The
Decadent
School.
Poland - 1911 - An Outline of the History of Polish Literature
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? PREFACE
It is better for a nation to lose its body than its
soul. If the soul dies, it cannot be restored; but if
it endures, a new body will be created for it in the
fullness of time. The Polish State ceased to exist
over a century ago. Yet her bitterest enemy would
not dare to contend that Poland is dead. Her sons
are compelled by a cruel fate to slay each other in
the armies of Germany, Austria, and Russia; but
they never fdtget that they are brotliers. They cling
tenaciously to the hope that the colossal crime of
Partition will be undone, and they are resolved that
their nation, which played an honourable part in
building up the civilization of Christendom, shall
once again raise its head and be numbered among
the States of Europe. They know that even after
a total eclipse the sun shines forth again as brightly
as ever.
Since 1795 the soul of Poland has been Jcept alive
and nourished by its literature, its language, and its
religion. This little booh explains with admirable
clearness and brevity the part which literature has
played in the life of the race. For many centuries
Poland was one of the largest countries in Europe,
and she has never cut herself off from the movements
which make up its intellectual history. Cracow
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? 6 PREFACE
University was founded in 1400, and the fifteenth
century brought with it the invigorating influence
of humanism. The first blossoming period of Polish
letters was the century of the Reformation, when
Kochanowski, the contemporary and friend of Bonsard,
presented his countrymen with their first poetical
masterpieces. The sterility of the seventeenth century
is attributed by our author to the paralysing influences
of Jesuitism; but the closing years of the Polish
State witnessed a marked revival of taste and pro-
duction, due to French classicism and owing much
to the fostering care of Stanislas Poniatowski, the
last King of Poland.
The best evidence of the vitality and virility of
the Polish nation is that its finest literary achieve-
ments are subsequent to the period when its body
was torn asunder. The greatest name in Polish
literature is that of Mickiewicz, the leader of the
romantic movement, who found a welcome and a
chair in Paris when he was exiled from his native
Lithuania. His most famous work, " Pan Tadeusz,"
has appeared in English dress, and his national
ballads are sung by Poles throughout the Old World
and the New. Long after his death his remains
were brought to the Cathedral of Cracow, the resting-
place of Kosciuszko and many another hero.
Next to 1795 the year 1863 is the saddest date in
Polish history; for in that year the few privileges
which Russian Poland had retained were swept away.
Our author tells us that it closed the romantic age
of literature and ushered in a period of positivism
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? PREFACE 7
and utilitarianism. But as the luminous star of
Mickiewicz rose in the generation that followed the
Partition, so the robust personality of Sienkiewicz
brought comfort and stimulus in the dark years
which followed the great revolt. "Quo Vadis," that
picture of the glory and shame of Imperial Borne,
is known all over the world, for it has been translated
into more than thirty languages; but for Poles the
significance of their great compatriot lies above all
in his Polish historical novels, "Fire and Sword" and
its successors, the famous trilogy which makes the
seventeenth century, with its fierce passions and
desperate struggles, live again.
England has always felt a sympathetic interest
in the Polish race, though she has never been able
to render it much assistance. But to-day our fortunes
are more closely united. From the welter of blood
and tears we look for the emergence of a new Polish
State, purified and strengthened in the fires of
adversity. If our dream is realized, a new chapter
will speedily be added to the History of Polish
Literature.
G. P. GOOCH,
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? CONTENTS
rAQB
PREFACE . . . . . . . 5
I. THE DAWN OP POLISH LITERATURE . . 11
Gall (Gallus)--Magister Vincent Kadlubek. Humanism in
Poland. Inauguration of Cracow University. Celtes
--Oiolek, called Vittelus or Vitelinus--Gregory of Sanok
--Jak6b Parkosz of Z6rawica (Yakoob Parkosh of Jooravitsa)
-- Jan Dlugosz (Yan Dloogosh) -- Kallimach -- Mikolaj
Kopernik (Nicolaus Copernicus).
II. THE RENAISSANCE IN POLISH LITERATURE . 15
Influence of Protestantism. Mikolaj Rej (Mikolai Ray
of Naglovitse)--Jan Kochanowski (Yan Kohanovski)--
Marcin Bielski (Martsin Bielski). Catholic Reaction.
Orzechowski (Ojehovski)--Peter Skarga--Jan Chryzostom
Pasek.
III. ENGRAFTMENT OF FRENCH CLASSICISM . . 19
Period of King Stanislaw Poniatowski. Naruszewioz
(Narooshayvitcb) -- Karpinski -- Kniaznin -- Konarski --
Albertrandi--Bohomoleo (Bohomolets)--Staszyo (Stashits)
Kollataj (Kollontai)--I. Krasicki (Krasitski). Echoes of
the French Revolution in Poland. Trembecki (Trem-
betski)--Kajetan Wegierski (KyetanVengierski). Inception
of the Polish Theatre. W. Boguslawski (Boguslavski)
--Ludwik Osinski--Zablocki (Zablotaki). After-Partition
Period of Classicism in Poland. Juljan Ursyn Niemce-
wicz (Yulian Oorsyn Niemtsevitch)-- Wezyk (Venjick).
Poetry of Legions. Cypryan GodebBki--Wybicki (Vybit-
ski). Polish National Anthem (Yeshtche Polska hie
Zginela). Dawning of Romantic Era. Wincenty Rek-
lewski (Reklevski)--Tymon Zaborowski (Zaborovski)--A.
Brodzinski.
IV. ADVENT OF ROMANTICISM . . . . 26
Inception of Romanticism in Germany. Inception of
Romanticism in France. Inception of Romanticism in
England. Initial Stage of Romanticism in Poland.
A. Malczewski (Maltchevski)--B. Zaleski--S. Goszczynski
(Goshtchynski). Polish Romanticism at its Height.
Adam Mickiewicz (Meetskayvitch) -- Juljusz Slowacki
(Yuliush Slovatski)--Zygmont Krasinski--Stefan Garczyn-
*o
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? 10 CONTENTS
PASS
ski (Gartohinski). Decline of Romanticism. A. E.
Odynieo (Odyniets)--A. Chodzko (Hodsko)--J. Korsak--
K. Gaszynski (Gashinski)--W. Pol. Carries of the
Romantic Epoch. M. Moohnacki (Mohnatski)? P. S.
Dmochowski (Dmohovski) -- P. Morawski (Moravski).
Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century in Poland.
J. Kremer--P. B. Trentowski (Trentovski)--K. Libelt--A.
Cieszkowski (Tsieshkovski)--J. Hoene-Wronski. Novelists
and Playwrights of the Romantic Epoch. P. Bernato-
wioz (Bernatovitch)--P. Skarbek--J. Korzeniowski (Ko-
jeniovski).
V. POLISH LITERATURE PROM THE 1863 REVOLU-
TION TO THE PRESENT DAY . . . 45
The Coming of Positivism. A. Swietochowski (Sviento-
hovski)--J. I. Kraszewski (Krashevski)--Eliza Orzeazkowa
(Ojeshkova)--J. Zacharjasiewicz (Zahariasievitch)--T. T.
Jez (Yej)--M. Baluoki (Balutski) --Jan Lam--Adam Asnyk
--Marja Konopnicka (Maria Konopnitska)--W. Gomulioki
(Gomoolitski)--Cz. Jankowski (Yankovski)--A. Urbanski
(Oorbanski)--K Brzozowski (Bshozovski)--W. Stebelski--
J. Szujski (Shooiski). Retdrn to Nationalist Ideas.
Henryk Bienkiewioz (Sienkievitoh)--J. Kasprowioz (Kaspro-
vitch)--Napierski -- A. Niemojewski (Niemoievski)-- A.
Szymanski (Shimanski)--Boleslaw Prus-Aleksander Glo-
wacki (BoleslavProos-Alexander Glovatski). First Appear-
ance of Naturalism in Poland. St. Witkiewicz (Veetkay-
vitch)-- A. Dygasinski -- G. Zapolska--A. Sygietynski--
Ostoja (Ostoia)--Z. Niedzwiedzki--T. Jeske-Choinski (Ye-
skay-Hoinski)--A. Krechowieoki (Krehovietski)--M. Rodzie-
wicz (Rodzievitoh)--C. Walewska (Valevska)--W. Kosiakie-
wioz (Eossiakievitcb). Subjectivism and Impressionism
as an Evolution of Naturalism. Sewer (Sever)--W. S.
Reymont--S. Zeromski (Jeromski)--W. Sieroszewski (Siero-
shevski)--S. Rossowski (Rossovski)--Or-ot (A. Oppman)--
S. Wierzbioki (Vieshbitski)--K. Glinski--Adam M . . . ski.
The Decadent School. A. Lange--Belmont--Mankowski
(Mankovski)--I. Dabrowski (Dombrovski). The Return to
Great Art. Miriam Z. Przesmyoki (Pshessmytski)--K.
Tetmajer (Tetmaier). Modernism. W. Lieder--M. Komor-
nicka (Eomornitska)--C. Jellenta (Yellenta)--L. Szczepanski
(Shtohepanski)--L. Rydel--Wyrzykowski (Vigikovski)--W.
Perzynski (Pejinski)--S. Pienkowski (Pienkovski)--W.
Orkan--Mirandolla--A. Lada--S. Przybyszewski (Pshiby-
shevski)--K. Laskowski (Laskovski)--S. Kondratowioz (Kon-
dratovitoh)--Abgar-Soltan--A. Gruszeoki (Grooshetski)--
J. WeyssenhoS -- K. Lewandowski (Levandovski) -- E.
Leszozynski (Leshtohinski)--3. Zulawaki (Joolavski)--S.
Szczepanowski (Shtchepanovski). Birth of Neo-Roman-
ticism. Stanislaw Wyspianski (Stanislav Vyspianski)--
Danilowski (Danilovski) L. Staff--T. Mioinski (Mitsinski).
>
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? AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY
OF POLISH LITERATURE
The outward signs of the life of nations do not
consist alone in the national institutions pertain-
ing to political independence, therefore the nation
which has ceased to be politically must not entertain
a doubt of its existence: verily, if a nation has
developed its spiritual powers and its national genius
to the highest measure, and if its spiritual achieve-
ments contain the elements of and contribute to the
universal culture and civilization, that nation can
always say with hope and pride: "I create, so
I am. " <<
For the first few centuries after Poland asserted
herself, in 964, as an organized State, the low level
of culture and the rule of the sword, necessitated
by the constant warfare on the eastern frontier
and the bitter struggle against the German preda-
tory instincts in the west, created an atmosphere
in which literary propensities met with little en-
couragement. The spiritual nourishment of the
people was myth and legend, born of old; some
>> Paraphrased quotation from A. Swietochowski : "Political
Indications" (1883).
u
t/
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? 12 AN OUTLINE OF THE
of these, of great beauty, have come down the
ages and still live among us.
It is only in the twelfth century, that we meet
with more extensive works than manuscripts con-
sisting of a few leaves. The Polish language had
no existence in the writings of these times; the
chronicles of Gall (Gallus) and of Kadlubek, called
Magister Vincent, dating from the second half of
the twelfth century, were written in Latin, the lan-
guage brought in the tenth century to Poland by
the priests. In Latin also were written all the
liturgic books and official documents.
About the year 1400 the nobility began to rebel
against the predominance of the caste of priests,
who, being the only educated element, used all
their influence to direct the destinies of the country.
The current of humanism, which about that time
began to filter into Poland, broadened the minds of
the nobility, and helped them to understand the
power of knowledge as a weapon in their struggle
against the priesthood. Humanism came to them
before it reached Germany, which country in the
fifteenth century was intellectually much inferior
to Poland. The nobles began to strive for educa-
tion, and great was their enthusiasm for the Greco-
Roman culture. The 22nd of July, 1400, is the
date of the inauguration of the University of
Cracow, then the capital of Roland. This Univer-
sity had four faculties: medicine, law, philosophy
and theology--this last, the oldest, existing since
1367, gave the tone to the University. Among
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? HISTORY OF POLISH LITERATURE 13
the most eminent representatives of Polish
humanism are Celtes, Kallimach, and Gregory, of
Sanok, all of whom lived in the beginning of the
fifteenth century. One of the best writers of this
epoch was Erasmus Ciolek, called in Latin Vittelus,
or Vitelinus, Canon of Cracow and Rishop of Plock,
born 1460. In mind he approached closely to
his European confreres; a diplomatist, scientist,
and patron of the arts, he was famous for his
wit and erudition; as King Alexander's secretary
he was often sent on political missions to Italy;,
where he was well received at the Court of
Julius II, the patron of Michael Angelo. To
Ciolek, in a measure, may be ascribed the influence
which Italian culture now began to exercise upon
Polish poetry,; leonines, Latin rhymed verses
obtained an equal right of citizenship with the
usual hexameters and distichs. Latin was still the
only literary, language. Jan Dlugosz, born 1415,
the first Polish historian, as compared with others,
who were merely chroniclers, wrote his history
in Latin. Only the Rector of the Cracow Univer-
sity, Jak6b Parkosz of Z6rawica, who died in 1455,
left a Latin treatise in which he tried to
formulate a method of writing the Polish language.
The fifteenth century produced in Poland not
only great writers but also great scientists. The
coming of Mikolaj Kopernik (Nicolaus Copernicus),
the greatest astronomer and mathematician of the
age, revolutionized science. The first Polish printed
works belong to the same century, as witness the
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? 14 HISTORY OF POLISH LITERATURE
Paternoster, Ave 'Maria, and Credo to be found in
the 1475 Synodial Statutes of Konrad, Bishop of
Wroclaw (later rechristened Breslau by the Ger-
mans). Lay prose now came more and more to
the fore, and, although it may be said that the
imagination of these times did not make for re-
finement, and coarse jokes did not seem to shock
contemporary minds, it must be remembered that
England, even in the sixteenth century, was not
shocked by Shakespeare's gross humour.
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? II
The Reformation, instead of provoking long and
bloody disturbances, like the Hussite wars in the
neighbouring Bohemia, only widened1 the horizon
of the Polish mind. Its coming coincides with the
renaissance of thought in Poland, known as the
"Golden Age" of Polish art and literature. This
name is more befitting to another--later--period,
although the epoch which lasted from 1500 to 1632
is worthy of admiration, not only, for its political
splendour, but for the spontaneity of the develop-
ment of its literature, the only one in the history
of the world which sprang into being, perfect and
in full armour, like Minerva from the head of
Jupiter.
Protestantism was too deep a philosophy for
the masses to understand. A portion of the Polish
nobility, who embraced Protestantism and rejected
the morality of the Catholic Church for themselves,
still needed it for the commoners to keep them
in check; besides, they could not afford to allow
the privileges of their caste to become subject to
the principle of free investigation preached by
Protestantism. The Catholic reaction came soon,
16
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? 16 AN OUTLINE OF THE
and the great Protestant writers of the epoch too
quickly dropped into oblivion, to be rediscovered
and appreciated according to their great merits
in a much later time.
Such was the fate of Mikolaj Rej of Naglowice,
an eminent writer and wholesome philosopher
,(1505-69). The true picture of the manners and
customs of his time, with all their defects and
beauties, together with the strikingly plastic sil-
houettes of his contemporaries, seasoned with an
inimitable humour, have come down to us in his
works. His incomparable "Zwierzyniec," a col-
lection of humorous anecdotes, reflected a fashion
of the time which fostered two styles of writing
--the satire and the idyll; his "Warwas," his
dialogues of "The Cat with the Lion," his "Com-
plaint of the Republic" hold a prominent place in
Polish literature, but his masterpieces are the poem
"Postyla" and "Zywot Czlowieka Poczciwego"
'("The Life of an Honest Man"). His language
in richness and flexibility is equal to that of Orze-
chowski and Skarga.
The greatest figure of this age, however, was
Jan Kochanowski (1530-84), the contemporary and
friend of Ronsard. His early poems were all in
Latin, but he soon abandoned this tongue for Polish,
over which he obtained great mastery. He was a
true son of the Renaissance, a pagan theist, in-
different to the Church, imbued with republican
ideas, broad- and liberal-minded. His works up
to the present are considered as a model of highly
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? HISTORY OE POLISH LITERATURE 17
cultured language, which, though magnificent in
"Fraszki" (" Trifles "), only reached its zenith in
the elegies, "Treny," he wrote upon the death of!
his beloved daughter Ursula.
History also had its representative in the person
of Marcin Bielski, famous for his chronicles.
The Catholic reaction, from among the clergy
and aristocracy, brought to light oratorical geniuses,
who condemned the disintegration of morals and
preached the return to the bosom of the Church.
The year 1543 was the turning-point in the need
of the Polish population for literature. The works
of the preacher Orzechowski (1515-66) were in
enormous demand. A still more celebrated orator
was Peter Skarga (1536-1612), who succeeded the
former; he was a Jesuit, and soon became famous
by his sermons, especially those to the Sejm (Diet).
The extreme strength and purity of his language
render him comparable to the greatest orators of the
world, and in one of the fiery forecasts he unrolled
before the Diet (his third sermon) he foretold the
partition of Poland, which took place two hundred
years later.
After this Jesuitism seized upon Poland, and held
her in its grip till the middle of the eighteenth
century. The influence of the Jesuits was enor-
mous; they ruled the minds, the schools were in
their hands, and they lowered the intellectual level
so that the literary field became almost sterile,
except, perhaps, for the traditional eloquence; even
this became infected with ecclesiastical Latin, and
#*
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? 18 HISTORY, OE POLISH LITERATURE
resulted in a macaronic medley, without value either
as Latin or as Polish.
The most commendable literary production of
these times is "Recollections, 1658-1659," by Chry-
zostom Pasek, a good soldier, who wrote the his-
tory of his Danish expedition. He died in 1700,
but his memoirs were found and published only in
1836.
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? Ill
The 'depressing influence of Jesuitism in Poland
lasted till the same classicism, which in the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries as humanism' and renais-
sance regenerated the literature of all nations, re-
appeared again, somewhat modified, as French
classicism, in the shape of a fully developed, ready-
made system of ideas. In Poland the influence of
the new current made itself felt as far back as
the reign of the Saxon dynasty (August III). It
found the ground prepared for its reception by the
connections between the Polish and French Courts,
but it was the ascent to the throne of King Stanislaw
August Poniatowski (1764)--himself brought up in
France--that definitely paved the way for this
classicism, which had two stages of development,
and may be divided into two periods: the period
of the reign of King Stanislaw (1764-95) and the
after-partition period (1795-1815). In the first
period the special care which the King bestowed
upon poetry favoured the development of this art.
Famous were the King's Thursday Dinners in the
small palace of Lazienki, at which the painters of
the day were welcome guests and poets had the
19
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? 20 AN OUTLINE OF THE
opportunity of reading their verses. This even gave
some of the works the character of Court poetry;
but French classicism was then a new current
full of force and vitality, it uplifted new banners,
it spread new movement and new life, and begat
legions of clever and even eminent writers.
Of undeniable literary value are the lyrics and
epics, odes, idylls and satires of the King's favourite
Naruszewicz, the songs of F. Karpinski, the
erotics and fables of F. Kniaznin, the reformatory
efforts of Konarski, the writings of the. Jesuit
Albertrandi, of the priests Bohomolec, Staszyc, and
the famous Kollataj; but the best exponent of all
the tendencies of the epoch was I. Krasicki, Bishop
of Warmia, who succeeded Naruszewicz in the
favour of the King. He was born on February 3,
1745, in the castle of Dubiecko in Ruthenia. His
first "Chats" appeared in 1765 in the Warsaw
Monitor, edited by Bohomolec, but his talent only
reached its apogee between 1773 and 1780; his
humorous epos "Myszeidos Songs X," his "Mona-
chomachia," his serious heroic epic poem "Wojna
Chocimska" (" War of Chotim "), his "Pan Pod-
stoli," his satires, fables and parables won him
homage on his arrival in Warsaw in 1782. He
it was who led French classicism to its highest
degree of development and ennobled it with his
talent. It is interesting to note that this classical
writer's translations of the "Song of Ossian" and
Percy's popular ballads were the precursors of the
future developments of Polish literature.
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? HISTORY OF POLISH LITERATURE 21
The revolutionary hurricane that swept over
France at the end of the eighteenth century, and
provoked the shattering and violent change of
religious creeds there, had its repercussion in the
Polish atmosphere, but cleansed it only and
brought to it new ideas. The younger generation
especially was in constant communication with the
best minds of France, seeking advice and moral
guidance. Rousseau gave this often, and his in-
fluence makes itself felt even in the writings of
Staszyc, though the latter clamours for the con-
solidation of the governmental power, shaken by
the institutions of the noble-republican regime and
the Liberum Veto. Voltaire had his followers:
Trembecki, Krasicki's contemporary and perhaps
his equal in talent, though of inferior moral
value, and his spiritual brother in Voltaire, Kajetan
Wegierski, the less talented of the two.
Sad was then the fate of the theatre, for scenic
art was homeless in Poland. An advantageous
change came in 1779, when, by the King's order,
began the erection of a special building in Warsaw.
In 1781 the management of this theatre was placed
in the hands of the actors, whence it passed in
1783 to Prince Marcin Lubomirski, who, after a
few months, was succeeded by W. Boguslawski,
whose merit in putting this institution on a proper
footing won for him the name of the "Father of
the Polish Theatre. " In 1814 Boguslawski ceded
the directorship to his son-in-law Ludwik Osinski,
retired to his country seat, and died in 1829.
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? PREFACE
It is better for a nation to lose its body than its
soul. If the soul dies, it cannot be restored; but if
it endures, a new body will be created for it in the
fullness of time. The Polish State ceased to exist
over a century ago. Yet her bitterest enemy would
not dare to contend that Poland is dead. Her sons
are compelled by a cruel fate to slay each other in
the armies of Germany, Austria, and Russia; but
they never fdtget that they are brotliers. They cling
tenaciously to the hope that the colossal crime of
Partition will be undone, and they are resolved that
their nation, which played an honourable part in
building up the civilization of Christendom, shall
once again raise its head and be numbered among
the States of Europe. They know that even after
a total eclipse the sun shines forth again as brightly
as ever.
Since 1795 the soul of Poland has been Jcept alive
and nourished by its literature, its language, and its
religion. This little booh explains with admirable
clearness and brevity the part which literature has
played in the life of the race. For many centuries
Poland was one of the largest countries in Europe,
and she has never cut herself off from the movements
which make up its intellectual history. Cracow
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? 6 PREFACE
University was founded in 1400, and the fifteenth
century brought with it the invigorating influence
of humanism. The first blossoming period of Polish
letters was the century of the Reformation, when
Kochanowski, the contemporary and friend of Bonsard,
presented his countrymen with their first poetical
masterpieces. The sterility of the seventeenth century
is attributed by our author to the paralysing influences
of Jesuitism; but the closing years of the Polish
State witnessed a marked revival of taste and pro-
duction, due to French classicism and owing much
to the fostering care of Stanislas Poniatowski, the
last King of Poland.
The best evidence of the vitality and virility of
the Polish nation is that its finest literary achieve-
ments are subsequent to the period when its body
was torn asunder. The greatest name in Polish
literature is that of Mickiewicz, the leader of the
romantic movement, who found a welcome and a
chair in Paris when he was exiled from his native
Lithuania. His most famous work, " Pan Tadeusz,"
has appeared in English dress, and his national
ballads are sung by Poles throughout the Old World
and the New. Long after his death his remains
were brought to the Cathedral of Cracow, the resting-
place of Kosciuszko and many another hero.
Next to 1795 the year 1863 is the saddest date in
Polish history; for in that year the few privileges
which Russian Poland had retained were swept away.
Our author tells us that it closed the romantic age
of literature and ushered in a period of positivism
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? PREFACE 7
and utilitarianism. But as the luminous star of
Mickiewicz rose in the generation that followed the
Partition, so the robust personality of Sienkiewicz
brought comfort and stimulus in the dark years
which followed the great revolt. "Quo Vadis," that
picture of the glory and shame of Imperial Borne,
is known all over the world, for it has been translated
into more than thirty languages; but for Poles the
significance of their great compatriot lies above all
in his Polish historical novels, "Fire and Sword" and
its successors, the famous trilogy which makes the
seventeenth century, with its fierce passions and
desperate struggles, live again.
England has always felt a sympathetic interest
in the Polish race, though she has never been able
to render it much assistance. But to-day our fortunes
are more closely united. From the welter of blood
and tears we look for the emergence of a new Polish
State, purified and strengthened in the fires of
adversity. If our dream is realized, a new chapter
will speedily be added to the History of Polish
Literature.
G. P. GOOCH,
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? CONTENTS
rAQB
PREFACE . . . . . . . 5
I. THE DAWN OP POLISH LITERATURE . . 11
Gall (Gallus)--Magister Vincent Kadlubek. Humanism in
Poland. Inauguration of Cracow University. Celtes
--Oiolek, called Vittelus or Vitelinus--Gregory of Sanok
--Jak6b Parkosz of Z6rawica (Yakoob Parkosh of Jooravitsa)
-- Jan Dlugosz (Yan Dloogosh) -- Kallimach -- Mikolaj
Kopernik (Nicolaus Copernicus).
II. THE RENAISSANCE IN POLISH LITERATURE . 15
Influence of Protestantism. Mikolaj Rej (Mikolai Ray
of Naglovitse)--Jan Kochanowski (Yan Kohanovski)--
Marcin Bielski (Martsin Bielski). Catholic Reaction.
Orzechowski (Ojehovski)--Peter Skarga--Jan Chryzostom
Pasek.
III. ENGRAFTMENT OF FRENCH CLASSICISM . . 19
Period of King Stanislaw Poniatowski. Naruszewioz
(Narooshayvitcb) -- Karpinski -- Kniaznin -- Konarski --
Albertrandi--Bohomoleo (Bohomolets)--Staszyo (Stashits)
Kollataj (Kollontai)--I. Krasicki (Krasitski). Echoes of
the French Revolution in Poland. Trembecki (Trem-
betski)--Kajetan Wegierski (KyetanVengierski). Inception
of the Polish Theatre. W. Boguslawski (Boguslavski)
--Ludwik Osinski--Zablocki (Zablotaki). After-Partition
Period of Classicism in Poland. Juljan Ursyn Niemce-
wicz (Yulian Oorsyn Niemtsevitch)-- Wezyk (Venjick).
Poetry of Legions. Cypryan GodebBki--Wybicki (Vybit-
ski). Polish National Anthem (Yeshtche Polska hie
Zginela). Dawning of Romantic Era. Wincenty Rek-
lewski (Reklevski)--Tymon Zaborowski (Zaborovski)--A.
Brodzinski.
IV. ADVENT OF ROMANTICISM . . . . 26
Inception of Romanticism in Germany. Inception of
Romanticism in France. Inception of Romanticism in
England. Initial Stage of Romanticism in Poland.
A. Malczewski (Maltchevski)--B. Zaleski--S. Goszczynski
(Goshtchynski). Polish Romanticism at its Height.
Adam Mickiewicz (Meetskayvitch) -- Juljusz Slowacki
(Yuliush Slovatski)--Zygmont Krasinski--Stefan Garczyn-
*o
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? 10 CONTENTS
PASS
ski (Gartohinski). Decline of Romanticism. A. E.
Odynieo (Odyniets)--A. Chodzko (Hodsko)--J. Korsak--
K. Gaszynski (Gashinski)--W. Pol. Carries of the
Romantic Epoch. M. Moohnacki (Mohnatski)? P. S.
Dmochowski (Dmohovski) -- P. Morawski (Moravski).
Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century in Poland.
J. Kremer--P. B. Trentowski (Trentovski)--K. Libelt--A.
Cieszkowski (Tsieshkovski)--J. Hoene-Wronski. Novelists
and Playwrights of the Romantic Epoch. P. Bernato-
wioz (Bernatovitch)--P. Skarbek--J. Korzeniowski (Ko-
jeniovski).
V. POLISH LITERATURE PROM THE 1863 REVOLU-
TION TO THE PRESENT DAY . . . 45
The Coming of Positivism. A. Swietochowski (Sviento-
hovski)--J. I. Kraszewski (Krashevski)--Eliza Orzeazkowa
(Ojeshkova)--J. Zacharjasiewicz (Zahariasievitch)--T. T.
Jez (Yej)--M. Baluoki (Balutski) --Jan Lam--Adam Asnyk
--Marja Konopnicka (Maria Konopnitska)--W. Gomulioki
(Gomoolitski)--Cz. Jankowski (Yankovski)--A. Urbanski
(Oorbanski)--K Brzozowski (Bshozovski)--W. Stebelski--
J. Szujski (Shooiski). Retdrn to Nationalist Ideas.
Henryk Bienkiewioz (Sienkievitoh)--J. Kasprowioz (Kaspro-
vitch)--Napierski -- A. Niemojewski (Niemoievski)-- A.
Szymanski (Shimanski)--Boleslaw Prus-Aleksander Glo-
wacki (BoleslavProos-Alexander Glovatski). First Appear-
ance of Naturalism in Poland. St. Witkiewicz (Veetkay-
vitch)-- A. Dygasinski -- G. Zapolska--A. Sygietynski--
Ostoja (Ostoia)--Z. Niedzwiedzki--T. Jeske-Choinski (Ye-
skay-Hoinski)--A. Krechowieoki (Krehovietski)--M. Rodzie-
wicz (Rodzievitoh)--C. Walewska (Valevska)--W. Kosiakie-
wioz (Eossiakievitcb). Subjectivism and Impressionism
as an Evolution of Naturalism. Sewer (Sever)--W. S.
Reymont--S. Zeromski (Jeromski)--W. Sieroszewski (Siero-
shevski)--S. Rossowski (Rossovski)--Or-ot (A. Oppman)--
S. Wierzbioki (Vieshbitski)--K. Glinski--Adam M . . . ski.
The Decadent School. A. Lange--Belmont--Mankowski
(Mankovski)--I. Dabrowski (Dombrovski). The Return to
Great Art. Miriam Z. Przesmyoki (Pshessmytski)--K.
Tetmajer (Tetmaier). Modernism. W. Lieder--M. Komor-
nicka (Eomornitska)--C. Jellenta (Yellenta)--L. Szczepanski
(Shtohepanski)--L. Rydel--Wyrzykowski (Vigikovski)--W.
Perzynski (Pejinski)--S. Pienkowski (Pienkovski)--W.
Orkan--Mirandolla--A. Lada--S. Przybyszewski (Pshiby-
shevski)--K. Laskowski (Laskovski)--S. Kondratowioz (Kon-
dratovitoh)--Abgar-Soltan--A. Gruszeoki (Grooshetski)--
J. WeyssenhoS -- K. Lewandowski (Levandovski) -- E.
Leszozynski (Leshtohinski)--3. Zulawaki (Joolavski)--S.
Szczepanowski (Shtchepanovski). Birth of Neo-Roman-
ticism. Stanislaw Wyspianski (Stanislav Vyspianski)--
Danilowski (Danilovski) L. Staff--T. Mioinski (Mitsinski).
>
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? AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY
OF POLISH LITERATURE
The outward signs of the life of nations do not
consist alone in the national institutions pertain-
ing to political independence, therefore the nation
which has ceased to be politically must not entertain
a doubt of its existence: verily, if a nation has
developed its spiritual powers and its national genius
to the highest measure, and if its spiritual achieve-
ments contain the elements of and contribute to the
universal culture and civilization, that nation can
always say with hope and pride: "I create, so
I am. " <<
For the first few centuries after Poland asserted
herself, in 964, as an organized State, the low level
of culture and the rule of the sword, necessitated
by the constant warfare on the eastern frontier
and the bitter struggle against the German preda-
tory instincts in the west, created an atmosphere
in which literary propensities met with little en-
couragement. The spiritual nourishment of the
people was myth and legend, born of old; some
>> Paraphrased quotation from A. Swietochowski : "Political
Indications" (1883).
u
t/
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? 12 AN OUTLINE OF THE
of these, of great beauty, have come down the
ages and still live among us.
It is only in the twelfth century, that we meet
with more extensive works than manuscripts con-
sisting of a few leaves. The Polish language had
no existence in the writings of these times; the
chronicles of Gall (Gallus) and of Kadlubek, called
Magister Vincent, dating from the second half of
the twelfth century, were written in Latin, the lan-
guage brought in the tenth century to Poland by
the priests. In Latin also were written all the
liturgic books and official documents.
About the year 1400 the nobility began to rebel
against the predominance of the caste of priests,
who, being the only educated element, used all
their influence to direct the destinies of the country.
The current of humanism, which about that time
began to filter into Poland, broadened the minds of
the nobility, and helped them to understand the
power of knowledge as a weapon in their struggle
against the priesthood. Humanism came to them
before it reached Germany, which country in the
fifteenth century was intellectually much inferior
to Poland. The nobles began to strive for educa-
tion, and great was their enthusiasm for the Greco-
Roman culture. The 22nd of July, 1400, is the
date of the inauguration of the University of
Cracow, then the capital of Roland. This Univer-
sity had four faculties: medicine, law, philosophy
and theology--this last, the oldest, existing since
1367, gave the tone to the University. Among
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? HISTORY OF POLISH LITERATURE 13
the most eminent representatives of Polish
humanism are Celtes, Kallimach, and Gregory, of
Sanok, all of whom lived in the beginning of the
fifteenth century. One of the best writers of this
epoch was Erasmus Ciolek, called in Latin Vittelus,
or Vitelinus, Canon of Cracow and Rishop of Plock,
born 1460. In mind he approached closely to
his European confreres; a diplomatist, scientist,
and patron of the arts, he was famous for his
wit and erudition; as King Alexander's secretary
he was often sent on political missions to Italy;,
where he was well received at the Court of
Julius II, the patron of Michael Angelo. To
Ciolek, in a measure, may be ascribed the influence
which Italian culture now began to exercise upon
Polish poetry,; leonines, Latin rhymed verses
obtained an equal right of citizenship with the
usual hexameters and distichs. Latin was still the
only literary, language. Jan Dlugosz, born 1415,
the first Polish historian, as compared with others,
who were merely chroniclers, wrote his history
in Latin. Only the Rector of the Cracow Univer-
sity, Jak6b Parkosz of Z6rawica, who died in 1455,
left a Latin treatise in which he tried to
formulate a method of writing the Polish language.
The fifteenth century produced in Poland not
only great writers but also great scientists. The
coming of Mikolaj Kopernik (Nicolaus Copernicus),
the greatest astronomer and mathematician of the
age, revolutionized science. The first Polish printed
works belong to the same century, as witness the
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? 14 HISTORY OF POLISH LITERATURE
Paternoster, Ave 'Maria, and Credo to be found in
the 1475 Synodial Statutes of Konrad, Bishop of
Wroclaw (later rechristened Breslau by the Ger-
mans). Lay prose now came more and more to
the fore, and, although it may be said that the
imagination of these times did not make for re-
finement, and coarse jokes did not seem to shock
contemporary minds, it must be remembered that
England, even in the sixteenth century, was not
shocked by Shakespeare's gross humour.
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? II
The Reformation, instead of provoking long and
bloody disturbances, like the Hussite wars in the
neighbouring Bohemia, only widened1 the horizon
of the Polish mind. Its coming coincides with the
renaissance of thought in Poland, known as the
"Golden Age" of Polish art and literature. This
name is more befitting to another--later--period,
although the epoch which lasted from 1500 to 1632
is worthy of admiration, not only, for its political
splendour, but for the spontaneity of the develop-
ment of its literature, the only one in the history
of the world which sprang into being, perfect and
in full armour, like Minerva from the head of
Jupiter.
Protestantism was too deep a philosophy for
the masses to understand. A portion of the Polish
nobility, who embraced Protestantism and rejected
the morality of the Catholic Church for themselves,
still needed it for the commoners to keep them
in check; besides, they could not afford to allow
the privileges of their caste to become subject to
the principle of free investigation preached by
Protestantism. The Catholic reaction came soon,
16
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? 16 AN OUTLINE OF THE
and the great Protestant writers of the epoch too
quickly dropped into oblivion, to be rediscovered
and appreciated according to their great merits
in a much later time.
Such was the fate of Mikolaj Rej of Naglowice,
an eminent writer and wholesome philosopher
,(1505-69). The true picture of the manners and
customs of his time, with all their defects and
beauties, together with the strikingly plastic sil-
houettes of his contemporaries, seasoned with an
inimitable humour, have come down to us in his
works. His incomparable "Zwierzyniec," a col-
lection of humorous anecdotes, reflected a fashion
of the time which fostered two styles of writing
--the satire and the idyll; his "Warwas," his
dialogues of "The Cat with the Lion," his "Com-
plaint of the Republic" hold a prominent place in
Polish literature, but his masterpieces are the poem
"Postyla" and "Zywot Czlowieka Poczciwego"
'("The Life of an Honest Man"). His language
in richness and flexibility is equal to that of Orze-
chowski and Skarga.
The greatest figure of this age, however, was
Jan Kochanowski (1530-84), the contemporary and
friend of Ronsard. His early poems were all in
Latin, but he soon abandoned this tongue for Polish,
over which he obtained great mastery. He was a
true son of the Renaissance, a pagan theist, in-
different to the Church, imbued with republican
ideas, broad- and liberal-minded. His works up
to the present are considered as a model of highly
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? HISTORY OE POLISH LITERATURE 17
cultured language, which, though magnificent in
"Fraszki" (" Trifles "), only reached its zenith in
the elegies, "Treny," he wrote upon the death of!
his beloved daughter Ursula.
History also had its representative in the person
of Marcin Bielski, famous for his chronicles.
The Catholic reaction, from among the clergy
and aristocracy, brought to light oratorical geniuses,
who condemned the disintegration of morals and
preached the return to the bosom of the Church.
The year 1543 was the turning-point in the need
of the Polish population for literature. The works
of the preacher Orzechowski (1515-66) were in
enormous demand. A still more celebrated orator
was Peter Skarga (1536-1612), who succeeded the
former; he was a Jesuit, and soon became famous
by his sermons, especially those to the Sejm (Diet).
The extreme strength and purity of his language
render him comparable to the greatest orators of the
world, and in one of the fiery forecasts he unrolled
before the Diet (his third sermon) he foretold the
partition of Poland, which took place two hundred
years later.
After this Jesuitism seized upon Poland, and held
her in its grip till the middle of the eighteenth
century. The influence of the Jesuits was enor-
mous; they ruled the minds, the schools were in
their hands, and they lowered the intellectual level
so that the literary field became almost sterile,
except, perhaps, for the traditional eloquence; even
this became infected with ecclesiastical Latin, and
#*
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? 18 HISTORY, OE POLISH LITERATURE
resulted in a macaronic medley, without value either
as Latin or as Polish.
The most commendable literary production of
these times is "Recollections, 1658-1659," by Chry-
zostom Pasek, a good soldier, who wrote the his-
tory of his Danish expedition. He died in 1700,
but his memoirs were found and published only in
1836.
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? Ill
The 'depressing influence of Jesuitism in Poland
lasted till the same classicism, which in the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries as humanism' and renais-
sance regenerated the literature of all nations, re-
appeared again, somewhat modified, as French
classicism, in the shape of a fully developed, ready-
made system of ideas. In Poland the influence of
the new current made itself felt as far back as
the reign of the Saxon dynasty (August III). It
found the ground prepared for its reception by the
connections between the Polish and French Courts,
but it was the ascent to the throne of King Stanislaw
August Poniatowski (1764)--himself brought up in
France--that definitely paved the way for this
classicism, which had two stages of development,
and may be divided into two periods: the period
of the reign of King Stanislaw (1764-95) and the
after-partition period (1795-1815). In the first
period the special care which the King bestowed
upon poetry favoured the development of this art.
Famous were the King's Thursday Dinners in the
small palace of Lazienki, at which the painters of
the day were welcome guests and poets had the
19
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? 20 AN OUTLINE OF THE
opportunity of reading their verses. This even gave
some of the works the character of Court poetry;
but French classicism was then a new current
full of force and vitality, it uplifted new banners,
it spread new movement and new life, and begat
legions of clever and even eminent writers.
Of undeniable literary value are the lyrics and
epics, odes, idylls and satires of the King's favourite
Naruszewicz, the songs of F. Karpinski, the
erotics and fables of F. Kniaznin, the reformatory
efforts of Konarski, the writings of the. Jesuit
Albertrandi, of the priests Bohomolec, Staszyc, and
the famous Kollataj; but the best exponent of all
the tendencies of the epoch was I. Krasicki, Bishop
of Warmia, who succeeded Naruszewicz in the
favour of the King. He was born on February 3,
1745, in the castle of Dubiecko in Ruthenia. His
first "Chats" appeared in 1765 in the Warsaw
Monitor, edited by Bohomolec, but his talent only
reached its apogee between 1773 and 1780; his
humorous epos "Myszeidos Songs X," his "Mona-
chomachia," his serious heroic epic poem "Wojna
Chocimska" (" War of Chotim "), his "Pan Pod-
stoli," his satires, fables and parables won him
homage on his arrival in Warsaw in 1782. He
it was who led French classicism to its highest
degree of development and ennobled it with his
talent. It is interesting to note that this classical
writer's translations of the "Song of Ossian" and
Percy's popular ballads were the precursors of the
future developments of Polish literature.
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? HISTORY OF POLISH LITERATURE 21
The revolutionary hurricane that swept over
France at the end of the eighteenth century, and
provoked the shattering and violent change of
religious creeds there, had its repercussion in the
Polish atmosphere, but cleansed it only and
brought to it new ideas. The younger generation
especially was in constant communication with the
best minds of France, seeking advice and moral
guidance. Rousseau gave this often, and his in-
fluence makes itself felt even in the writings of
Staszyc, though the latter clamours for the con-
solidation of the governmental power, shaken by
the institutions of the noble-republican regime and
the Liberum Veto. Voltaire had his followers:
Trembecki, Krasicki's contemporary and perhaps
his equal in talent, though of inferior moral
value, and his spiritual brother in Voltaire, Kajetan
Wegierski, the less talented of the two.
Sad was then the fate of the theatre, for scenic
art was homeless in Poland. An advantageous
change came in 1779, when, by the King's order,
began the erection of a special building in Warsaw.
In 1781 the management of this theatre was placed
in the hands of the actors, whence it passed in
1783 to Prince Marcin Lubomirski, who, after a
few months, was succeeded by W. Boguslawski,
whose merit in putting this institution on a proper
footing won for him the name of the "Father of
the Polish Theatre. " In 1814 Boguslawski ceded
the directorship to his son-in-law Ludwik Osinski,
retired to his country seat, and died in 1829.
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