continually thrown into by the violence of his paffions. He had been fondled and humoured by his mother from his cradle, and was a fignal inftance of the misfortunes of a high birth. The calamities he fuffered even from his greeneft years had not been capable to qualify this haughtiness and vehemence of his temper. Though he had been deftitute of all things, for faken and exposed to numerous evils, yet had he loft nothing of his pride: That continually rofe up again, as the pliant palm inceffantly rifes of itfelf, whatever efforts are made to deprefs it.

While Telemachus was with Mentor, thefe failings did not appear, and were daily decreasing. Like a fiery courfer that bounds over the spacious meadows, that stops neither at steepy rocks, nor precipices, nor torrents, and that obeys but the voice and hand of a fingle perfon who knows to manage him; Telemachus, full of a noble ardor, could not be restrained but by Mentor alone: But then a look of his would instantly ftop him in his fwifteft career; he immediately comprehended its meaning; he recalled every fentiment of virtue to his heart, and his reafon in a moment rendered his countenance calm and ferene: Neptune, when he lifts his trident and threatens the fwelling billows does not more fuddenly ftill the lowering tempelts.

When Telemachus was alone, all his paffions that had been reftrained like a torrent by a strong dike, took their natural course; he could not brook the arrogance of the Lacedæmonians and of Phalantus who was at their head. This colony, which had founded Tarentum was compofed of young men who were born during the fiege of Troy and had never had any education. Their illegitimate birth the diffolute lives of their mothers, and the licentioufnefs in which they had been bred up, gave them fomething of wildnefs and barbarity; they refembled a band of robbers more than a colony of Greeks.

,

Phalantus fought all opportunities of contradicting Telemachus. He often interrupted him in council defpifing his advice as that of an unexperienced youth, he bantered and treated him as an effeminate ftripling

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Liv. XVI. fe traitant de foible & d'efféminé; il faifoit remarquer aux chefs de l'armée fes moindres fautes. Il tâchoit de femer par-tout la jaloufie, & de rendre la fierté de Télémaque odieufe à tous les alliés.

Un jour Télémaque ayant fait fur les Dauniens quelques prifonniers, Phalante prétendit que ces captifs lui appartenoient, parce que c'étoit lui, difoit-il, qui, à la tête de fes Lacédémoniens, avoit défait cette troupe d'ennemis, & que Télémaque trouvant les Dauniens déjà vaincus & mis en fuite, n'avoit eu d'autre peine que celle de leur donner la vie, & de les mener dans le camp. Télémaque foutenoit au contraire, que c'étoit lui qui avoit empêché Phalanté d'être vaincu, & qui avoit remporté la victoire fur les Dauniens. Ils allerent tous deux défendre leur caufe dans l'affemblée des Rois alliés. Télémaque s'y emporta jufqu'à menacer Phalante; ils fe fuffent battus fur le champ, fi on ne les eût arrêtés.

Phalante avoit un frere nommé Hippias célebre dans toute l'armée par fa valeur, par fa force & par fon adreffe. Pollux, difoient les Tarentins, ne combattoit pas mieux du cefte; Caftor n'eût pu le furpaffer pour conduire un cheval: il avoit prefque la taille & la force d'Hercule. Toute l'armée le craignoit; car il étoit encore plus querelleux & plus brutal, qu'il n'étoit fort & vaillant.

Hippias, , ayant vu avec quelle hauteur Télémaque avoit menacé fon frere, va à la hâte prendre les prifonniers pour les emmener à Tarente, fans attendre le jugement de l'affemblée. Télémaque, à qui on vint le dire en fecret, fortit en frémiffant de rage: tel qu'un fanglier écumant, qui cherche le chaffeur par lequel il a été bleffé: on le voyoit errer dans le camp, cherchant des yeux fon ennemi, & branlant le dard, dont il le vouloit percer. Enfin il le rencontre; & en le voyant, fa fureur fe redouble.

Ce n'étoit plus ce fage Télémaque inftruit par Minerve fous la figure de Mentor; c'étoit un phrénétique ou un lion furieux. Auffi-tôt il crie à Hippias Arrête, ô le plus lâche de tous les hommes ! arrête, nous allons voir fi tu pourras m'enlever les dépouilles

ftripling; he made all the chiefs of the army take notice of his flighteft failings; he endeavoured to fow jealoufies every where, and to render Telemachus's high fpirit odious to all the allies.

One day Telemachus having taken fome Daunians prifoners, Phalantus pretended a right to them, alledging that he, at the head of his Lacedæmonians, had defeated that part of the enemy, and that Telemachus, finding the Daunians already vanquished and put to flight, had no trouble but the giving them quarter, and the conducting them to the camp. Telemachus on the contrary maintained, that he had hindered Phalantus from being defeated, and had gained the victory over the Daunians! They both pleaded their cause in an affembly of the confederate princes; where Telemachus being fo far tranfported as to threaten Phalantus, they would instan, tly have fought, had they not been with-held.

Phalantus had a brother, whofe name was Hippias, famous through the whole army for his valour ftrength and dexterity. Pollux, said the Tarentines, did not wield the ceftus better, nor could Castor have excelled him in the management of an horfe: He was almost equal to Hercules in ftature and ftrength. The whole army was afraid of him; for he was ftill more quarrelfome and brutal than ftrong and valiant.

Hippias feeing with what haughtinefs Telemachus menaced his brother, goes immediately to feize the prifoners, in order to convey them to Tarentum without waiting for the decifion of the affembly. Telemachus being privately told of this, went out trembling with rage. Like a foaming boar in purfuit of the hunter that wounded him, did Telemachus rove up and down the camp, looking with eager eyes for his enemy, and brandishing the dart with which he defigned to kill him. At length he meets him, and his rage redoubles at the fight.

He was no longer the wife Telemachus, inftructed by Minerva in the form of Mentor; he was a madmau, or a furious lion. He immediately cries out to Hippias, Stay, thou bafeft of men, ftay; we will foon fee if thou art able to rob me of the fpoils of thofe I

have

dépouilles de ceux que j'ai vaincus. Tu ne les con duiras point à Tarente; va, defcends tout-à-l'heure dans les rives fombres du Styx. Il dit, & il lança fon dard; mais il le lança avec tant de fureur, qu'il ne put mefurer fon coup, le dard ne toucha point Hippias. Auffi-tôt Télémaque prend fon épée, dont la garde étoit d'or, & que Laërte lui avoit donnée quand il partit d'Ithaque comme un gage de fa tendreffe. Laërte s'en étoit fervi avec beaucoup de gloire pendant qu'il étoit jeune, & elle avoit été teinte du fang de plufieurs fameux capitaines des Epirotes, dans une guerre où Laërte fut victorieux. A peine Télémaque eût tiré cette épée, qu'Hippias, qui vou◄ loit profiter de l'avantage de la force, fe jetta pour l'arracher des mains du jeune fils d'Ulyffe. L'épée se rompt dans leurs mains, ils fe faififfent, & fe ferrent l'un l'autre. Les voilà comme deux bêtes cruelIes qui cherchent à fe déchirer; le feu brille dans leurs yeux; ils fe raccourciffent, ils s'allongent, ils fe baiffent ils fe relevent, ils s'élancent, ils font altérés de fang. Les voilà aux prifes, pieds contre pieds, mains contre mains; ces deux corps entrelaffés paroiffoient n'en faire qu'un. Mais Hippias, d'un âge plus avancé, fembloit devoir accabler Télémaque dont la tendre jeuneffe étoit moins nerveufe. Déjà Télémaque, hors d'haleine, fentoit fes genoux chanceler. Hippias le voyant ébranlé, redouble fes efforts C'étoit fait du fils d'Ulyffe, il alloit porter la peine de fa témérité & de fon emportement, fi Minerve, qui veilloit de loin fur lui, & qui ne le laiffoit dans cette extrémité de péril que pour l'inftruire, n'eût déterminé la victoire en fa faveur.

Elle ne quitta point le palais de Salente, mais elle envoya Iris, la prompte meffagere des Dieux. Celle-ci volant d'une aîle légere fend les efpaces immenfes des airs, laiffant après elle une longue trace de lumiere, qui peignoit un nuage de mille diverfes couleurs; elle ne fe repofa que fur les ri vages de la mer où étoit campée l'armée innom◄ brable des alliés : elle voit de loin la querelle, Fardeur & les efforts des deux combattans elle frémig

have vanquished: Thou shalt not lead them to Tarentum; go, inftantly defcend to the gloomy banks of Styx. He faid, and threw his javelin; but throwing it with fo much fury that he could take no aim, it miffed Hippias. Hereupon Telemachus draws the golden hilted fword, which Laertes had given him at his departure from Ithaca as a pledge of his love. Laertes himself had ufed it with great glory in his youth, and dyed it in the blood of feveral famous leaders of the Epirots, in a war wherein he was victorious. Telemachus had hardly drawn his fword when Hippias, refolving to make an advantage of his ftrength, rushed upon him in order to wrest it out of his hands. The fword is broken between them; they feize and clofe with each other. Lo! they now refemble two fierce brutes, that ftrive to tear one another in pieces; fire fparkles in their eyes, they shrink up, they ftretch out; they ftoop down, they rife again, they fpring forwards, they thirst for blood. Lo! they are engaged hand to hand and foot to foot, twilting their two bodies together fo that they feemed to be but one. But Hippias being of a mafeemed as if he would overpower Telemachus, whofe tender youth was not fo nervous. And now Telemachus being out of breath, feels his knees tremble; and Hippias feeing him ftagger, redoubles his efforts. The fon of Ulyffes had been flain, and fuffered the punishment due to his temerity and paffion, had not Minerva, who was watchful of him at a distance, and had let him fall into this extremity of danger only for his inftruction, determined the victory in his favour.

turer age,

The Goddefs herself did not quit the palace of Salentum, but fent Iris the fwift meffenger of the Gods. Iris flying with nimble wings cleaves the immenfe fpaces of the air, leaving behind her a long track of light which looked like a cloud of a thou fand different colours: she did not reft herself 'till she came to the fea-shore, where the numberless army of the allies was encamped. She fees at a distance the ftrife, the ardor and efforts of the two com. batams,

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TAYLOR

INST

CYFORD