrupted; it avails little to exclude them from employments, when they have rendered themfelves unworthy of them; it is better to prevent the evil than to be obliged to punish it. The king, added he, who is the father of all his people, is ftill more particularly the father of all the youth; they are the bloffom of the whole nation, and the fruits must be prepared in the bloffom. Let not the king therefore difdain to be watchful, and to cause others to be watchful, of the education of children. Let him be fteady in caufing the laws of Minos to be observed, which ordain that children be educated in a contempt of pain and death; that honour be placed in flighting pleafures and riches; that injuftice, lying, ingratitude, and luxury be accounted infamous vices that they be taught from their tendereft infancy to fing the praifes of heroes who were beloved of the Gods, who have done generous actions for their country, and have diftin guished their courage in battle; that the charms of mufic ftrike their fouls, in order to foften and purify their manners; that they be taught to be kind to their friends, faithful to their allies, juft to all mankind, even to their molt cruel enemies; and that they be lefs apprehenfive of death and tortures, than of the leaft upbraiding of their confcience. If chi'dren are early imbued with these important maxims, and the melody of mufic infinuate them into their hearts, there will be few who will not burn with a love of glory and virtue.

Mentor added, That it was of great importance to inftitute public schools, in order to habituate the

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