''The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom'' ( pl, Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki; in English, more accurately, ''The Adventures of Nicholas Empiricus''), written in
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
in
1776
Events January–February
* January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces.
* January 1 ...
by
Ignacy Krasicki, is the first
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
composed in the Polish language, and a milestone in
Polish literature.
Plot
Krasicki's novel is the tale of Nicholas Experience (''Mikołaj Doświadczyński''), a
Polish nobleman. During sojourns in
Warsaw,
Paris, and the fictional island of Nipu (a utopian society
[Bartoszyńska, Katarzyna.]
Persuasive ironies: utopian readings of Swift and Krasicki.
Comparative Literature Studies 50.4 (2013): 618-642.), the protagonist gathers numerous ''
experience''s that lead him to a
rationalist outlook and teach him how to become a good man, and thus a good citizen. This rationalist outlook, often emphasized in Krasicki's writings, constitutes an
apologia for the
Enlightenment
Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to:
Age of Enlightenment
* Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
and
physiocratism.
''The Adventures of Nicholas Experience'' offers a portrayal both of the 18th-century
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and of the broader European culture of the time.
See also
* ''
Fables and Parables
''Fables and Parables'' (''Bajki i przypowieści'', 1779), by Ignacy Krasicki (1735–1801), is a work in a long international tradition of fable-writing that reaches back to antiquity. Krasicki's fables and parables have been described as being ...
''
References
Further reading
* ''The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom'', Northwestern University Press, 1992, 148 pp.,
External links
Polish ebookShort review of an English translation
1776 novels
Polish novels
Novels by Ignacy Krasicki
1770s fantasy novels
18th-century Polish novels
Works by Ignacy Krasicki
Utopian novels
{{Poland-hist-stub
Polish Enlightenment