Adam Siuda

Stanislaus Konarski

Reformer of Education in Poland

during the 18th century

www.edicionescalasancias.org

74

Stanislaus Konarski. Reformer of Education in Poland during the 18th century

Author: Adam Siuda

Publicaciones ICCE

(Instituto Calasanz de Ciencias de la Educación)

Conde de Vilches, 4 - 28028 Madrid

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ISBN: 978-84-7278-589-2

Depósito legal: M-13425-2020

Imprime: Gramadosa

Translation by P. Antonio Marco Moreno

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Stanislaus Konarski

Reformer of Education in Poland

during the 18th century

Introduction

The Order of the Pious Schools has given to Poland the man who became the reformer of its own schools and also, albeit indirectly, of public education in his country. With his pedagogical thinking he influenced the history of education, not only in Poland, but also in Russia, Austria and later in other European countries.

With his pedagogical, social and political activity, he led Poland on the path of reforms that gave it modernity and democratic fullness.

His figure is of interest to us not only for the fact that he was the first reformer of the education in Poland in the XVIII century, as the forerunner of the first Ministry of Public Instruction in Europe, but also because he is the author of distinguished works, the initiator of the aesthetic taste and a man of great civic courage.

The present publication has two purposes: it is intended as a tribute to the great Polish Piarist Fr. Stanislaus Konarski, while at the same time attempting to approach the Western reader to his life, in the best possible way.

But as it is presented, within the limits set, it is not a complete paper on the life and works of Fr. Konarski.

In these pages we intend to give an overview of Fr. Konarski’s life, but it is obvious that it is not possible to form a complete judgement of his educational and reform work in Poland. We will dwell only on some of the most important moments of his activity, which can help the western reader to understand better how the Piarist Fathers contributed to the development of the socio-political life of Poland in the XVIII century, especially through the outstanding figure of Fr. Stanislaus Konarski.

The beginnings of Pious Schools in Poland

The foundation and consolidation of the Pious Schools in Poland must be considered as one of the most important events, not only for the history of the Piarist Order, but also for the religious, social, political and civil history of the Polish nation.

The Piarists, with their scholastic, educational and religious work, come into contact, in Poland, with a people of a mentality and culture different from that of the Latin environment. The existence of the Pious Schools is not only part of the history of Poland, but should be considered as a sign of the times for the whole world.

This sign of the times was understood and deciphered by the Founder of the Pious Schools, St. Joseph Calasanz (1557-1648) and by many other Piarists, including Fr. Stanislaus Konarski.

In the history of the Polish Province, we can distinguish several stages:

1. the period of foundation and stabilization of the Order (1642-1740);

2. the golden century of the Piarists in Poland (1740-1786);

3. the period of the struggle for the survival of the Province (1786-1832);

4. the period of the restoration (1864-1945), up to the present time.

In this essay we cannot describe the rich history of the “Polish Province” of our Order, which does not have its proper place here either, but we will only mention some of the most important points concerning the beginnings of the Pious Schools in Poland.

During the long period from 1634 to 1642 there were many requests from Poland to be able to count on the presence of the Piarists, but in vain, since this Institution was then spreading rapidly in Italy and Germany, and there was not a sufficient number of religious available for the opening of new schools in Poland. However, thanks to the repeated insistence to Calasanz of the Polish King Ladislaus IV[1] and his Minister George Ossoliński, the Piarists went to Poland in 1642.

1 Ladislaus IV Vasa (1595-1648). King of Poland. Son of Sigismund III, he succeeded him in 1632; after the defeat of the Russians (1632-1634), he gained control of the territories along the Dnieper and Duina rivers. During the Thirty Years’ War he was able to balance skillfully between the Aubsburgs and France, although he later sided with France by marrying Louise Marie Gonzaga. He died while trying to organize a military campaign against the Turks. He was a refined sovereign in his tastes and culture; in domestic politics he maintained a tolerant attitude towards the Protestants.

The Piarists who settled in Poland were some Italians and mostly Germans, Moravians and Bohemians. Only one was Polish: Fr. Casimir Bogatko, who entered the Order in 1635. He was first assigned to Warsaw and two years later he was transferred to Podoliniec, where he died on 7 May 1650. Only a few months had passed since the introduction of the Pious Schools in Poland when, on 15 January 1643, a decree of the Holy Office forbade the Piarists to open new houses and to receive novices.

In 1646, as a result of the intrigues of many, Innocent X, threatening to suppress the Institution, proceeded to reduce it from the Order it was, with solemn vows, to a simple federal Congregation (16 March 1646), without central government, without connection between the individual houses, which thus came under the direct jurisdiction of the diocesan bishops.

At that time, the Institute had its impregnable castle in Central Europe, and its defense was organized at the Court of Warsaw. Numerous appeals were made to the Roman Curia, until the partial reinstatement of the prerogatives of the Institution was achieved.

Fr. Onofre Conti (1601-1686), who at the time of the reduction of the Order was Provincial of Germania and Poland, asked King Ladislaus IV to intervene with the Roman Curia, pointing out the need for the Pious Schools in Poland.

On 12th March 1656, Pope Alexander VII restored the Pious Schools. Father General then appointed Father Conti as Provincial of the Province of Germany and Poland for the second time. After the General Chapter of 1659, Fr. Conti was replaced by Fr. John Dominic Franco, a native of Rome.

It was he who induced Father General to create the Province of Poland, separating it from that of Germany, with the three houses that existed within the boundaries of Poland.

The new province was erected on 18 January 1662 and Father Franco was appointed the first Provincial. It was not until 1680 that the first Polish Provincial was appointed, in the person of Father Adalbert Siewierkiewicz. From this time onwards, the province began to make new and remarkable progress.

When the young Konarski entered the novitiate of the Pious Schools, they already existed in various Polish cities, such as Warsaw, Podoliniec, Rzeszów, Kraków, Chełm, Łowicz, Piotrków, Góra Kalwaria, Radom, Waręż, Wieluń, Łuków, Szczuczyn Mazowiecki and Międzyrzecz.

It was the proper mission of the Pious Schools, devoted especially to the social and scholastic education of the underprivileged, to penetrate the conscience of the Polish people. The brilliant results achieved, especially in Poland and Central Europe, by these heroes of poverty and self-denial, speak of something marvellous: that even the most intransigent heretics surrendered to the concrete, evident and eloquent reality of putting the Gospel into practice.

The historical situation in Konarski’s time

Before returning to the plot of this book, it is necessary to take a closer look at the historical situation in Konarski’s time. To fully understand Polish history, it is necessary to bear in mind at what time and under what conditions Poland - coming out of a legendary prehistory - entered the scene of history, breaking out of its isolation and entering into the context of neighboring peoples, who had already achieved a remarkable development. For most European peoples, this process took place in the Greco-Roman world, or else at the moment when they received the Christian faith; as for Poland, the two events - first contacts with the Western world and reception of the Christian faith - took place almost simultaneously, between the years 963 and 966. It is clear that in this study we will refer only to some of the most important points of this historical situation.

Let us now turn to the historical situation in Fr. Konarski’s time.

The hundred years from the second half of the XVII century to the first half of the XVIII century can be considered among the most difficult in Polish history.

From the second half of the XVII century onwards, a period begins in which there are no more successes or victories, but only defeats and setbacks, both politically and economically.

The last years of the first half of the XVII century, which corresponds to the end of the reign of Ladislav IV (1632-1648) and the beginning of that of his brother John Casimir (1648-1668), the last king of the Vasa dynasty on the Polish throne, coincided with the beginning of a series of disasters. In the following 100 years, almost half of the period was occupied by wars, mostly self-defense wars, on the same national territory.

Territorial losses, devastating war actions and accompanying plundering –especially by the Swedes– famine and epidemics, caused Poland’s population to fall from 10 to 6 million in the first decade of the second half of the XVII century.

The decline in the general standard of living and culture also led to a great decline in pastoral care and religiosity. When it comes to the Polish reality in the XVII and the first half of the XVIII century, the popular type of religiosity should not be considered to be confined only to peasant environments, but extending beyond the strictly rural world, it should also be attributed to other social groups, because the living conditions of a significant part of the population, especially the lower nobility and the inhabitants of the villages in the agricultural regions, did not differ substantially from those of the country people. Polish religiosity retained its baroque characteristics for a long time.

The political situation in Poland at the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment was characterized by the crisis of sovereign authority, which had persisted since the beginning of the XVIII century. The state, weak militarily and economically, lacking a strong government, without any political program, appeared as an anachronistic creature in the Europe of those times of enlightened absolutism, and was not an autonomous subject of international politics, but rather its object, subordinated to its powerful neighbors and dependent on them. The fact that from 1736 until the end of the reign of Augustus III[2] no Diet (Sejm) completed its normal period, and that during the Seven Years’ War foreign armies moved freely through its territory, is proof of the particular situation of anarchy and paralysis. The principle of unanimity in all matters was in force in the Diet. A single deputy could interrupt any session with the use of the so-called liberum veto[3] .

2 Augustus III (1733-1763). King of Poland. On the death of his father Augustus II, he succeeded him on the throne (1733), after having defeated the French candidate, Stanislaus Leszczyński, in the War of the Polish Succession.

3 Liberum veto. Privilege of the Polish nobility to veto decisions of the Diet of the Kingdom. The abuse of this right was one of the major causes of the weakness of the Polish state in the XVII and XVIII centuries.

The political catastrophe of Poland’s history in the second half of the XVIII century is clouded over by the threefold partition of the great state by its neighbors Russia, Prussia and Austria (1772, 1793 and 1795) and its disappearance from the map of Europe for 123 years. This ruin seems all the more tragic if we consider that, it was precisely in that period, Poland had begun to rise from a situation of prostration and general stagnation, from a certain paralysis, from a state of profound political, economic, intellectual and cultural impotence, appropriating inspirations and models from other states. A healthy political thinking was being renewed, which encouraged efforts to reform and transform the oligarchic and archaic structures of that society in order to better preserve and defend the country’s independence. At the same time, the situation of intellectual and cultural stagnation had been overcome. We had begun to close the gap that separated us, in this respect, from the first countries of the European Enlightenment, especially through education, science, literature and art.

In Poland, the Enlightenment manifested itself rather late. At the beginning of the Saxon period, as a strictly elite movement, it came under the cultural influence of German Enlightenment, with a simultaneous diffusion of French language and culture. Later, in the time of Stanislaus Augustus, in the phase of full development, it came under the influence of French physiocracy, Rousseau and Voltaire. A characteristic feature of the Polish Enlightenment was the fact that it represented a form of reaction against the political crisis of the ‘public thing’, against the intellectual stagnation and the cultural crisis of conservative and baroque Sarmatism. That is why the genesis and development of the Enlightenment was accompanied by the aspiration for the restoration of the Res Publica, which is the main task of the Polish Enlightenment. To this task they subordinated all their other activities in various sectors, understanding as the restoration of the Res Publica not only the reform of its political regime, but also the reform of education and instruction, in order to form a new enlightened citizen, and to obtain the reform of customs, the renewal and development of literature, science, art and, in general, of culture.

The importance of the figure of Stanislaus Augustus for Poland is shown by the emergence, in the middle of the XVIII century, of salutary ideas which spread until they became part of the life of the nation under Stanislaus Poniatowski. It is very significant that the author of the most important political treatise of that time, Fr. Stanislaus Konarski, was both a perfect educator and a true reformer of the educational system, which, until then, had left much to be desired. This explains why the political reforms - aimed at ensuring the presence in Poland of a stable government, with a well-organized treasury and an army capable of dealing with aggression from neighboring states - reforms which the supporters of the Enlightenment had hoped for in vain during the reign of Augustus III, could finally be taken in hand by succeeding generations, already adequately prepared and capable of rising to a higher cultural level.

The young Konarski

Stanislaus Konarski was born in Żarczyce on 30 September 1700. He was baptized with the name Jerome. His father’s name was Jerzy Konarski and his mother was Elena Czerwińska. After the death of the Konarski couple, their children were lovingly educated by their uncle Anthony Czerwiński, who would have wanted to direct them towards studies, despite the family’s opposition.

At that time, as we have already said, the Piarists were already well known in Poland. As in Italy, they did not allow discrimination of social class, race or religion among their pupils. There were even Pious Schools in the town of Piotrków, where the young Jerome Konarski began his studies.

The school in Piotrków, which all the children of the Konarski family attended for their early schooling, was one of the best known in Poland at the time, attended by some 250 pupils.

What did the young Konarski learn at the school of the Piarist Fathers? It seems that from the very beginning he understood very well the idea of St. Joseph Calasanz about the functioning and the importance of the school. He distinguished himself in the learning of the literary art; he learned to speak Latin correctly, a language then indispensable for taking part in social and religious life. It also seems that the young Konarski, immediately after finishing those classes, felt called to enter the Order of the Pious Schools. He did indeed present his request to the Superiors.

On 1 August 1715, Hieronymus Konarski received the Piarist habit and took the religious name of Stanislaus of St. Lawrence. Nothing special is known about his first years of religious life. He did his novitiate in Podoliniec, where, after completing his Piarist training, he did his first teaching practice as a teacher of poetics and rhetoric in the syntax class. There he also taught catechism to children and devoted himself to the study of philosophy.

In 1722, Provincial Vincent ŚIegielski decided to send him to Warsaw, where he studied theology and was ordained to the priesthood in 1724 or 1725. Fr. Konarski was also a professor of poetics in Warsaw.

Various periods of Fr. Konarski’s stay abroad

Thanks to the interest shown by his uncle, Jan Tarło, who was a bishop, the young Stanislaus Konarski was able to go to Italy to further his scientific, literary and pedagogical education.

He arrived in Rome in 1725. No documentation is available to indicate where he lived when he arrived.

From the documents kept in the Archives of the Pious Schools in Rome, we know that Fr. Stanislaus Konarski of St. Lawrence took part, on 5 August 1729, in the Local Chapter of the Community of Collegio Nazareno, founded by St. Joseph Calasanz with the help of Cardinal Tonti in 1630. We also know that he was enrolled in this College, first as a student and then as a teacher for two years.

While he was at Collegio Nazareno, the illustrious Fr. Paulino Chelucci, professor of eloquence and mathematics at the Sapienza, was Rector of the School. This Father, when reorganizing the teaching of the school, among other things, appointed Father Konarski professor at the Nazareno.

At that time, Pope Benedict XIII had kindly granted that every year, on Easter Tuesday, in the Sistine Chapel and in the presence of the Pontiff and his entire Court, one of the boarders of Collegio Nazareno, from the pulpit, would recite a speech in Latin on the theme De Christi Domini Resurgentis Gloria.

This honorable distinction, obtained in May 1726, was first put into practice in 1727, and Collegio Nazareno continued to enjoy it without interruption until 1870.

The content of these speeches, in a rather elegant Latin style, was prepared in collaboration with the Master of Rhetoric. The speeches were printed and, once delivered, distributed as a gift. Many of them are a jewel of the Latin language, and their complete collection constitutes a veritable mine, precious and not inconsiderable, of beautiful concepts and profound thoughts on the mystery of the Resurrection of the Lord.

According to Fr. Leodegario Picanyol, the author of these discourses, in 1728 and 1729, was not Father Bernardo Guglielmini, as Fr. Viñas claims, but Fr. Stanislaus Konarski.

The first of them, that of 1728, is dedicated to Pope Benedict XIII, while that of 1729 contains no dedication.

Our Konarski, who came to Rome to study the art of literature at Collegio Nazareno, profited so much that he was assigned to temporarily replace his teacher Bernardo Guglielmini, who, towards the end of 1727, for family reasons had to go to France, where he stayed for two years. This is recorded in the Registers of the General Archives of St. Pantaleo in Rome, and even more clearly in the Acts of the “Academia degli Incolti” of the same Collegio Nazareno. In 1728, Fr. Konarski joined this Academy under the poetic name of Florisio Cilleniense.

Following in the footsteps of St Joseph Calasanz, who had gathered around himself apostles of education, which was to be given free of charge to the youth of all countries, Fr. Konarski studied in depth not only the organization of Collegio Nazareno, but also that of the public schools in the Papal States.

Not content with what he had learned, Fr. Konarski also went to Great Britain, Holland, various Germanic countries and France, where he had the opportunity to visit many educational institutions. In France he was particularly interested in the pedagogical methods of Charles Rollin and others.

Abroad, our Konarski discovered a new world, that of the philosophy of Descartes, Pascal, Gassendi and Malebranche, i.e., of the Philosophia recentiorum. He was also interested in the new literature of Molière, Racine, Corneille, La Fontaine. He was attracted by the experimental physics of Galileo and Kepler. But above all he was interested in the methods of western schools, in the way they taught and educated, as well as in their organization and functioning.

In the years 1733-1734, Fr. Stanislaus Konarski was secretary to the Polish ambassador, with whom he went to Paris to ask for military aid for his homeland, which was invaded by the Russian army. When he returned to Poland, however, he abandoned his political activities and began to take care of the situation of the Polish schools.

School reformer

Public education in Poland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries certainly did not reach the level required for the historical task performed by that powerful state in East-Central Europe. At that time, in the field of education and instruction, only the religious orders were really fruitful.

It was therefore necessary to reform education in order to add scientific culture to humanistic culture. The greatest merit, in this field, undoubtedly belongs to those Orders which endeavored to carry out a reform aimed at extending the benefits of education to all social classes of the population. Broadly speaking, this reform consisted in preparing a program of teaching and education adapted to the needs of life at the time.

In practice, it was a question of eliminating useless topics of scholastic philosophy, reducing the study of Latin in favor of the Polish language, introducing or extending new subjects and new themes: history, mathematics, physics, natural sciences, geography and modern languages.

The reform also tended to imbue education with a civic and patriotic spirit. And it was precisely the Pious Schools that had the merit of having given Poland the man who turned out to be the school reformer of their own Order, namely Fr. Konarski.

The school reform carried out by Fr. Konarski began with the “College of Nobles”, of which we will speak later.

In 1741, unexpectedly, Fr. Stanislaus Konarski was appointed Provincial of Poland by the General Curia of the Piarist Fathers in Rome. The following year he took part in the General Chapter in Rome, where he presented his new school project for the “College of Nobles” and all the Pious Schools in Poland. But this project was not approved neither by the Provincial Chapter nor by the General Chapter.

Konarski –together with his Piarist brother Ignatius and Fr. Cipriano Komorowski– seeing that he could not get the project of the reform of the Pious Schools approved, staged a coup d’état in the Polish Province. With King Augustus III and the Primate of Poland, Monsignor Adam Komorowski, he obtained a Brief from Benedict XIV, in which the Pope ordered the Apostolic Visitation of the Polish Province and appointed as Visitor Father Cyprian Komorowski, Rector of the Piarist house in Kraków and brother of the Primate of Poland.

The Apostolic Visitation lasted from 24 April 1750 to 1754 and was concluded with the voluminous text of the Ordinationes Visitationis Apostolicae… pro Provincia Polona Clericorum Regularium Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum, approved by Benedict XIV with the Brief Cum alias Nos of 15 February 1754.

The Ordinationes, as far as the literary style is concerned, are the work of several authors. Together with Fr. Konarski, other illustrious Piarists collaborated, such as Fathers: Cyprian Komorowski, Felician Makolski, Augustine Orłowski, Anthony Wiśniewski. However, most of the Ordinationes is the work of Fr. Konarski, especially parts IV and V.

This reform is surely Fr. Konarski’s most important work. The new program of the school is based on the contrast between the Polish school and the school of the West, and is contained in the Ordinationes which consists of the following parts:

- Part I. The government of the Province

- Part II. The observance in the religious house

- Part III. The education of our young men, i.e., the Regulations of the Novitiate and the Juniorate.

- Part IV. The schools

- Part V. The Regulations of the College of Nobles in Warsaw. Regulations for Our own who are sent abroad. Regulations for the Warsaw printing house (cf. the Latin text).

The Ordinationes contain, in parts I-III, the prescriptions concerning the administration of the province and of the individual houses, the powers of the provincial and of the rectors, the admission to the novitiate and the preparation of the future teachers. Part IV contains the new school project for all the Piarist houses in Poland, and Part V for the “College of Nobles”.

Our Konarski, as a truly practical man, did not immediately introduce all the necessary reforms, but only those which, given the circumstances, he could get accepted, thus making the school take a step forward, arranging things towards the goal to be reached.

The most important points of the Ordinationes are those devoted to the teaching of religion and to some problems of moral theology. Something quite new in the Polish school program is the reading of the Gospel and of some texts from the Old Testament:

“All teachers, whether in the lower classes or in the higher classes and in rhetoric, should not fail at all to teach Christian doctrine every day in every class, pointing out the parts that should be learnt by heart in the last half hour or the last quarter of an hour”.[4]

4 Ordinationes, IV, par. 1, n. 4.

“But nothing can be more necessary for a Christian than the knowledge of the life of our Redeemer: and for this reason, the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Life of Jesus Christ taken from the whole of the four Gospels, are the most useful books for any Christian”.[5]

5 Ibid., nn. 6-8.

“We order that all professors and teachers first read these books to the young people with great care… and then repeat their contents orally, explain them and recommend them. And at the same time ask the pupils to see if they have understood it. Let those who teach read the discourse (Konarski’s) The Honest Man especially when the days of confession are approaching, instruct them in the manner of confession and communion, and always recommend to them in a special way the frequent use of the Sacraments throughout life…”.[6]

6 Ibid., n. 9.

The Ordinationes provide for the teaching of Greek, history, geography of Poland and the world, and astronomy; they require the study of the laws of the state, politics, architecture, philosophy, arithmetic, algebra, geometry and trigonometry, physics and natural sciences; they even provide for the teaching of painting, gymnastic exercises, horse riding, fencing, dancing and music.

The “College of Nobles”

In the first half of the XVIII century, only a few enlightened minds understood the need for a reform of civil law, education and politics. One of them was Fr. Stanislaus Konarski, who, on his return from abroad, founded the “College of Nobles” in Warsaw (1 September 1740), whose programs went far beyond Charles Rollin’s Traité des études and were of great importance for the school in Poland.

All the ideas about the school in Poland were taken up by Konarski at the source of Western models of education. But it must be said that the model of the College des Nobles was his idea.

The school in general and, in particular, the “College of Nobles”, in Fr. Konarski’s mind, had the special purpose of preparing young people for public life. This preparation embraced all fields of education, i.e., Christian education, religious training, supervision, health care, instruction, discipline. In the organization of the “College of Nobles”, the pedagogical regulations occupy a very significant place. The direction of the “College of Nobles” was entrusted to the Rector, as the immediate superior of the boarding school, and to the Prefect, who was assisted by the Vice-Rector.

The Rector and the Prefect –said Konarski– admit the boarders, but with great caution. In a special way, let them see to it that the number of 60 is never exceeded, otherwise their educational program cannot be fruitfully implemented in the College. It should also be borne in mind that it was up to the Rector to choose the uniform of the boarders and that of the servers.

In accordance with Fr. Konarski’s wishes, the “College of Nobles” had a good library for the boys, a rich Physics and Natural Science department, as well as a comfortable infirmary for the care of the sick.

In Poland, the “College of Nobles” was the first school in which the new methods of education were adopted. It produced the cream of the ruling class, which prepared the democratic constitution introduced in Poland in 1791, and which was of great importance for the nation. We need only recall a few famous pupils of the Pious Schools, who played a very important role in the life and history of Poland: S. Małachowski[7] , T. Kościuszko[8], I. Potocki[9], I. Domeyko[10], Moniuszko[11] and many others.

7 A student of the Piarists. He was very active during the Polish Diet of “the four years” (Sejm Wielki), which, meeting in 1788, was called so because of its exceptional duration: 1788-1792. It began its activities under very good auspices. Against those who opposed any reform, and even partly against the King himself, who at first was too much inclined to compromise, the patriotic party prevailed, won a majority in this Constituent Diet, and not only achieved a number of important reforms, but also freed the Country from the humiliating tutelage of the Russian guarantees and succeeded in ratifying the Constitution of May 3 (1791) almost unanimously by the Diet. It put an end first of all to the absolute predominance of the nobility by the application of the “liberum veto”, which was diminished, as well as to their right not to be bound by certain laws and with regard to eligibility for the throne. It sanctioned the rights already recognized by the Diet for the bourgeoisie of the free cities; it assured the peasants the protection of the public power; it strengthened the executive power; and finally, it fixed the organization and the tasks of the legislative chambers.

8 Kościuszko Tadeusz (1746-1817). Polish patriot and national hero. As a young man, he lived in Paris, where he became a republican and democratic through contact with the culture and political thought of the French Enlightenment. After moving to America (1776), he fought in the American armies, achieving the rank of general. On his return to his homeland, after a few years away from politics, he joined the Polish army, still with the rank of general, and in 1792 he fought against Russia and was exiled to France. When he returned to his homeland and led the insurrection of 1794, he was taken prisoner by the Russians, who released him two years later. From his new exile (first in the United States and then in Switzerland, where he spent his last years), he continued to work for the freedom of his homeland, but because he did not trust Napoleon, he always refused his offers of help.

9 He took part in the four-year Diet (cf. note 7).

10 Ignacio Domeyko (1802-1889), a pupil of the Piarists in Poland. For his life and activities, see F. M. García: “Ignacio Domeyko, ilustre exalumno de las Escuelas Pías de Polonia y figura egregia de Chile”, in ASP 1 (1977) 2, pp. 261-278.

11 Stanislav Moniuszko (1819-1872). After Chopin, he was the second Polish composer in terms of his ability to express the national character of his homeland’s art in music in an excellent way. His importance as a composer can be seen in his two masterpieces of dramatic genre, Halka, a tragic opera full of folk motifs, and The Mysterious Castle, a lyrical comedy, as well as his series of some 300 songs of charming melody and some large-scale choral works. From 1858 until his death, Moniuszko was the director of the Warsaw Opera.

Some Piarists, who were to teach in the schools and especially in the “College of Nobles”, were sent abroad to deepen their knowledge of their respective subjects. Among them were Fathers A. Wiśniewski, A. Orłowski, G. Baxter, M. Stadnicki, L. Jordan, F. Potkański, C. Komorowski, A. Ożga, K. Kamieński, M. Dogiel, S. Chróścikowski, C. Kopczyński, K. Skrzetuski, T. Waga, I. Zaborowski and others.

The program of the “College of Nobles”

In the time of our Konarski, the Piarist schools were divided into five or six classes: the elementary, grammar, syntax, humanities and rhetoric. But Konarski prescribed for the “College of Nobles” that, as far as possible, education should last eight years, with the following classes:

1. elementary class

2. grammar and Polish history class (two-year period)

3. humanities class and introduction to Polish law

4. rhetoric and poetics class (two-year period)

5. philosophy class (two-year period).

The Ordinationes still retained a humanistic direction as the basis of the teaching. But they change in the purpose of teaching and in the use of Latin. Grammar as such is no longer the main subject of teaching. The Latin language is learned preferably in the original texts, rather than in grammar books.

“In this school (…) the Latin language is taught with care to distinguish above all the less Latin words and barbarisms from the better Latin vocabularies and to know the precise meaning of the words themselves; the teachers also take great care to ensure that a good vocabulary is also used in the dialects and in the mother tongue…”.[12]

12 Ordinationes, IV, par. VII, n. 98.

However, Konarski is the author of the new Latin grammar, used in Poland in the schools of the Piarist Fathers from 1741. It contains the elementary notions necessary for the pupils of the lower classes, the basic elements of grammar, the Roman calendar and aphorisms of some poets. The subject of grammar is reduced to the fundamental elements, which are then expanded in due course by the teachers in subsequent classes. After a certain period of time, exercises in spoken Latin were done, relating, in a simple way, things that the pupils had already read, such as, for example, a book in Latin.

In addition to the fables of Aesop and Phaedrus and the “Colloquia” of J. L. Vives, the classics were read. In the humanities class, students had to know Latin well enough to be able to use it in speech and writing. In this class, the works of Caesar, Cicero, Europius, Horace, Pliny, Ovid and Virgil were used.

“Four times a year it should be recited in Latin and Polish, in verse or prose. In a simple, clear, natural style, embellished with periods, transpositions, poetic figures, using a grandiosity that is not puerile but appropriate to the matter. As for the vocabulary, take Cicero, Caesar, Nepos, Tacitus, Livy… And for Polish, use a vocabulary taken from the works of Bielski, Stryjkowski, Kochanowski, Twadowski and Skarga. Latin words should not be transferred to the mother tongue, as has been the case for some time, thus distorting the Polish language…”[13].

13 Ibid., par. VIII, nn. 125-126.

In Fr. Konarski’s teaching program, the Polish language was of particular importance. The teachers had to do everything possible to ensure that the pupils became well acquainted with the Polish language and its style.

“Since Christians should know it, and children should have a taste for reading books from their earliest childhood, no book could be more useful and more suitable for them than the Gospel. Therefore, on three days a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday - during the last half hour in the morning and, if you prefer, also in the afternoon, the teacher should read or explain the Gospel of St. Luke in Polish, or, if he cannot find it in Polish, read it in Latin and explain it in Polish. If there is time to spare, read from Holy Scripture the book of Tobias in the vulgar language or explain it from the Latin. This reading will surely please the children and produce much fruit in them, provided that the teacher adapts himself to the ability of the pupils in his explanations and makes them repeat what has been read.[14]

14 Ibid., par. IV, n. 73.

Foreign languages such as French, German and Italian were also taught. French was introduced in the theatre of the College, which was then the social center of the “elite” of the Enlightenment. Each term, the pupils performed a tragedy in French or Polish in the theatre of the “College of Nobles”. German was taught at the same time as French, or at least in a similar method. It is curious that the Ordinationes do not give any indication of German plays. Only a few German diaries and short stories in German are recommended.

The teaching of ancient history, and especially of Polish history, is, according to the Ordinationes, an instrument for the social, political and moral education of man:

“…Some books are intended for this school in order to learn history and others to promote eloquence. The teacher of this school can make use of Justin, Herodotus, Neuport’s Roman History. Also for Antiquity he can make use of the most common textbooks, as long as there is no other more useful work published in the form of a historical compendium, or translated from another language. For achieving the best eloquence, read the works of Cicero…”.[15]

15 Ibid., par. VII 1, n. 128.

The method of teaching history according to the Ordinationes was very simple: in the lower class they began with the History of Salvation, and in the grammar class they moved on to the History of the Polish Nation. The Kompendium by A. Kłudzki and Florus polonicus by J. Pastorius were used as textbooks. This subject was later expanded in the upper classes by reading old Polish historians. In the classes of Syntax, Humanities and Rhetoric, ancient history was taught according to Herodotus, Justin. Livy, Caesar and Tacitus.

For the teaching of Polish law, the old works of Januszewski, Ladowski, Zeglicki and the Volumina legum prepared by Stanislaus Konarski were used. In the “College of Nobles”, the curriculum of history and law was much broader than in public schools. Thus, for example, in the Humanities class, Polish law according to Lengnich (Ius publicum Regni Poloniae…) was studied, while in the Rhetoric class, Modern History and French, German, Italian, English, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Russian law were added.

In this College, Geography was taught in the fifth class, together with the other subjects, and the Ordinationes recommend the study of this subject using world maps and other maps.

As far as the teaching of Philosophy is concerned, let us only add that, in this College, it lasted two years. The program of this teaching had been drawn up according to a famous Polish philosopher of the XVIII century, the Piarist Father Anthony Wiśniewski. In addition to Logic and Metaphysics, the Ordinationes prescribed, during the first year, even Ethics. In the second year, Mathematics and Natural Sciences are taught:

“Philosophy is a free thing, as long as those opinions which even indirectly go against religion are sacrosanctly avoided, rejected, condemned…”.[16]

16 Ibid., par. X, n. 184.

Theology also occupied an important place in Konarski’s teaching:

“As far as Theology is concerned, I beg the teaching Fathers to bear in mind that the knowledge of this most noble subject, both speculative and moral, will be equally necessary for both laymen and ecclesiastics, and that its study obliges the Pious Schools no less than the other Natural Sciences… …abstain from useless questions, and do not waste time and energy in those discussions which were raised by the idleness of some scholastics and which do not concern either faith or morals… The principles of theology are always to be taken from theological places, and the treatises on dogmatic and moral theology by the above-mentioned authors are to be read and commented on according to the prudence of the teachers and the ability of the students…”.[17]

17 Ibid., par. II, nn. 193-196.

Some outlines of Konarski’s pedagogy

In Fr. Konarski’s pedagogical thinking, the school should not be limited to pure instruction, but should prepare for the reconquest and reform of the Christian Republic. In imitation of St. Joseph Calasanz, he wanted the school to abandon its traditional coldness and become a living and vivifying organism, performing, within Polish society, the double function, cultural and educational. As for Calasanz, so for Konarski the motto of Piety and Letters constituted the program of the double ideal, humanistic and religious. His new educational orientation is based on this master line, which, by centralizing the needs of man in a dialectical synthesis of supernatural and contingent values, can effectively achieve the desired personal and collective advantages. Konarski himself wrote about this:

“Both the name, the profession and the purpose of the Institute of the Pious Schools and the benefit of the Fatherland and of the Christian Society (that is to say of Poland and of the whole of Christendom) require peremptorily and in the first place that the pupils of our schools receive above all a moral and pious education so that they may become honest men of excellent virtue. If this were not so, our schools would be no different from those of the laity and even from those of the pagans, and they would be called “pious” in vain and ridiculously. Evidently, the most holy Founder of our Order, in giving life to this Institute, assigned to it in the first place this goal and pointed out to it this principal purpose of ensuring that from their tender age the children were trained for the Christian life and to win their souls for God. He wanted us, as he himself did, to use the teaching of the arts and sciences as a means to this supreme end. We would be of little worth before the Church, the Society, the parents of the pupils and our Order, if we were to obtain only orators and philosophers from the adolescents entrusted to us, abandoning them instead to the disorders and vices of youth, and not bringing them out of the rottenness of impiety, instead of striving to remove them from the bad habits of nature and to lead them from their tender age to a virtuous life”.[18]

18 Ibid., par. I, n. 1.

It can therefore be said that in the pedagogical thinking of Fr. Konarski there are two fundamental elements: to form honest men and Christian men.

According to this ideal of Fr. Konarski, the good of the fatherland depends mainly on the new holders of the public administration, the new rulers. On this subject, he says: Bonus senator et minister-sed simul christianus. Bonus miles et imperator - sed simul christianus. Bonus civis - sed simul christianus. That is why Polish historians called him the educator of the Polish nation. Indeed, Fr. Konarski, by his teaching, instilled in young people the love for the Fatherland and the duty to defend it.

According to Fr. Konarski, the educator must above all prepare the youth for a truly Christian life. For this reason, he prescribed, in addition to morning and evening prayers, daily Mass and even a short meditation in the morning:

“The principal means for forming young people to a Christian life in our schools are about seven, or perhaps a few more: 1) the catechism; 2) sacred talks; 3) pious prayers; frequent Mass and visits to the church; 4) frequent and very diligent use of the Sacraments and the spiritual direction of Confessors in the Sacrament of Penance; 5) spiritual exercises or annual attendance at three-day retreats; 6) the so-called spiritual reading and personal collection of religious culture; 7) frequent exhortation of the young, taking advantage of every occasion, encouraging them to virtue and inspiring them with a horror of sin”.[19]

19 Ibid., par. I, n. 2.

Among the virtues, he wanted obedience and justice to be particularly inculcated. The pupils of the College of Nobles had to make annual retreats. Konarski always preached to the teachers that they should also train honest citizens, that they should teach them to manage their own property wisely, and that they should hold in high esteem the value of the good and faithful servant, treating their pupils in the best way and not listening to anything said to their disadvantage. According to him, they should be required to be always affable, well-mannered, courteous in greeting, in speech, and in all their actions.

See what Konarski says about the teachers:

“During the lessons, those who teach must use their time with scrupulous exactitude, according to the timetable prescribed for each hour, using it with all their efforts for the benefit of the pupils, imitating Jesus Christ when he taught the crowds, striving for the salvation of souls at the cost of their weariness and fatigue”.[20]

20 Ibid., n. 17.

One of the points that stand out in Father Konarski’s pedagogy is vigilance, considered to be a fundamental means of educational work.

One can get acquainted with Father Konarski’s pedagogy by reading volumes IV and V of the Ordinationes. His plan of study of each of the subjects taught in the classes of the Piarists and especially in his College of Nobles is very interesting.

Speaking of the pedagogical reform of education in Poland and particularly in the classes of the Polish Piarists carried out by Fr. Stanislaus Konarski, one might perhaps think that it was confined to the famous College of Nobles, or to the schools of the Piarist Order in Poland, when in fact it was not so, but his influence extended to all education in Poland, thanks to his example and that of the other Piarists.

Fr. Konarski’s pedagogical doctrine is based on the Gospel, love for God, neighbor and country. He was, as the Polish historian Konopczyński says, a landless nobleman, a poor religious, but at the same time a magnate of thought, rich in faith, hope and love. He transformed a great number of schools, changed the orientation of the Polish Parliament, gave a new aspect to the history of Poland and the history of schools.

“Sapere Ausus”

“So far we have only presented in a synthetic and general way some aspects of Fr. Konarski’s activity, whether in the priestly or in the pedagogical and political sphere. As we are now approaching the end of these reflections on Fr. Konarski, we would like to draw attention to other important points in order to get a more or less complete picture of his life and work.

Fr. Stanislaus Konarski also devoted himself to raising the literary taste, either by translating classical authors of the French theatre, which were then performed by the pupils of his college, or by writing some drama himself, such as The Tragedy of Epaminondas (1765), which is a rather heavy imitation of French theatre.

Konarski’s literary interest is related to his work De emmendandis eloquentiae vitiis libri I (1741), which is a very tight criticism of the contemporary generation, which was known for its triumphal style and language adulterated by foreign expressions, concluding with an invitation to study the authors of the Golden Age and to return to their simplicity.

In the political field, Fr. Konarski acted energetically against the liberum veto, which was the most beloved institution of the Polish nobility, writing The Efficacy of Councils (O skutecznym rad sposobie, 1760-1763). Moreover, realizing that Polish legislation was scattered in a thousand decrees and ordinances, he thought of compiling them into a methodical and complete collection. Thus, were born his six Volumina legum, which came into use in 1732.

In the History of Polish Pedagogy and the Polish Nation, Father Stanislaus Konarski is called pater patriae. He was the forerunner of the first Ministry of Public Instruction in Europe with the Commission for National Education (1773).

The Commission for National Education, starting from the words of Fr. Konarski “to bring about the rebirth of the Fatherland through education”, went beyond Konarski himself, not only because it put in motion all the schools in their different grades, from elementary to university, but also because it took into account, with the creation of popular schools and women’s colleges, the general education of all and for all.

In recent years he has also been called the theologian of the XVIII century in Poland. In 1769 he wrote a book entitled De religione honestorum hominum, explaining the Mystery of Revelation and, at the same time, polemicizing against the ideas of naturalistic ethics.

Father Stanislaus Konarski, loaded with religious and civil merits, came to the end of his earthly life. He died during the most tragic period of Polish history, when Poland was first dismembered. The funeral took place on 5 August 1773 and became a national event. His body was buried in the crypt of the Piarist church in Warsaw.

In the book Historia Domus Varsaviensis, the Polish historian of the Piarist schools, Vincent Skrzetuski, wrote after the death of Fr. Konarski:

“The year 1773-1774. This year has brought a very serious mourning to our whole Congregation and especially to the Province of Poland. Indeed, a man of immortal memory, Stanislaus Konarski, at the age of 73, ended his mortal life on the 3rd of August 1773 (…). But the fame of his name and merits will remain forever in the grateful hearts of the Poles, and will spread even to foreign nations and even to the most distant generations. His bust was sculpted in gold, in a truly artistic manner, by order of King Stanislaus Augustus, with the addition of a laudable inscription, with which a very high praise is dedicated to this great man: Sapere auso[21] which can be translated: To him who, tenaciously seeking wisdom, bequeathed to us his memory, which will be unforgettable”. (cf. Latin text).

21 This is the medal that Fr. Stanislaus Konarski received in 1765, i.e. when he was still alive, ordered by the King of Poland Stanislaus August Poniatowski: “SAPERE AUSO Stan: Aug: Rex 1765 (and on the back): Stan. Konarski. Schol, Piar, in Pol. et Litu: Antiq: Praep: Prov.”.

As regards the subtitle Works of Fr. Stanislaus Konarski, we have consulted the following authors, who more or less bring the works of Fr. Konarski: See the bibliography of the present booklet: Buba, Viñas, Ricci.

After the uprising in November 1830, the remains of Fr. Konarski were taken by the Russian occupiers, together with those of other Polish Piarists, from the crypt of the church to the Powązki cemetery in Warsaw, where they are now located next to the church under the cemetery road.

In 1964, a marble memorial stone was placed on the wall of the cemetery in memory of the Piarists. Among them is still the name of Fr. Konarski. The heart of the great educator is preserved today in the Piarist church in Krakow, where he was transferred in 1882.

Tribute to Fr. Stanislaus Konarski

In 1973-1974 the Piarists in Poland celebrated the second centenary of the death of Father Stanislaus Konarski. On this occasion solemn commemorations were held in all elementary and middle schools in Poland. Among others, Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyła (later John Paul II), the Primate of Poland Cardinal Stephen Wyszyński, Father General of the Pious Schools, Fr. Angel Ruiz and many Piarists and friends from all over the world participated as guests of honor.

The figure of Fr. Stanislaus Konarski was remembered as that of a giant of pedagogy who will never be forgotten in the history of Poland and who will always remain alive in the historical memory of schools in general and of the Piarist Order in particular.

Let us conclude these notes on the life and work of Fr. Konarski by quoting the words of a Piarist: Fr. Konarski was undoubtedly the most eminent Piarist in the history of our Order after St. Joseph Calasanz (Fr. Innocent Buba Sch.P.).

Publications of Fr. Konarski

Works of Fr. Stanislaus Konarski

Panegyrim Petro Tarlo, Episcopo Posnaniensi et Varsaviensi, in solemni illius ad suam Cathedram ingressu, Warsaw 1721.

Panegyrim in funere eiusdem Petri Tarlo, Warsaw 1722.

Sermonem lingua vernacula, in deductione funeris Constantiae de Śluzka Denjoffa, Palatinae Marienburgensis, Warsaw 1723.

Panegyrim Joanni Tarlo, Episcopi Posnaniensis et Varsaviensi, dum primo ad suam Cathedram solemniter ingrederetur, Warsaw 1723.

Orationem de laudibus Divi Thomae de Aquino, Warsaw 1723.

In numerum annorum Divinae Matris B. V. Mariae Elegiarum libri III. In gratiam vero eorum, qui ultra septuagesimum annum vitam Marianam extensam volunt: adiicitur septima decas lyrica, Warsaw 1724.

Panegyrim Carlo Wielopolski, Praefecto Cracoviensi et Elisabethae de Mniszech, Magni Mareschalii filiae, in nuptiarum solemnitate, Warsaw 1725.

Binae orationes “De Christi Resurgentis gloria” in Sacelo Pontificio ab alumnis Coll. Nazarenii recitatae, Romae, an. 1728, 1729

Concionem, vernacula lingua in funere Josephi Sapieha, Palatini Podlachiae Filii, Warsaw 1731 (or, according to Fr. Ricci, 1738).

(Volumina Legum) Collectionem Legum, Statutorum et Constitutionum Regni Poloniae et M. D. Lithuaniae a Comitiis Visliciae anno 1347 celebratis ad usque sua tempora, scilicet ad Comitia Pacificationis an. 1736, secundum annorum seriem digestam, in VI Volumina divisam, et aliquoties recusam. Volumini primo adnexa est eruditissima “Praefatio de origine Legum patriarum”, vol. I, Warsaw 1732.

Rozmowa pewnego ziemianina z sąsiadem o teraźniejszych okolicznościach. Rok 1733, vol. I-III (Neighbourhood dialogue on current circumstances), Warsaw 1733.

Epistolae familiares sub tempus interregni, vol. I-II, Warsaw 1733.

Opposita penes se ducescunt Propositio lacta ex suggesta Ministerii Moscovitici etc. (Responsio). Refutatio ejusdem propositionis per nobilem polonum jurium patriorum peroptime quarum orbi universo exhibita, Warsaw 1735.

Orationem gratulatoriam Principi Joanii Lipski, Episcopo Cracoviensi, Duci Severiae, Cardinalitiae Dignitatis, Warsaw 1738.

Responsiones ad supplicem libellum RR.PP. Societatis Jesu ac rationes ibi annexas, simul et ad rationes typo expressas Varsaviae, ob quas dicunt PP. Scholarum Piarum non posse Vilnae in M. D. Lithuaniae metropoli domicilium fiere, scholasque ad docendum aperire, Warsaw 1738.

Summarium privilegiorum, decretorum, testimoniorum, etc., concernentium fundationem Vilnensem Scholarum Piarum.

Orationem ad Principes Regni Poloniae et Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae, dum extruendae Varsaviae magnificae Convictus seu Collegii Nobilium Fabricae primus lapis poneretur, Warsaw 1740.

Colloquium ínter duos Nobiles Polonos de infelicitate Patriae ex privatorum conspirationibus seu, ut apud Polonos aiunt, Confoederationibus, redundante: in lingua vernacula, typ. Warsaw.

De emendandis Eloquentiae vitiis librum unum, Warsaw 1741.

De duobus censoribus libelli “De emendandis Eloquentiae vitiis”, quorum unus Epistolam tipis imprimi curavit ita inscriptam: “Litterae Amici ad auctorum libelli, cui titulus: de emendandis eloquentiae vitiis”, alter Roman suam mandavit criticam, Warsaw 1741.

Grammaticam latinam ad usum Scholasticae luventutis, Warsaw 1741 (Polish edition, Vilnius 1759).

Rhetoricam seu Praecepta Artis oratoria in usum luventutis Scholasticae, opus praestantissimum, multoties reimpressum, Warsaw.

Flavii Eutropii Breviarium Historiae Romanae, Laurentii Reinhardii, viri de republica litteraria benemeriti, observationibus, indice latinitatis, et geographico exornatum. Pro usu studiosae iuventutis iuxta exemplar Hafniense recusum, Warsaw 1744.

Ordinationes Visitationes Apostolicae pro Provincia Polona CC.RR.PP. Matris Dei Schol.Piar. sub anno 1755 a R.adm. P. Cypriano Komorowski a S. Marco precatae. Pars IV-V, Warsaw 1753, Pars I-II-III, Warsaw 1754 (part IV-V written by Fr. Konarski).

Orationem de Viro honesto et bono cive incunte aetate formando, dum nobilissima iuventus Polona et Lithuana ex Collegio veteri Varsaviensi ad novum extructum transferretur, ad Proceres Regni et M.D. Líthuaniae habitam, Warsaw 1754, opus recuscum Hierarchii 1924.

Tragedia Epaminondy, edited in 1880 (College of Nobles, 1756).

Rozmowa na czym dobro i szczęście Rzeczypospolitej zalegało? W Warszawskim Kolegium Nobilium S. P. miana R.P. 1757 (It is an oratorical piece by Fr. Konarski at the College of Nobles in 1757).

Orationem ad Serenissimum Carolum Ducem Curlandiae, nomine Provinciae Polonae Schol. Piar., in felici eiusdem inauguratione in Príncipem Curoniae, Warsaw 1758.

Lyricorum in Politicis et moralibus materíis libros duos, Warsaw 1759.

O skutecznym rad sposobie, albo o utrzymaniu ordynacyjnych sejmów, I-IV, Warsaw 1760-1763 (Polish Ed: On the effectiveness of Councils; German Ed.: Von einem nützlichen Mittel zum Bestande der ordentlichem Reichstage in Polen, Varsehau 1762).

Vindicias eiusdem Operis contra scommata et calumnias Anonymi, in Polish, Warsaw.

Carmen opicum de Stanislai Leszczyński Reg. Poloniae Latharíngiae Ducis virtutibus, Parisiis 1747.

Orationem de inscríptione Regii Numismatis suscepto diademate sparsi, in solemni inauguratione Stanislai Augusti, Regis Poloniarum, magna Senatus et Equestris ordinis frequentia, in Collegio Nobilium habitam, Warsaw 1764.

Carmen polonicum de virtute, in latinam translatum et cogitatis auctum, editum in libro “Monitor”, Warsaw 1766.

Opera lyrica, Warsaw 1766.

Scríptum eruditionis plenum, anonymum, quo dissidentium in Religione argumenta, quibus se Catholicorum Prívilegiis in Regno Poloniae gaudere de- bere demostrabant, prorsus refutavit, falsaque demostravit, Warsaw 1767.

De arte bene cogitandi ad artem dicendi bene necesaria, vol. I-III, Warsaw 1767.

O religii poczciwych ludzi, Polish edition, Warsaw 1769, ed. Kraków 1887; De religione honestorum hominium, contra opinationes, vernaculo et latino sermone, Latin edition, Warsaw 1771.

Providentiae Divinae evidens argumentum: considerationem historícam de summo periculo, an. 1771, Novembris.

Carmina Posthuma, Warsaw 1778 (ed.).

Letters

99 letters from 1732 to 1772, in: Konopczyński, W., Stanisław Konarski, Polish edition, Warsaw 1826.

77 letters from 1735 to 1771, in: Listy Stanisława Konarskiego 1733-1771 (The letters of E. Konarski…), by J. Nowak-Dłużewski, Polish ed., Warsaw 1862

Correspondence with J. Tarło from 1838 to 1846 (51 letters), Polish ed. by H. Biegeleisen, in: Przewodnik Naukowy i Literacki, 1883.

Collective editions of the works of Fr. Konarski

Wiersze wszystkie (Complete Poems) from Latin into Polish, Polish edition, Warsaw 1778,

Wybór pism politycznych (Selected Political Works) by W. Konopczyński, Polish edition, Kraków 1921.

Pisma wybrane (Selected works) by J. Nowak-Dłużewski, vol. I-II, Polish edition, Warsaw 1955.

Pisma pedagogiczne (Pedagogical works) from Latin into Polish, Polish edition by AA.VV., Wrocław-Kraków 1959.

Acronyms and abreviations

Eph. Cal. Ephemerides Calasanctianae

VC La Voce del Calasanzio

ASP Archivum Scholarum Piarum (magazine)

RC Revista Calasancia

The Piarist Schools in Poland (Polish and Lithuanian Province) prepared by Frs J. Buba and A. Stępnik, in Nasza Przeszłość, XV, Kraków 1962, pp. 313-315

Bibliography

Ausenda, G., La scuola calasanziana, Roma, 1981.

–Il P. Konarski e le Scuole in Polonia, in VC (1933), pp. 16-18; 50-52; 123-127.

Bartlik, B., Annales Ordinis nostri, in Eph.Cal., Romae, 1932-1958 e ASP, Romae 1977 -1981.

Bartaczkowa, A., Collegium Nobilium, ed. polaca, a cura di PWN, Warsaw, 1971 .

Buba, l., Stanislaus Konarski «aggiornamento» Scholarum Piarum in Polonia medio saeculo XVIII, in Eph.Cal., 2-3 (1969), pp. 55-74.

–lnstauratio studiorum Konarsciana in Provincia Poloniae medio saeculo XVIII documentis momentosis illustrata, in ASP 2 (1978) 3, pp. 71 -86.

–Ks. Stanisław Konarski 1700-1773 «Sapere Ausus», ed. polaca, in ZNAK 219 (Kraków, 1972), pp. 1199-1225.

–Rodowód Collegium Nobilium, ed. polacca, a cura di Ossolineum, 1976, pp. 17-46.

–Pijarzy w Polsce (Gli Scolopi in Polonia), ed. polaca, in Nasza Przeszłość, vol. XV, Kraków, 1962, pp. 13-39.

Jobert, A., Le Pere Konarski, initiateur de l´instruction civique, in La Commission d’ Education Nationale en Pologne 1773-1794. Son oeuvre d’istruction civique. Chapitre II, Paris, 1941, pp. 81 -118.

Konopczyński, W., Stanisław Konarski, ed. polaca, Warsaw, 1926.

–Promieniowanie myśli politycznej ks. Stanisława Konarskiego (tr. it., lrradiazione del pensiero politico di Konarski), in Nasza Przeszłość, vol. XV, Kraków, 1962, pp. 115-136.

Kurdybacha, L., Działalność pedagogiczna Stanisława Konarskiego (L’attivité pedagogica del Konarski), ed. polaca, Wrocław, 1957.

Nowak-Dłużewski, J., Stanisław Konarski, ed. polaca, Warsaw, 1951.

Picanyol, L., Le orazioni de Christi Resurgentis gloria del Collegio Nazareno, in Rassegna di storia, V (1931), p. 42.

Ricci, M., Di Stanislao Konarski scolopio polacco guidato da Agostino Theiner del´ Oratorio nella storia di Clemente XIV, Firenze, 1860.

Rose, W. J., Stanislas Konarski reformer, of education in XVIII-th century Poland, London, 1929.

Sántha, G., San José de Calasanz. Su obra. Escritos, Madrid, 1956.

–Calasanz, las E. Pías y el Duque Ossoliński, in RC 12 (1957), pp. 229-365.

Sarg, A., Die Piaristenschulen im ehemaligen Polen und ihre Reform durch Konarski, Marburg, 1864.

Siuda, A., L’Opera formativa e l´apostolato degli Scolopi in Polonia, in «L’Osservatore Romano» 123 (24-Vl-1983) 144, p. 8.

Vannucci, P., Il Collegio Nazareno 1630-1930, Roma, 1930.

Viñas, T., lndex bio-bibliographicus CC.RR.PP. Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum, vol. I, Romae, 1908.

Vilá Palá, C., Descripción de las Provincias de la Orden, in Escuelas Pías ser e historia, Salamanca, 1978, pp. 75-80.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The beginnings of Pious Schools in Poland

The historical situation in Konarski’s time

The young Konarski

Various periods of Fr. Konarski’s stay abroad

School reformer

The “College of Nobles”

The program of the “College of Nobles”

Some outlines of Konarski’s pedagogy

“Sapere Ausus”

Tribute to Fr. Stanislaus Konarski

Publications of Fr. Konarski

Acronyms and abreviations

Bibliography