“It is a wise child that knows his own father”: from Homer's Odyssey

The exact words

““My mother,” answered Telemachus, “tells me I am son to Ulysses, but it is a wise child that knows his own father.””Homer, The Odyssey, Book 1, translated by Samuel Butler (1900)

✓ VerifiedFound in a primary source: the original book, speech transcript, letter or recording.

What people get wrong

Common reading
A cynical joke about mothers.

Closer to the original
In the poem it is sadder than that. Telemachus has grown up without ever meeting his father and is not sure what kind of man he is, or whether he is even alive.

Timeline

c. 8th century BCIn the opening book of the Odyssey, the goddess Athena, in disguise, asks young Telemachus if he is really the son of Odysseus. He answers with this wry remark.
c. 1596Shakespeare flips it in The Merchant of Venice: “it is a wise father that knows his own child.”

Use it in a speech

In the Odyssey, Telemachus says it is a wise child that knows his own father. I'm lucky. I've always known exactly who you are, Dad: the best.

~9 secondsto say aloud

Pauseafter “his own father”

Best spotthe card or the toast

Questions people ask

Where does “it is a wise child that knows his own father” come from?

Homer's Odyssey, Book 1, where Telemachus says it about his absent father, Odysseus.

Why does the translation say Ulysses?

Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, used by some English translators such as Samuel Butler.

Cite this quote

These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.

MLAHomer. “The Odyssey.” Book 1. c. 8th century BC. Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1727.

APAHomer. (700 B.C.E.). The Odyssey. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1727

CHICAGOHomer, “The Odyssey,” Book 1, c. 8th century BC.

IN TEXT (APA)(Homer)

Sources

Homer, The Odyssey, translated by Samuel Butler. Project Gutenberg.

“It is a wise child that knows his own father.”