Les Aventures de Télémaque
Encyclopedia
Les aventures de Télémaque (The adventures of Telemachus) was a didactic French novel by Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai
and tutor to the seven-year-old Duc de Bourgogne (grandson of Louis XIV and second in line to the throne). It was published anonymously in 1699 and reissued in 1717 by his family. The slender plot fills out a gap in Homer
's Odyssey
, recounting the educational travels of Telemachus
, son of Ulysses
, accompanied by his tutor, Mentor
, who is revealed at the end of the story to be Minerva
, goddess of wisdom, in disguise. Fénelon described his book as a prose "epic": oddly, for such an admirer of the humanism of the ancient world, he was so much a product of the age of reason
as to believe that poetry was obsolete. Yet his choice of simple vernacular prose as a means of spreading morality and enlightened ideas to the widest possible audience, including women and children, was very much in the spirit of the 18th-century age of Enlightenment
.
The tutor Mentor is arguably the true hero of the book, much of which is given over to his speeches and advice on how to rule. Over and over, Mentor denounces war, luxury, and selfishness and proclaims the brotherhood of man and the necessity of altruism (though that term would only be coined in the 19th century by Auguste Comte
). He recommends a complete overhaul of government and the abolition of the mercantile system and cruel taxes on the peasantry and suggests a system of parliamentary government and a confederacy of nations to settle disputes between nations peacefully. As against luxury and imperialism (represented by ancient Rome) Fénelon hold up the ideal of the simplicity and relative equality of ancient Greece, an ideal that would be taken up by in the Romantic
era of the 19th century. The form of government he looks to is an aristocratic republic in the form of a constitutional monarchy in which the ruler prince is advised by a council of patricians.
Although set in a far off place and ancient time, Télémaque was immediately recognized by contemporaries as a satire on the autocratic reign of Louis XIV of France
, whose wars and taxes on the peasantry had reduced the country to famine. The book so angered Louis XIV that he banished Fénelon from Versailles, confining him to his diocese, where he remained, with few exceptions, for the rest of his life.
Yet a few years later royal panegyrists were hailing the young king Louis the XV as a new Telemachus and flattering his tutors as new "Mentors". Later in the century, royal tutors gave the book itself to their charges, and King Louis XVI (1754–93) was strongly marked by it.
The French literary historian Jean-Claude Bonnet calls Télémaque “the true key to the museum of the eighteenth century imagination.” One of the most popular works of the century, it was an immediate best seller both in France and abroad, going through many editions and translated into every European language and even Latin verse (first in Berlin in 1743, then in Paris by Étienne Viel [1737-87]). It inspired numerous imitations (such as the Abbé Jean Terrasson
's novel Sethos
(1731), It also supplied the plot for Mozart's opera, Idomeneo (1781).
With its message of peace, simplicity, and the brotherhood of man, Télémaque was a favorite of Montesquieu and of Jean Jacques Rousseau and through him of the French revolutionaries and of German romantics, such as Johann Gottfried Herder
(1744–1803), who approvingly quotes Fénelon's remark, “I love my family more than myself; more than my family my fatherland; more than my fatherland humankind”. It was also a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, who reread it frequently.
(1762), a treatise on education, the eponymous pupil is allowed to read only two novels: as a child he is given Daniel Defoe
's Robinson Crusoe
to inculcate him in resourcefulness and self reliance; and when he becomes a young man, the political treatise Télémaque, which is put into his hands by his intended, Sophie.
One critic explains the popularity of Télémaque this way:
Tennyson
in his poem "Ulysses
" (1842) may by implication be referring to Fénelon's conception of Telemachus's somewhat stogy civilizing mission, by now (from the point of view of Romantic aesthetics, which valued poetic lyricism over moralistic prose) somewhat antiquated, however meritorious:
Cambrai
Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...
and tutor to the seven-year-old Duc de Bourgogne (grandson of Louis XIV and second in line to the throne). It was published anonymously in 1699 and reissued in 1717 by his family. The slender plot fills out a gap in Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
, recounting the educational travels of Telemachus
Telemachus
Telemachus is a figure in Greek mythology, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, and a central character in Homer's Odyssey. The first four books in particular focus on Telemachus' journeys in search of news about his father, who has been away at war...
, son of Ulysses
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
, accompanied by his tutor, Mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
, who is revealed at the end of the story to be Minerva
Minerva
Minerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...
, goddess of wisdom, in disguise. Fénelon described his book as a prose "epic": oddly, for such an admirer of the humanism of the ancient world, he was so much a product of the age of reason
Age of reason
Age of reason may refer to:* 17th-century philosophy, as a successor of the Renaissance and a predecessor to the Age of Enlightenment* Age of Enlightenment in its long form of 1600-1800* The Age of Reason, a book by Thomas Paine...
as to believe that poetry was obsolete. Yet his choice of simple vernacular prose as a means of spreading morality and enlightened ideas to the widest possible audience, including women and children, was very much in the spirit of the 18th-century age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
.
The tutor Mentor is arguably the true hero of the book, much of which is given over to his speeches and advice on how to rule. Over and over, Mentor denounces war, luxury, and selfishness and proclaims the brotherhood of man and the necessity of altruism (though that term would only be coined in the 19th century by Auguste Comte
Auguste Comte
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
). He recommends a complete overhaul of government and the abolition of the mercantile system and cruel taxes on the peasantry and suggests a system of parliamentary government and a confederacy of nations to settle disputes between nations peacefully. As against luxury and imperialism (represented by ancient Rome) Fénelon hold up the ideal of the simplicity and relative equality of ancient Greece, an ideal that would be taken up by in the Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
era of the 19th century. The form of government he looks to is an aristocratic republic in the form of a constitutional monarchy in which the ruler prince is advised by a council of patricians.
Although set in a far off place and ancient time, Télémaque was immediately recognized by contemporaries as a satire on the autocratic reign of Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, whose wars and taxes on the peasantry had reduced the country to famine. The book so angered Louis XIV that he banished Fénelon from Versailles, confining him to his diocese, where he remained, with few exceptions, for the rest of his life.
Yet a few years later royal panegyrists were hailing the young king Louis the XV as a new Telemachus and flattering his tutors as new "Mentors". Later in the century, royal tutors gave the book itself to their charges, and King Louis XVI (1754–93) was strongly marked by it.
The French literary historian Jean-Claude Bonnet calls Télémaque “the true key to the museum of the eighteenth century imagination.” One of the most popular works of the century, it was an immediate best seller both in France and abroad, going through many editions and translated into every European language and even Latin verse (first in Berlin in 1743, then in Paris by Étienne Viel [1737-87]). It inspired numerous imitations (such as the Abbé Jean Terrasson
Jean Terrasson
Jean Terrasson , often referred to as the Abbe Terrasson, was a French priest, author, and most notably a member of the Académie française....
's novel Sethos
Sethos
Sethos a pharaoh from Herodotus, Histories :-The Terrasson novel:Sethos became the hero of an improbably influential fantasy novel, Life of Sethos, Taken from Private Memoirs of the Ancient Egyptians, published in 1731 by the French Abbe Jean Terrasson.The book appeared in Paris in 1731 and in an...
(1731), It also supplied the plot for Mozart's opera, Idomeneo (1781).
With its message of peace, simplicity, and the brotherhood of man, Télémaque was a favorite of Montesquieu and of Jean Jacques Rousseau and through him of the French revolutionaries and of German romantics, such as Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried von Herder was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism.-Biography:...
(1744–1803), who approvingly quotes Fénelon's remark, “I love my family more than myself; more than my family my fatherland; more than my fatherland humankind”. It was also a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, who reread it frequently.
Influence on Rousseau
In Rousseau's ÉmileEMILE
EMILE is the Early Mac Image LoadEr, a bootloader for loading Linux on Macintosh computers that have m68k processors. It was written by Laurent Vivier, and is meant to eventually replace the Penguin Booter that is more usually in use....
(1762), a treatise on education, the eponymous pupil is allowed to read only two novels: as a child he is given Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
's Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
to inculcate him in resourcefulness and self reliance; and when he becomes a young man, the political treatise Télémaque, which is put into his hands by his intended, Sophie.
The education of Émile is completed by a journey during which the institutions of various nations are to be studied. His tutor inculcates principles into him which sum up the essentials of the Social Contract. But it is with "a Telemachus in hand that teacher and pupil establish a "scale of measurement" for judging various existing societies. Fénelon's story presents models and counter models of monarchs. The princes and governments of the real world will be compared with them.In Rousseau's novel, Émile and his tutor travel to Salento (in Calabria, Italy), to seek the "good Idomeneo", whom Fénelon's novel had relocated from his former kingdom in Crete to the kingship of a new and reformed government.
Contrary to Louis XIV, whom he resembles in many traits of character, Idomeneus renounces conquest and is able to make peace with his neighbors. The prosperous fields and laborious capital are schools of virtue, where law rules over the monarch himself. Everything here is brought down to a "noble and frugal simplicity," and, in the harmony of a strictly hierarchical society, everything combines in a common utility.
One critic explains the popularity of Télémaque this way:
Fénelon’s story stood as a powerful rebuke to the aristocratic court culture than dominated European societies, with its perceived artificiality, hypocrisy, and monumental selfishness. The book did not simply express these feelings it helped shape and popularize them. From its wellspring of sentimentality, a river of tenderly shed tears would flow straight through the eighteenth century by Richardson, Greuze, and Rousseau, among others finally to pour out into the broad sea of Romanticism.
Tennyson
Tennyson
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the first Baron Tennyson, was an English poet.Tennyson may also refer to:-People:* Baron Tennyson, the barony itself** Alfred, Lord Tennyson , poet...
in his poem "Ulysses
Ulysses (poem)
"Ulysses" is a poem in blank verse by the Victorian poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson , written in 1833 and published in 1842 in Tennyson's well-received second volume of poetry. An oft-quoted poem, it is popularly used to illustrate the dramatic monologue form...
" (1842) may by implication be referring to Fénelon's conception of Telemachus's somewhat stogy civilizing mission, by now (from the point of view of Romantic aesthetics, which valued poetic lyricism over moralistic prose) somewhat antiquated, however meritorious:
This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the scepter and the isle
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfill
This labor, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and through soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centered in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.