THÈME XVI

Fenelon, archbishop of Cambray, and authorofTelemachus, was born at the castle of Fenelon, August i65i, of a fatnily ancient and distiriguished. He wrote several valuable pièces, but his principal work is the Adventures of Telemachus, sonofUIysses. Men of taste (says apanegyristofTelemachus), in spite of the insinua*

tions oflazinèss and wickedness, admire in this romance moral ail tlie pomp of Ilomer, joined to the elegance of Virgil.Tliey tbink tbat princes, in medjtating on it, will learn to be men, and to render mankind bappy; tbat, with tbe hero of tbe piece , the reader will learn to be attaclied to virtue and religion , in good as well as in. bad fortune.

I do not know wliatpeople of tastecan discover in this work which promises sucb a harvest delightful; for my part , thougli I cannot deny tbat tbe work aboundswith passages beautiful , and tbat it sufficiently displays the genius of tbe author and bis warmtli in tbe cause o£ virtue ; yet I can, by no means, tbink it worthy of being compared to tbe otber poems wbicb are called epic. It is a romance, andnotliing else. I bâte tbe babble elernal o£ Mentor, and Iam not atall an admirer of liisaddressand presence of mind : when I find tbat it is Minerva,Telemaebus bas no merit at ail ; it is Minerva fights, and not be. I should liavesome pity for Calypso, if Icould excuse ber for loving sucb a fellow simple as tbe son of U lysses appears tobe. Who can help laugliing at tbe wise Minerva , wbo bad wit enough to build a sbip wilhout tools, iron, pitcb, or oakutn, andbadnot tbe wit tokeep tbe nymplis from burning it afterwards ! But of ail tbe things absurd in this piece very singular, notliing is jnore so tban the conduct strange of Ulysses, wlien be sees bis son after so long an absence. Wbo would not expect to see bim rush into bis anns ! Wbo would expect to see bim fly from bim as from a beast wild!

In sliort, tbougb every one prétends to admire Telemaebus, I would venture my bfe , that, of fifty persons who undertake to read it, there are not two wbo go to tbe end. I bave known a thousand admirers of Tele— machus , but I never bad tbe good luck to catch one of tliem reading it.

ta« GRAMMAIRE ANGLAISE.