Stanisław Staszic

Stanisław Staszic (born the November 6th 1755 - died the January 20th 1826) was a Statesman, Philosophe, Poète, Géologue, priest and Polish writer of the end of the XVIII {{E}} and beginning of the 19th century, whose work and action, impregnated of the spirit of the Lights had a considerable repercussion in a Poland in catch with the covetousness of its more powerful neighbors.

Biography

Until today Stanislas Staszic is regarded as being the most remarkable character of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland. He was already appreciated by his contemporaries, so much so that its funeral became a considerable demonstration. The young people made a pilgrimage on his tomb with Bielawy; panegyrics of him multiplied.

Stanislas Staszic is resulting from a middle-class family. Wire of the Burgomaster of the city, it was born with Piła in 1755. He became priest since it was one of rare possibilities for the middle-class of being able to gain consideration in the public life. He was initially raises Lycée of holy Marie-madeleine (Poznań), then made studies of Natural science with the Université of Leipzig, then with those of Getynga and Paris. After its return in Poland he became tutor of the children of Andrzej Zamoyski. He also dealt with the studies of Karpattes.

He was member then president of the Association of the friends of sciences . He contributed to the development of the education and the mining Industrie in Poland.

Staszic associated thorough and general-purpose knowledge with a deep generosity of the heart. He was worried much the destiny of the middle-class men and the peasants. He gave his goods of Hrubieszow to the peasants and bequeathed large sums with a social aim. Its activities touched the most important fields of the political life and social.

He presented his ideas in two books: “ Remarks on the life of Zamoyski ” and “ Warnings for Poland . ” The program socio-policy of Staszic did not only take counts the needs for the middle-class and the farming community, but expressed as a large concern for the entire country and expressed fear of them as this one did not lose its independence.

This writer attached an great attention to the education young people of which the goal was to be the prosperity of the fatherland. Since the happiness of the company came from the utility of all its members, as he writes it “education itself must be used for the citizen, must be useful to him. ” He proposed to apply to the schools the principle of associating the theory with the practice, to develop the knowledge to his own country, to deepen sciences Mathématiques, Physique S and chemical. He insisted on the need for removing with the Église the right of the supervision on the instruction and its program of the Commission of state education showed.

It made proposals in the political arena, relating to as well the organization of the capacity, as the Polish legislation. He asserted the suppression of the “ liberum veto ” noting that “the happiness of the citizens is a public property. ” He solicited to allot to the Diète a Executive power and claimed that it accommodates representatives of the middle-class, which, with those of the nobility, would sit in the same Room, and would work together with the improvement of the situation of the country.

He was opposed to the free election and was thus for the hereditary Monarchie. He saw also the need for creating a Professional army permanent, maintained by the nobility.

Stanisław Staszic worried particularly about the life of the peasants. He proposed to remove the Corvée. However he did not dare to claim the absolute release for them. He envisaged to replace the drudgery by the rent, so that the lord did not have the right to drive out the Serf without court order, and to remove the patrimonial courts. It required more law for the middle-class, the decrees to ensure a broad urban development what would lead to the industrialization of the country, and, by consequence, would be favorable to the development of the trade and the craft industry.

The criticism of the tycoons Polish took a special place in its works. It made them responsible for the fall of the country. He writes: “Only the lords contribute to the loss of the Poles. ” According to Staszic it was them which killed the respect for the law and which contributed to the division of Poland. Their control was dictated, according to him, by selfishness and even treason.

See too

alphabetical List Polish writers

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