Józef Szujski (
Tarnow, 16 June 1835 –
Cracow, 7 February 1883) was a Polish politician, historian, poet and professor of the
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
.
Life
He studied at Tarnow, then at Cracow (1854) and at
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
(1858-9). He began his career as a poet, and continued to write verses till the end of his life. Apart from many short lyrical poems, his first attempts were dramatic: ''Samuel Zborowski'', ''Halszka of Ostrog'', and a translation of the ''
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husb ...
'' of
Æschylus
Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, wikt:Αἰσχύλος, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre be ...
. Before his marriage (1861) he had also published his ''Portraits, not by
Van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
'', in which various types of Poles are characterized. He began working at a manual of Polish history, publishing two volumes in 1862, but was presently convinced of the necessity of independent research, which features in volumes three and four (1864-6).
The
insurrection of 1863 was a blow to Szujski's hopes for Poland's future, and he resolved to devote his whole life to seeking the causes of his country's misfortunes, with a view to her regeneration. At the time that he was publishing the poems: ''The Servant of the Tombs'', ''The Defence of Czestochowa'', and the dramas, ''George Lubomirski'' and ''Wallas'', he placed himself in the front rank of Polish historians by his work ''Some Truths of our History'' (1865). "No nation", he said, "can fall save through her own fault, nor rise again, save by her own intelligent labour and spiritual activity". He founded the "Polish Review" (1866), and the next year brought out "Hedwige" and "Twardowski", both dramas.
When the use of the national language was restored in Cracow University, Szujski was named (1869) professor of Polish history; later, he was chosen as
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
. As early as 1872, he was reportedly the moving spirit of the Academy of Sciences at Cracow in his capacity as secretary. His researches were not confined to Poland: at about that time, he published a sketch of the literary history of the non-Christian world; studies on
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
and on
Lucian
Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer
Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore ...
; translations from Æschylus and
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
; ''Maryna Mnischowna'', and ''The Death of Ladislaus IV'', dramas of his own, together with several other works. After his rectorate (1879) Szujski was made a peer. But his health, which had always been precarious, now failed completely, and
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
set in. He continued to work, however, till he could work no more. His history, first sketched in four volumes, from the sixteenth century on, was supplemented by three other volumes, entitled ''Relations and Researches''. It has been said of him that "the historian killed the poet".
References
*SMOLKA, ''Joseph Szujski'' (Cracow, 1883);
*GERMAN, ''O dramatach Szujskiego'' (Cracow, 1887);
*TARNOWSKI, ''Szujski jako poeta'' (Cracow, 1901).
*Histories of Polish literature by BRUCKNER, TARNOWSKI, and others.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szujski, Jozef
1835 births
1883 deaths
Politicians from Tarnów
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Polish Austro-Hungarians
Polish politicians
Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1867–1870)
Members of the House of Lords (Austria)
Members of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria
Conservatism in Poland
Polish positivism
Polish male poets
Polish male non-fiction writers
19th-century Polish historians
19th-century Polish poets
19th-century Polish male writers
Jagiellonian University alumni
University of Vienna alumni
Rectors of the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University faculty
Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery