Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
n literary critic and politician, founder of the ''
Junimea
''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost pers ...
'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of
Romanian culture in the second half of the 19th century.
A member of the
Conservative Party, he was
Foreign Minister between 1910 and 1914 and Prime Minister of Romania from 1912 to 1913. He represented Romania at the
Peace Conference in Bucharest that ended the
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...
. In politics as in culture he favoured
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
over
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. He opposed Romania's entry in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
against Germany, but he nevertheless refused to collaborate with the German army after it had occupied Bucharest.
Biography
Titu Liviu Maiorescu was born in
Craiova, on 15 February 1840. Maiorescu's mother, born Maria Popazu, was the sister of the scholar and bishop of Caransebeș, Ioan Popazu. The family Popazu came from
Vălenii de Munte
Vălenii de Munte () is a town in Prahova County, southern Romania (the historical region of Muntenia), with a population of 11,707 as of 2011. It lies In the Teleajen river valley, north of the county seat of Ploiești.
The town's sister cities ...
. His father, Ioan Maiorescu, was the son of a Transylvanian peasant from
Bucerdea Grânoasă and his name was actually ''Trifu'', but he adopted the name ''Maiorescu'' in order to emphasize his kindship with
Petru Maior
Petru Maior (; 1761 in Marosvásárhely ''(now Târgu Mureș, Romania)'' – 14 February 1821 in Budapest) was a Romanian writer who is considered one of the most influential personalities of the Age of Enlightenment in Transylvania (the ''Tran ...
. Being a theologian by trade (having studied in Blaj, Budapest, Vienna), Ioan Maiorescu proved to be a free thinker. He worked at a teacher in Cernăuți, Craiova, Iași, Bucharest and he remained a bright personality of that epoch of formation for the Romanian modern educational system. Ioan Maiorescu became an inspector for the schools of
Oltenia
Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...
, then he worked as a teacher at the
Central School of Craiova. During the
Revolution of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...
he strengthened the link between the Walachian and Transylvanian revolutionaries and he activated as an agent of the Interim Govern, near the German Dieta from
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
. Meanwhile, his family, consisting of his wife, Maria, born Popasu and his two children, Emilia and Titu, travelled to
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
,
Brașov
Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County.
According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...
,
Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...
and
Blaj
Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; hu, Balázsfalva; german: Blasendorf; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 20,630 inhabitants.
The landmark of the city is the f ...
, staying in
Brașov
Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County.
According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...
for a long while and there, the future critic attended grade fifth at the Romanian gymnasium. Settling in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Ioan Maiorescu wrote articles in the Austrian newspapers concerning Romanian and Romanians. Returning to Romania after the
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
, he became president of the ''Obșteasca Epitropie'' (The Public Trusteeship), then he worked as director of the Central Commission of the United Principalities, then he worked as a teacher at the Saint Sava National College, as director of Public Instruction
Eforie and then as a teacher at the Superior School of Letters in Bucharest.
Childhood
Between 1846 and 1848 Titu Maiorescu attended the primary school in Craiova. During the days of the
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, Ioan Maiorescu was sent on a mission to Frankfurt am Main, while Maria Maiorescu and their children travelled to Bucharest, Brașov and Sibiu. In December 1848, under the leadership of
Avram Iancu, Ioan Maiorescu's family arrived in
Blaj
Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; hu, Balázsfalva; german: Blasendorf; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 20,630 inhabitants.
The landmark of the city is the f ...
and then in Braşov. Titu Maiorescu continued primary school between 1848 and 1850 at Protodeacon Iosif Barac's School.
Between 1850 and 1851, after finishing primary school, Titu Maiorescu was enlisted at the Romanian Gymnasium from Schei-Braşov, a gymnasium founded in 1850 through his uncle Ioan Popazu's endeavour. He attended grade fifth at the Romanian gymnasium from
Brașov
Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County.
According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...
and met
Anton Pann, who left him an ineffaceable impression.
At Theresianum Academy
In September 1851 the Maiorescu family settled in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, where his father was working within the Ministry of Justice. Later in October Titu Maiorescu attended the first grade at the Academic Gymnasium, which was an addendum of the Theresianum Academy for foreigners. A month later, they equated his results from the gymnasium from Brașov and he passed to the next grade.
While attending the academy in Vienna, Maiorescu a began to write his ''Însemnărilor zilnice'' (Daily Journal) (which he kept until July 1917, in 42 notebooks that belong today to the fund of manuscripts from the
Romanian Academy Library) and he continued to write his journal until the end of his life. His notes are a good source of knowing Maiorescu's personality. His success from 1858, when he graduated first in his class at the Theresianum Academy, was a guerdon of all his efforts and strong will.
University studies
He was very eager to obtain his university (after only one year of studies in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
he obtained his PhD at
Giessen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...
, magna cum laude, then after a year, he got his license at the Philology and Philosophy University of
Sorbona and one year later, after he studied at the university of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, he took his license in law), but his eagerness did not affect his demureness in his studies; the foundations of Maiorescu's extremely solid culture were established during that period.
On 3 January 1857, he sent an essay signed with the name Aureliu to the ''
Transylvania Gazette'' in order to publish some of his translations from
Jean Paul
Jean Paul (; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.
Life and work
Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Fichtelgebirge mountain ...
's works. In the following number he intended to publish the translation of a short story written by
Jean Paul
Jean Paul (; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.
Life and work
Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Fichtelgebirge mountain ...
and entitled "New Year's Eve Night". Although the translation was not published at that date, the letter that Aurel A. Mureşianu edited later in the ''Gazette of books'', no 1, in 1934 is still considered the first publishing attempt of T. Maiorescu and it was republished under the same title. In 1858, beside his academic activity, he worked as a teacher of
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
in private boarding schools and as a
French teacher in the house of legal counselor Georg Kremnitz.
As a preparatory for French language for the Kremnitz family, Titu Maiorescu taught the four children of the family: Klara (his future wife), Helene, Wilhelm (future Dr. W. Kremnitz,
Mite Kremnitz's husband, born Marie von Bardeleben) and Hermann. Titu Maiorescu got his PhD in philosophy at
Giessen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...
, magna cum laude. The Giessen University considered, in order to allow him to get a PhD, that the last two years at Theresianum were university studies. When he returned to Romania, he published the article "The Measure of Height through a Barometer" in the review ''Isis or Nature''.
PhD
In December 1860 he got his license in Philology and Philosophy at
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
due to the acknowledgment of his doctorate from Giessen. The following year, he published his Philosophy essay entitled ''Philosophical Considerations for Everybody's Understanding'' (german: Einiges Philosophische in gemeinfasslicher Form) in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, obviously under the influence of Herbart's and
Feuerbach
Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach (; 28 July 1804 – 13 September 1872) was a German anthropologist and philosopher, best known for his book '' The Essence of Christianity'', which provided a critique of Christianity that strongly influenced ge ...
's ideas. On 17 December, after they considered the value of the essay, and after "a verbal defense in front of the academic committee, brilliantly held for original opinions", the Sorbonne committee granted him the title of "licencé ès lettres" (Philology Licensed). Maiorescu then prepared his doctorate on the thesis: ''The Relation. Essay on a new foundation of philosophy'' (french: La relation. Essai d'un nouveau fondement de la philosophie), until the end of the year 1861, when he left
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Career as a university teacher
In the summer of 1862 he was assigned as a substitute lawyer at the Law Court, then he became an attorney. He married his pupil, Clara Kremnitz. In November/December, he became a teacher at the
University of Iași
The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University ( Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia M ...
and principal of the
Central Gymnasium from the same town.
In 1863 he was assigned to teach a university course of
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
, on the subject „''About the History of the Roman Republic from the Introduction of Plebeian Tribunes until the Death of Julius Caesar Especially Regarding the Economical and Political Progress''”. From February until September he was the Dean of the Philosophy Faculty of the
University of Iași
The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University ( Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia M ...
. On 18 September 1863 he was elected as rector of the University of Iaşi for a period of four years. In October he was assigned as principal of the School „Vasile Lupu“ from
Iași. He taught pedagogy, Romanian Grammar, Psychology and Composition there. For the first time in Romania, he initiated the Pedagogic Practice for pupils and one of these pupils was
Ion Creangă.
In 1863 Titu Maiorescu published in
Iași the "Yearbook of the Gymnasium and the Boarding School from Iași for the School Year 1862–1863"; the yearbook was preceded by his thesis: „''Why Should the Latin Language be Studied in Gymnasium as Part of the Foundation of Moral Education?''” On 28 March Titu Maiorescu's daughter, Livia, was born. She later married Dymsza; she died in 1946. On 8 October Titu Maiorescu is elected to lead the Institute Vasilian from
Iași, which needed to be „fundamentally reorganized“. In order to complete this mission, commissioned by the Minister of Public Directions from back then,
Alexandru Odobescu, he traveled on a documentary journey to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
and later he returned to
Iași on 4 January 1864.
Between 1863 and 1864 Titu Maiorescu taught philosophy at the Philology University of
Iași.
Involvement in social life
On 10 March 1861, Titu Maiorescu held a lecture (''Die alte französische Tragödie und die Wagnersche Musik'' — „The Old French Tragedy and
Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
's Music”) in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
for the benefit of the monument of
Lessing from Kamenz, which he repeated on 12 April in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, at the „''Cercle des sociétés savantes''“ (Circle of Academic Societies) and later renewed in the form of a communication, on 27 April in Berlin, at the Philosophy Society.
On 28 November he obtained his Law Licence in Paris, on the thesis "Du régime dotal" ("On Dowery Law"). On 10 December he began his lecture cycle on „''Education Within the Family''”. Afterwards he went back to Romania and settled in Bucharest in December.
When he returned to Romania, at the end of 1861, Titu Maiorescu was eager to contribute to the progress of the recently formed state, after the Union of 1859, of the cultural and political life, of a European level. At that time, when the Union was done and personalities of fresh energies and cultured people were needed, people who were educated in Western Universities, Titu Maiorescu had an early ascent, from his youth, as he was a university professor at 22 years old (in
Iași), a dean at 23 and a rector at the same age, then he became an academician (member of the
Romanian Academic Society
The Romanian Academic Society (''Societatea Academică din România'' in Romanian) is a Bucharest-based think tank and NGO founded in 1996. It is considered close to the right wing of politics.
SAR seeks to
*Contribute to good governance and dev ...
) at 27, a deputy at 30, then a minister at age 34. But this ascent was not always smooth or without hardships, as he was once sued because of all the calumnies that his political opponents promoted and he was suspended from all his functions in 1864, but the verdict of discharge from the following year proved the baselessness of all the accusation against him.
Foundation of the Junimea Society
The years 1860 were for Maiorescu the period of „popular prelections“ (lectures on various problemes addressed to a quite large audience) and also the period when the foundation of the
Junimea
''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost pers ...
Society took place. He founded it alongside his friends
I. Negruzzi,
Petre P. Carp,
V. Pogor and
Th.Rosetti. He started his work as a lawyer, then he was elected principal of the ''School „Vasile Lupu“'' from
Iași, and then he founded the a review ''
Convorbiri Literare'' in 1867.
Although the period that followed after the Union of 1859 represented an epoch of completion of the ideals of the generation of 1848, a few accents still had changed, the conditions were different from the romantic youth of
Heliade Rădulescu,
Alecsandri or
Bălcescu. Maiorescu was representing the new generation, the junimist generation, which had a new conception on social and Romanian cultural life. On the political ideology plan, Maiorescu was a retentionist, an advocate of a natural, organic and well prepared evolution and an adversary of the ''„forms without root“'', whose indictment he made in his article from 1868, ''Against nowadays direction in Romanian culture'', in which he criticized the implementation of certain institutions which were imitated after the Western ones and to which no appropriate root corresponded in the mentalitaty, creation and cultural legacy of the Romanian people.
Work as a literary critic
The beginnings of Maiorescu's literary critic activity stand apart from the previous generation. Unlike the previous years of the revolution from 1848, when an intense need of original literature determined
Heliade Rădulescu to address enthusiastic appeals for Romanian literary works, the seventh decade of the 19th century was marked by a large number of poets and prosemen, who had very limited artistical devices, but high ideals and pretences. It was a time when the selection of true values was needed, on the basis of certain ''aesthetic criteria'' and Maiorescu agreed to accomplish that task. The adversaries of his ideas depreciatively called his action „a judicial criticism“, because his studies and articles did not analyse in detail the literary work that they had discussed and they contain many apothegms on it. These are based on an ample culture, a determined artistic taste and on impressive intuitions. The mentor of Junimea society considered this type of criticism (neatly affirmative or negative) necessary only to that epoch of clutter of values, as its modalities of execution would gradate later, in the literary life, when the great writers would elevate the artistic level and implicitly would have the public's exigency augmented.
This work as a ''tutor'', as fighter for the assertion of values, would be led by Maiorescu throughout his entire life and would be divided between his political activity (he would become prime minister, but he will lose a friend from his youth,
P.P. Carp), his University activity (as a professor he had and he promoted disciples of great value, like
C. Rădulescu-Motru,
P.P. Negulescu,
Pompiliu Eliade and others), his lawyer activity and his literary critic activity. Maiorescu was seldom reproached for not having spent enough time on writing literary works but his work as a literary critic profoundly marks one of the most lusty epochs in the history of Romanian literature: the period of the great classics. The role of Junimea society and of Maiorescu himself is linked to the creation and the assertion in the public's conscience of writers like
Eminescu,
Creangă,
Caragiale,
Slavici,
Duiliu Zamfirescu
Duiliu Zamfirescu (30 October 1858 – 3 June 1922) was a Romanian novelist, poet, short story writer, lawyer, nationalist politician, journalist, diplomat and memoirist. In 1909, he was elected a member of the Romanian Academy, and, for a while ...
and others.
Concerning his conduct, the manner that people reproached Maiorescu for his coldness, his lack of passion, his Olympian attitude, that he seemed to hide a dry soul; for exemplifying this statement, the famous appraisal made by the igneous
N. Iorga: ''„Nobody was warm or cold beside him“''. The help that Maiorescu gave to the writers from the circle of
Junimea
''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost pers ...
and to his disciples and even to his adversary,
Dobrogeanu-Gherea, in an important moment of his life, unfolded a man of great and at the same time discreet generosity. The lines that Maiorescu wrote to
Eminescu when Eminescu was ill and was worried about the fees for his boarding at the sanatorium from
Ober-Döbling prove that Maiorescu was endowed with an admirable gentleness of heart:
''„Do you want to know where the means to pay your fees come from for now? Well, mister Eminescu, are we such strangers to each other? Don't you know the love (if you allow me to use this exact word, although it is stronger than other words), the often enthusiastic admiration that I and our entire literary circle feels for you, for your poems, for your whole literary and political work? But it was a real explosion of love that we, all your friends (and only these), contributed to support the few material needs that your situation require. And you would have done the same in using the large or small sum you had when any of your friends would have needed, so we cannot forget a friend of your great value“.''
References
*Titu Maiorescu, "Contra școalei
Bărnuțiu", "
Against Bărnuțiu's School" (1868)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maiorescu, Titu
1840 births
1917 deaths
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