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The Philomaths, or Philomath Society ( pl, Filomaci or ''Towarzystwo Filomatów''; from the Greek φιλομαθεῖς "lovers of knowledge"), was a secret student organization that existed from 1817 to 1823 at the
Imperial University of Vilnius Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...
.


History

The society was created on 1 October 1817 in Vilna, Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire, which had acquired those territories in the
Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
in 1794. The society was composed of students and alumni of the
Imperial University of Vilna Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...
. Notable members included
Józef Jeżowski Józef Jeżowski (1793-1855) was a Polish classical philologist, poet, translator, founding member and former president of the Philomatic Association. He was a friend of Adam Mickiewicz and Tomasz Zan. Józef graduated from high school in Uman, ...
(co-founder and president), Jan Czeczot (co-founder),
Józef Kowalewski Józef Kowalewski (russian: Иосиф Михайлович Ковалевский) (9 January 1801 – 7 November 1878) was a Polish orientalist. Founder of the Philomatic Association, in 1824 convicted by the Russian authorities for pro-indepe ...
(co-founder), Onufry Pietraszkiewicz (co-founder),
Tomasz Zan Tomasz Zan (21 December 1796 Miasata, Vileysky Uyezd, Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire (now Belarus) – 19 July 1855 Kakoŭčyna, Orsha, Russian Empire), was a Polish and Belarusian poet and activist. Biography He was born on 21 December 179 ...
(co-founder), Adam Mickiewicz (co-founder), Antoni Edward Odyniec,
Ignacy Domejko Ignacy Domeyko or Domejko, pseudonym: ''Żegota'' ( es, Ignacio Domeyko, ; 31 July 1802 – 23 January 1889) was a Polish geologist, mineralogist, educator, and founder of the University of Santiago, in Chile. Domeyko spent most of his life, and ...
,
Teodor Łoziński Teodor is a masculine given name. In English, it is a cognate of Theodore. Notable people with the name include: *Teodor Muzaka III, Albanian nobleman who was born in 1393. * Teodor Andrault de Langeron (19th century), President of Warsaw * Teodor ...
,
Franciszek Malewski Franciszek Hieronim Malewski of Jastrzębiec coat of arms (1800-1870) was a PolishAleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin translated by Vladimir Nabokov, ''Eugene Onegin: A Novel in Verse'', Princeton University Press, 1991, p.522. Quote: "Franciszek Malews ...
, ,
Aleksander Chodźko Aleksander Borejko Chodźko (30 August 1804 – 27 December 1891) was a Polish poet, Slavist, and Iranologist. Early life He was born in Krzywicze, in the Minsk Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Belarus) and attended the Imperial U ...
, Michał Kulesza. Most of them were students, but some members and supported included faculty and former alumni. Its structure was a cross between
freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
organization and a learned society. It was divided into two chapters – scientific-mathematic and literary. The members of the latter discussed literary works, and the organization aims were self-educational and didactic; however, around 1819-1820, the members became split on whether the organizations should concentrate on self-education (Jeżowski) or take a more active role in restoring Poland's independence (Mickiewicz), eventually the second faction gained dominance and new social and political goals emerged. The discussions increasingly turned toward romanticist ideas that were banned by the Russian Empire for their pro-independence currents; history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was studied, pro-independence works written and circulated. The organizations inspired the creation of many similar youth organizations across the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania,WIEM Encyklopedia and it established ties with similar clandestine pro-Polish organizations in
Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...
and the rest of partitioned lands, such as the Patriotic Society (''Towarzystwo Patriotyczne'') of Walerian Łukasiński, and even Russian organizations such as the Decembrists. Two closely related groups were formed: * The Radiant Association (''Towarzystwo Promienistych'', from "'',''" the "Radiant Ones"), (1820) a legal organization created by Tomasz Zan, and disbanded under pressure from University authorities, in May 1820; * The
Filaret Association The Filaret Association (also translated as ''filaret(e)s'', ''philaret(e)s''; pl, Zgromadzenie Filaretów, ''Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Pożytecznej Zabawy'', ''filareci''; from the Greek ''philáretos'', "lovers of virtue") was a secret student org ...
(''Zgromadzenie Filaretów'', ''Filaretai'', ''Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Pożytecznej Zabawy'', ''filareci'', from the Greek "''philáretos''," "Lovers of Virtue), (1834) a secret organization created by Zan within the Philomaths after the dissolution of the Radiants. It continued the traditions of the Radiants, but with a much clearer pro-independence goal, and was dedicated to the study of Polish and Lithuania patriotic literature. It was disbanded in 1823 after the arrests of the Philomaths.
Ignacy Domeyko Ignacy Domeyko or Domejko, pseudonym: ''Żegota'' ( es, Ignacio Domeyko, ; 31 July 1802 – 23 January 1889) was a Polish geologist, mineralogist, educator, and founder of the University of Santiago, in Chile. Domeyko spent most of his life, and ...
described the spirit prevailing in the Philomaths and the Filaret Association as: "purely national, patriotic, Polish – but free from plots and conspiracies, free of demagogic rants". According to Theodore R. Weeks, both organizations advocated a love for Polish culture and patriotism, but avoided formulating any concrete political plans and their members generally expressed loyalty to the Russian ruler. In 1822 the organizations went through some name changes. In 1823 the organization was discovered by Russian authorities led by Nikolay Nikolayevich Novosiltsev. After a trial that lasted several months, in 1824, 108 people were convicted of membership in this or related organizations; 20 members of the Philomaths or related organizations were sentenced to imprisonment or ''
katorga Katorga ( rus, ка́торга, p=ˈkatərɡə; from medieval and modern Greek: ''katergon, κάτεργον'', "galley") was a system of penal labor in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (see Katorga labor in the Soviet Union). Prisoner ...
'' and exiled to Siberia; over a dozen faculty members were dismissed (including historian
Joachim Lelewel Joachim Lelewel (22 March 1786 – 29 May 1861) was a Polish historian, geographer, bibliographer, polyglot and politician. Life Born in Warsaw to a Polonized German family, Lelewel was educated at the Imperial University of Vilna, where in 18 ...
). Adam Mickiewicz, one of the Three Polish Bards, convicted of being a Philomath member and exiled into Russia, later described his experiences in that period in the third part of a major work, '' Dziady'' (Forefathers' Eve).


Notes


References

* Jerzy Jan Lerski, ''Historical Dictionary of Poland'', Greenwood Press, 1996,
Google Print, p.141-142
* Zbigniew Wójcik

Zwoje 4/2004 (41) * WIEM Encyklopedia
Filomaci
* Encyklopedia Internautica
FILOMACIPhilomates Association


Further reading

*J F. Gomoszyński, ''A course of three lectures on the history of Poland'', London, 1843
Google Print, p.60-65"> Google Print, p.60-65
(public domain)

(Filaretes' Song) {{Authority control 1817 establishments in Europe 1823 disestablishments in Europe Congress Poland History of Lithuania (1795–1918) Collegiate secret societies Polish independence organisations Student organizations established in 1817 History of Vilnius Polish messianism