François Fénelon
The Adventures of Telemachus
Foreword & Prologue
Translated by N. Hewitt © Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved.
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Contents
In Praise of The Adventures of Telemachus
“… There is an agreeableness in this book, and an imitation of the Odyssey that I strongly approve.”
—Boileau, French poet, critic, 1699
“The [Adventures of] Telemachus is a unique book that is at the same time a novel and a poem. It seems that the author wanted to treat the novel as Bossuet treated history, in giving it a dignity and unknown charms, and above all in drawing from these fictions a moral useful to humankind.”
—Voltaire, French writer, historian, and philosopher, 1731
“Speaking to the heart and mind, his work is able to achieve the beautiful, the noble, the grave, the sweet and the tender, for which it is worthy of admiration and eternal gratitude.”
—Montesquieu, French philosopher, author, circa 1750
Foreword
The Adventures of Telemachus (te-lem’-a-kus) is the story of a prince, written for a prince. It is an epic prose poem composed more than three centuries ago at the peak of the age of French classicism. Inspired by ancient Greek myths, this seventeenth-century masterpiece represents many aspects of modernity: it is the first “poëme en prose”, as well as the first novel written for a young adult; it develops Homer’s Mentor into the archetype of “mentorship”; it is thought by many to represent a new genre of the time—the roman à clef, that is to say, a thinly veiled portrayal of contemporaries and events; and lastly, it introduces the rise of the “honnête-homme”—one who is not necessarily noble, but is cultivated and knows the rules of politesse. Under the reign of Louis XIV, nobility was no longer understood to be a question of birth, but of merit.
Emulating classical Greece, the cultural elite of the seventeenth century privileged order and sobriety over the previous baroque era of flourishes and eccentricity. As the celebrated French poet and critic Boileau wrote in 1674, “Whatever is well conceived is clearly said, and the words to say it flow with ease.” Theatrical, literary and musical works inspired by antiquity addressed a restricted audience, composed of the high society that gravitated to the court of Versailles. The chateau and its surroundings were adorned with classical Greco-Roman heroes, gods and deeds. Thus, mythological characters were not only familiar to, but popular with the prince, for whom this book was conceived.
Toward the end of his ten-year preceptorship to the royal princes of France, François Fénelon hurriedly pieced together The Adventures of Telemachus to amuse the young prince, while instilling lessons of wisdom and leadership befitting a future king of France. Many of these lessons were gleaned from earlier writings of Fénelon for his charges in the form of Fables and Dialogues of the Dead. It is written as an imaginative tale of young prince Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, and his coming of age while searching for a father he has never known. Throughout his adventures, he is accompanied by the goddess of wisdom, Athena, disguised as his guardian, Mentor. The events that unfold have Telemachus facing perils and hardships in the brutal world of ancient Greece. During the course of his journeys, he endures suffering and heartache, encounters heroes and villains, experiences love, lust and betrayals, wages war, fosters peace, all leading to hard-won lessons in the formation of a king who fosters good mores and the pursuit of happiness for his peoples.
Prologue
The prologue and epilogue of Telemachus must begin, and end, with the epic poem from which it is spun, The Odyssey. Like the Greek poet Homer, Fénelon begins in medias res—jumping right into the action, before weaving in the backstory. He picks up the thread of the story where Homer leaves off, when Telemachus sets sail in search of his father. Therefore, some acquaintance with the first four books of The Odyssey, known as the Telemacheia, will establish the opening scene.
In the first few lines of Homer’s Book 1 of The Odyssey, the audience is reintroduced to a hero of The Iliad, King Odysseus of Ithaca. Having angered Poseidon, the god of the sea, Odysseus has not been allowed to return home after the toppling of Troy. He has been held captive on the island of the nymph-goddess Calypso for seven years. At an assembly of the gods, from which Poseidon is absent, Athena, the goddess and protector of Odysseus, appeals to Zeus, to allow him to return home. Zeus assents.
Indulged by the father of the gods, Athena descends from Mount Olympus to the island of Ithaca, taking on the shape of a neighbouring chieftain. Welcomed with princely hospitality by Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, she listens to his woes caused by Odysseus’ absence and witnesses the many suitors mocking the prince, exploiting the palace, and pursuing Queen Penelope. The chieftain (Athena in disguise) advises Telemachus to fit out a ship and set sail in search of his father.
With this encouragement, Telemachus confronts the brash suitors in an assembly. He is supported by old Mentor, to whom Odysseus had entrusted the care of his household. Mocked yet again by the suitors, Telemachus leaves the assembly to walk the beach and calls on the goddess Athena. He prays to her about the advice he had received from the neighbouring chieftain and bemoans the perfidy of the suitors. In the shape of Mentor, Athena appears before him, urging him to follow the chieftain’s advice and set sail. Without informing the queen, Telemachus and Mentor embark.
Meanwhile, on her remote island, the nymph-goddess Calypso has been commanded by Zeus, through his messenger Hermes, to allow Odysseus to return home. Piqued that Odysseus would choose Ithaca and Queen Penelope over her offer of immortality on a happy island, she bids him farewell and warns of the pains in store for him.
Odysseus departs on his vessel and thus this tale begins…