Stanislaw Konarski

Stanislaw Konarski

Stanisław Konarski (actually Hieronim Franciszek Konarski , born September 30, 1700 in Żarczyce near Jędrzejów ; † August 3, 1773 in Warsaw ) chose his first name Stanisław when he joined the Piarists of St. Wawrzyniec (Laurentius). He was a Polish writer, educator, publicist, school and education reformer, founder of the Collegium Nobilium in 1740 and pioneer of the Polish Enlightenment .

Life

Konarski was of noble descent . His mother Helena from the Czermiński family was closely related to the powerful Tarło family . His father Jerzy held the post of castellan of Zawichost . Stanisław lost his parents at an early age and came under the care of his uncle Antoni Czermiński . In 1709 he came to the Piarist College in Piotrków Trybunalski . In 1715 he entered the Piarist monastery and began a novitiate in Podolínec , as did his brothers: Stanisław (Antoni) and Władysław (Ignacy). In Podolínec he specialized in humanistic sciences such as linguistics and rhetoric . This was an excellent opportunity for young Konarski to perfect his eloquence, the art of speaking, rhetoric and, when the occasion arises, sermons. During these years his first work was created - a cycle of verses in honor of Our Lady - strongly stylized and based on Sarbiewski , a work of school imitation, as he later knows about it.

Thanks to the help of his uncle Jan Tarło, he came to Italy . He graduated from the Collegium Nazarenum , whose rector at that time was Paolino Chellucci . Konarski studied a. a. in France and Germany. In 1730, at the instigation of Załuski , he did the editorial work for the publication of a draft of the constitution and the law of the Sejm - the volumes legum .

After the death of King August II , he campaigned for Leszczyński to be elected King of Poland and published some political works. He went to Paris in search of support for Leszczyński. Trips to France gave him the opportunity to familiarize himself with the latest ideas on education and teaching. He got to know works of the French Enlightenment and was interested in the ideas of Locke and Rollins . In his four-volume political treatise "O skutecznym rad sposobie - About real advice on the possible" he presented the errors of the system and gave an outline of the reform of society.

Mainly he was concerned with ethical considerations. He wrote "Mowę o kszałtowaniu człowieka ucziwego i prawego obywatela - Conversation about the creation of an honest person and righteous citizen". The decent person is one who does not offend against honor, does not cheat, keeps his word and values ​​justice. The only guarantee of this education is the religion “which brings good and discourages evil”, which transforms the sinful nature of man from the predetermined original sin.

Another important determinant of human action must be the principle of justice - the principle of the Kantian imperative. The obligation to ancestors, those in power, friends, servants (meticulous payment for services) is of great importance. According to Konarski, one should make the greatest number of friends possible, because social relationships based on virtue, not convenience, educate to a certain extent. It is interesting how Konarski's view was at that time that all people are equal.

He understood true nobility as the cultivation of virtue and criticized the offenses of the Szlachta - pride, arrogance, troubled people and drunkenness. As the first virtue in moral education, he required obedience.

For the school system, Konarski demanded:

• Emphasis on practical knowledge
• teaching future goals
• the teaching of the language of the people
• moving away from further plans regarding Latin and rhetoric
• the rejection of mere learning
• the offer of manual and physical lessons
• a Christian attitude
• the mental development of the student.

He is also the author of "Ordynacji wizytacji apostolskich - order of apostolic inspection", Part I of which contains the first outline of a professional ethics of the teacher, as well as the complex of questions of subordination and u. a. the rhetoric and individual teaching content. In 1771 he was awarded the medal "Sapere auso" or "He who dared to be clever" from King Stanisław August Poniatowski .

The remains of Stanisław Konarski and other Piarists were removed by Russians from the church at ul.Długa (Long Street) after the November Uprising and in an unknown location near the Church of St. Borromeo in the Catholic part of the Powązki cemetery scattered.

Web links

Commons : Stanisław Konarski  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia (English)