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As for your allies, when they are ready to engage in a war with each other, it is your part to become their mediator. You thereby acquire a more folid and unquestionable glory than that of conquerors; you win the love and esteem of strangers; they all stand in need of you, and you reign over them by the confidence they repofe in you, as you reign over your fubjects by your authority. You are the repofitory. of their fecrets, the arbiter of their treaties, the mafter of their hearts. Your fame flies to the most dif tant countries, and your name is like a fweet perfume which diffufes itfeif from country to country even to the remoteft nations. If a neighbouring people attack you in these circumstances contrary to the rules of juftice, it finds you warlike, prepared, and, what is a much greater fecurity, beloved and fuccoured: All your neighbours are alarmed for you, and perfuaded that the public fafety depends on your prefervation. This is a much stronger rampart than all the walls of cities, or the most regular fortifications this is fubftantial glory. But how few princes are there who are wife enough to pursue it, or rather, who do not fly from it! They purfue a delufive phantom, and leave true honour behind them for want of knowing it.

When Mentor had spoken thus Philocles looked upon him with aftonishment; and then turning his eyes on the king, was charmed to fee how greedily Idomeneus ftored up in his heart all the words which poured like a torrent of wifdom from the mouth of this ftranger.

Thus did Minerva, in the form of Mentor, eftablish all the best laws and moft ufeful maxims of government at Salentum; not fo much to make the kingdom of Idomeneus flourish, as to show Telemachus, when he should return, a ftriking example of the effects of a wife adminiftration with regard to the happiness of the people, and the lasting glory of the prince.

End of the Fourteenth Book.

THE

LES

AVENTURES

DE

TÉLÉM A QUE,

FILS D'ULYSSE.

LIVRE QUINZIE M E.

SOMMAIRE.

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Télémaque au camp des alliés gagne l'inclination de Phi lodete, d'abord indifpofé contre lui, à caufe d'Ulyfe fon pere. Philodete lui raconte fes aventures cù il fait entrer les particularités de la mort d'Hercule caufée par la tunique empoisonnée, que le centaurë Neffus avoit donnée à Déjanire: il lui explique comment il obtint de ce héros fes fléches fatales, fans lef quelles la ville de Troye ne pouvoit être prife; comment il fut puni d'avoir trahi fon fecret par tous les maux qu'il fouffrit dans l'ifle de Lemnos ; & comment Ulyffe fe fervit de Neoptolème pour l'engager à aller au fiège de Troye, où il fut guéri de fes bleures par les fils d'Efculape.

CEPENDANT Télémaque montroit fon courage dans les périls de la guerre. En partant de Salente, il s'appliqua à gagner l'affection des vieux capitaines, dont la réputation & l'expérience étoient au comble. Neftor, qui l'avoit déjà vu à Pylos, & qui avoit toujours aimé Ulyffe, le traitoit comme fi ç'eût été fon propre fils. Il lui donnoit des inftructions qu'il appuyoit de divers exemples; il lui racontoit toutes les aventures de fa jeuneffe,

Télémaque gagne l'amitié de Philoctete, qui lui raconte

ses avantures.

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The ARGUMENT.

Telemachus in the camp of the allies wins the affedion of Philodetes, who was at firft prejudiced against him on account of his father Ulyffes. Philodetes relates to him his adventures, with which he interweaves the particu lars of the death of Hercules, occafioned by the poisoned tunic which the Centaur Neffus had given to Dejanira. He informs him how he obtained of this hero his fatal arrows, without which the city of Troy could not have been taken; how de was punished for betraying his fecret, by all the miferies he suffered in the ifle of Lem nos, and how Ulyffes employed Neoptolemus to engage him to go to the siege of Troy, where he was cured of his wound by the fons of Efculapius.

IN

N the mean time Telemachus was fignalizing his courage admidft the dangers of war. When he departed from Salentum, he was very affiduous to win the affection of the old captains, whofe reputation and experience were the most confummate. Neftor, who had feen him before at Pylos and who always loved Ulyffes, treated him as if he had been his own fon; giving him inftructions which he enforced by various examples, and relating to him all the adven

tures

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