Wzgarda godności y czci pragnienie. A Political Moral Fable from the Archive of Simiaon Polacki

Abstract

Wzgarda godności y czci pragnienie. A Political Moral Fable from the Archive of Simiaon Polacki

Wzgarda godnosci y czci pragnienie is a notable text for its adaptation of a Scriptural source to contemporary problems of political reality in the Polish Commonwealth. The Author considers first the adaptation of passages drawn from the Biblical text and analyses how the poet recasts the short narrative, which was probably of oral origin, into a graceful poetic discourse. In the second part the Author shows how the parable of the Olive, the Fig and the Vine has been adapted to the political situation of the Polish Commonwealth, a Republican system where the King was elected by the nobles. It is better to renounce seeking rank and honors in society – the poet concludes – for the sake of a virtous life and the good of men. In the last part of the paper the problem of authorship of the poem is discussed. In Rolland’s opinion it is possible to ascribe the poem to Simiaon Polacki: both style and ideas expressed in the verses easily find analogies with the other well known literary works of the Bielorusian poet.