Žygimantas Liauksminas (, ; 1596 or 1597 – 11 September 1670) was a Lithuanian

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

theologian, philosopher, theorist of rhetoric and music, founder of Lithuanian musicology, one of the first Lithuanian professors and rectors of the

University of Vilnius Vilnius University (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a Public university, public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher e ...

Biography

Liauksminas was born in

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

, and joined the Jesuit Order in 1616. In 1618–1619, he studied rhetoric at the . He continued his education at the University of Vilnius studying philosophy in 1619–1621 and theology in 1625–1629. In 1642, Liauksminas became a

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

. Liauksminas taught rhetoric at the Polotsk College and in 1631–1635, philosophy and theology at the University of Vilnius in 1635–1642, philosophy at the Braunsberg College in 1642–1644. Was a rector of the in 1644–1647, Polotsk College in 1650–1655, and Kražiai College in 1661–1665. He was vice-rector (1655–1658) and vice-chancellor (1665–1670) of the University of Vilnius. He was a vice-

provincial superior A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...

of Lithuania in the Jesuit Order. In 1645–1646, he substituted a provincial superior and administered a religious province during the 9th

General Congregation The General Congregation is an assembly of the Jesuit representatives from all parts of the world, and serves as the highest authority in the Society of Jesus. A General Congregation (GC) is always summoned on the death or resignation of the adm ...

. As a general elector from Lithuanian Jesuits, he also participated in the 10th (1652) and 11th (1661) General Congregations in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He died in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

Works

Liauksminas has written theological works (''The Justification of the Catholic Church'', ''Demonstratio Catholicae Ecclesiae'', circa 1643, third edition - 1648), ''A Theology for the Church'' (''Theologia ecclesiastica'', 1665, second edition - 1675), first original

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

Grammar in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

- ''Summary of the Greek Textbook'' (''Epitome institutionum linguae graecae'', 1655). Most famous work of Ž. Liauksminas - ''An Oratory Practice and the Rules of the Rhetoric Art'' (Praxis oratoria sive praecepta artis rhetoricae, 1648). In it he, making references to

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician born in Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quin ...

, criticizes the faults of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

literary style - its pomp, fogginess, macaronics and praises sober mind, clarity of thought, structured language. An annex of this book - ''A Kernel of Dialectics'' (''Medulio dialecticae'') is an introduction to scholastic logic, introducing its main categories and thinking methods. ''Praxis oratoria sive praecepta artis rhetoricae'' was widely used in the jesuit schools, issued in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(1664), Frankfurt an Main (1666),

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

(1680, 1705, 1707, 1717),

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

(1690),

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

(1710),

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(1720),

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

(1732). He also has written first textbook of music in Lithuania - ''The Art and Practice of Music'' (''Ars et praxis musica'', 1667, 1693, 1977 in Lithuanian). Common fundamentals of music explained - names of the music notes, a scale,

clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff. Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines or four spaces, whic ...

s; exercises and church music examples included,

plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...

(''cantus planus''), many-voiced, Gregorian, hard (''cantus durus'') and soft (''cantus mollis'') chant modes examined. Žygimantas Liauksminas wrote poems in Ancient Greek, a

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Monarchy of Sweden, Sweden and List of Russian monarchs, Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince ...

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

s. Manuscripts of the tractates of theology ''About the Single God'' (''Tractatus de Deo Uno''), ''A Theologic Tractate about the Law and Justice'' (''Tractatus theologicus de jure et justitia'') are also survived.

Bibliography

* (In Latin) Liauksminas, Žygimantas, 1596-1670. Praxis oratoria. * (In Latin) Liauksminas, Žygimantas, 1596-1670. Medulla dialecticae. * (In Latin) Liauksminas, Žygimantas, 1596-1670. Ars et praxis musica. * (In Latin) Liauksminas, Žygimantas, 1596-1670. Panegyricus Vladislao IV. * (In Lithuanian) Žygimantas Liauksminas, Rinktiniai raštai (Mintis, 2011, p. 440) * (In Lithuanian
Index Lituanicus - works of Žygimantas Liauksminas

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liauksminas, Zygimantas 1670 deaths Lithuanian musicologists 17th-century Lithuanian Jesuits Academic staff of Vilnius University Vilnius University alumni Year of birth uncertain 17th-century Lithuanian writers Lithuanian philosophers Lithuanian theologians