The lost treasures of Sethos, enlightened prince of Egypt (1731)

Séthos (1731) deserves more attention. Its contributions to Egyptomania, Mozart’s Magic Flute, Freemasonic symbolism, and the battle of ancients and moderns, are some of the reasons. Séthos also claims to be the third in a new, distinctive type of philosophical novels, after Fénelon’s Télémaque (1699) and Ramsay’s Cyrus (1727). These novels, often revolving around a traveling prince, set up a series of literary thought experiments to systematically test and explore competing commercial and political arrangements, both foreign and domestic. They also propose a model for the education of a new sort of man, suited for the commercial age and its effect on popular and global politics. Fénelonian novels are veritable treasure troves of thought experiments and social criticism. They remain under-used by historians of eighteenth-century political and economic thought.