POLAND
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POLAND
tory broke with the last of the eighteenth century and
took its stand upon the principle of severe research.
The best historian then hving, after Lelewel, was
Bielowski. Mickiewicz, as a lecturer in the "College
de France", sketched the history of Pohsh literature
with a master hand, while Wiszniewski collected and
studied vast stores of material of which he was able
to exploit only a part. In science, both physical and
medical, many names of distinguished men might be
quoted. Philosophy was now more studied than ever;
Gotuchowski, Libelt, Cieszkowski, Trentowski, and
Kremer all tended towards the establishment of
a Polish school of metaphysics, removed equally
from German Transcendentalism and French Empir-
icism, and founded on the harmony of all our faculties
(not on reason alone) and on a true reconciliation be-
tween science and religion. But all took the cue from
German teachers, some from Schelling, others from
Hegel, whom, however, they often contradicted; and
they failed to produce any distinct system of phi-
losophy.
Ninth Period {1S50 to the present time). — A short interval of transition, following the brilliant outburst of the eighth period, lasted until 1863. Newspapers and periodicals began to be very widely read; they sowed broadcast the seeds of culture, but with the in- evitable shortcomings of inadequate criticism and superficiality. Vincent Pol continued to write; "The Senatorial Agreement" and "Mohort" came from his pen during this period. Syrokomla, an author re- sembling Pol in simplicity and originality of tone, was decidedly his inferior in other respects. Lenartowicz, too, still wrote with much talent, but, like Pol and Zaleski, with a certain monotony of diction and ideas. Two women should be mentioned here: Narcyza Zmicowska (Gabryela) and Hedwige Luszczewska (Deotyma). The former had strong imagination and great audacity; the latter, while yet very young, astonished Warsaw with the brilliancy and facility of her poetical improvisations. In later years she set about writing seriously, and produced much good and scholarly work. The old classics, Cajetan Kozmian, Wezyk, and Morawski, still lived and wrote on, poss- ibly even with more spirit than in their young days. Odyniec, another relic of expiring Romanticism, made his mark about this time; his translations of Scott, Moore, and Byron are excellent. Contemporary with these are Siemienski's translations of Homer and Horace, and Stanislaus Kozmian's of Shakespeare. Romanowski gave great promise as a poet, but he died in 1863; and Joseph Szujski, destined to be one of the great historians of the present time, had already come forward as a narrative, dramatic, and lyric poet. In prose literature Kraszewski and Korzenniowski still held their places, and Kaczkowski now stood by their side. In history, besides the men already named, we find Maciejowski, Hube, and Helcel; these last, with Dzialynski and Bielowski, also did good work by editing ancient sources. Szajnocha, who with modern strictness of research united a most brilliant style, and Frederick Skarbek came to the front. Wojcicki's "History of Polish Literature" is a very good work; and Lukasiewicz Bartoszewicz, Mecherzyn.ski, Przy- borowski, Tyszynski, Malecki, Klaczko, and Kalinka wrote excellent tractates and essays on literary, polit- ical and Eesthetic subjects.
A great change in political conditions supervened after 1863. While Austria granted autonomy to her Polish subjects, Russia attempted by a long and fero- cious persecution to stamp out every vestige of national life, and in Prussian Poland, under Bismarck's rule, even the Catechism was taught in German. Thus Austrian Poland, having two universities (Cracow and Lemberg) besides an academy of sciences, became an important factor in Polish culture. The awful conse- quences of the rising of lSt)3 had taiiglit the nation that, instead of fighting, it must employ peaceful
means, increasing the national wealth, raising the
level of culture, manoeuvring dexterously to get what
political advantages could be got, and strengthening
religious convictions among the people. The former
mystical ideas of patriotism, together with all the
hopes of a prompt restoration, now disappeared; in
their place came truth — the knowledge of former, and
of present, shortcomings and errors which had con-
tributed to the national ruin — and the firm hope that
Poland might live on, but at the cost of incessant and
heroic struggles. No wonder that with such disposi-
tions, prose had the upper hand. Poetry had had its
day, though its stimulating effects still remained; its
action upon the national imagination had been great;
now was the turn of prose, with its appeal to the under-
standing and the will. History flourished; Szajnocha,
Helcel, Bielowski, Szujski, Kalinka, Liske, Pawinski,
Jarochowski, Wegner, Bobrzjmski, Zakrzewski,
Smolka, Kubala, Likowski, Korytkowski, Korzon,
whose works are too numerous to be even noticed
here, were all historians of great merit. In the history
of Polish law, Piekosinski, Balzer, and Ulanowski
must be named, besides others among those men-
tioned above. Estreicher published his extremely valu-
able and useful "Bibliografia Polska", in eighteen
vols.; Malecki and Kallenbach respectively wrote the
lives of Stowacki and of Krasinski; Nehring, Tretiak,
and Kallenbach took Mickiewicz for their theme, and
Spasowicz, Tarnowski, Chmielowski, and Bruckner
all published histories of Polish literature in several
volumes, whilst Klaczko wrote in French his "Caus-
eries Florentines", a very beautiful and serious study
on Dante.
In the philological field, particularly in the study of Polish and the other Slavonic languages, Malinowski, Baudoin de Courtenay, Karlowicz, Krynski, Kalina, and Hanusz did most distinguished work. Qepkow- ski, Luszkiewicz, Sokolowski, Mycielski, and many others laboured successfully for the advancement of archfeology and the history of art, as also did Kolberg, for ethnography. Klaczko, already mentioned, wrote in French two political works, " Deux etudes de diplo- matic contemporaine", and "Les deux chanceliers". Bishop Janiszewski's "The Church and the Christian State" is a remarkable work. In philosophy, Swig- tochowski and Marburg represented the modern Positivist tendency, while the contrary attitude of thought was taken by Struve, and Fathers Pawlicki and Morawski, Straszewski, Raciborski, Twardowski, Wartenberg, and others. Pawlicki wrote his "His- tory of Greek Philosophy", and Straszewski is the author of a work on Sniadecki and another on Indian philosophy. Poetry, as has been said, no longer occupies the same lofty position as formerly. A few dainty verses distinguished by nobihty of thought and grace of diction have come from Falenski's pen. The late Adam Asnyk published many poems under the nom de plume of "El. .y". They were singularly melodious and graceful, melancholy and sad in tone. Marya Konopnicka is a poet of the younger genera- tion and possesses a really fine talent. Lucyan Rydel has shown much lyrical and also dramatic talent; "Na Zawsze" (For ever) and "The Polish Bethle- hem" are fine plays. Casimir Tetmajer has great command of language, a stormy, passionate lyricism; he is at war with the world and with himself.
Patriotism is, as a rule, differently manifested in the poets of our days: there being no hope of victory by insurrection, the life of the people, its fortunes and its sufferings have now the first place. Poets, too, write more willingly for the drama. Many have produced very successful plays — Anczyc, for instance, "Peas- ants and Aristocrats" and "Kosciuszko at Rac- lawice". Balucki has made good hits in his petite bourgeoisie comedies; Frcdo the younger, Blizin.ski and Gawalewicz are also good coincily-writers. In fiction, a great and unexpected step forward has been taken.
