The article attempts to outline Adam Mickiewicz’s concept of subjectivity. He introduces it in his visionary poetic drama Dziady (Forefathers’ Eve) where a radically ambivalent situation is presented through the duality of the main character Gustaw/Konrad. The article describes this duality in terms of Paul Ricoeur’s distinction between cogito exalté and cogito brisé. In Dziady Mickiewicz dramatizes the transition from exaltation to dejection, the condition of cogito brisé (living with a wound). His romantic subject cannot throw away his past, but because he is acutely aware of his failings and his inadequacy he is able to free himself from delusions of grandeur and self-centered pride. The condition of uncertainty, inadequacy and chronic insatiability is like a gaping wound or a lack which may lead the ‘I’ to open up and seek the Other. It is a vision of man who knows he is deeply flawed but capable of pursuing a noble desire; vulnerable and fallible, beset by ‘endless error’ and yet able to act and get his act together; self-centered and yet, because of the relational nature of the human identity, capable of redirecting his emancipatory energy to Others. It can be summed up the concept of homo capax (homme capable) which, as this article argues, provides the key to Mickiewicz’s anthropology.

The ten years Stanisław Pigoń spent in Wilno (1921-1931) was a very important phase of his life. Wilno not only attracted a great deal of his research but also became the focus of a lasting emotional attachment, a sentiment which he reaffirmed in a memoir published shortly before his death in 1968. Although a lot is already known about Pigoń’s Wilno decade, there are some episodes that are worth a closer examination. One of them is a debate about Konrad’s cell which he triggered off just before leaving Wilno. The controversy concerns a cell in the former Basylian Monastery where Adam Mickiewicz was imprisoned in 1823 and where Konrad, the main character of his Dziady (Forefathers’ Eve) undergoes a spiritual transformation, the climax of the poetic drama. Pigoń contributions to this interminable debate exhibit a fine balance of scholarly precision and passionate conviction. This article not only looks at the origin and the early phases of the Konrad’s cell controversy in their contemporary background but also tries to show Pigoń’s involvement in the life of the university and the cultural and literary life of Wilno.

Autor jest zdania, że na poglądy filozoficzne Karola Marksa silnie oddziałała tradycyjna kultura żydowska z jej wysokim uznaniem dla pracy umysłowej, wiarą w cudowną genialność pewnych poglądów, ambicją życiową i jakiegoś rodzaju fatalizmem. Po drugie, co sam Marks wyraźnie podkreślał, jego filozofia pozostawała pod silnym wpływem Hegla. Po trzecie, i to jest główny cel tego artykułu, można wykazać, że Marks wysoko cenił poglądy Marcina Lutra i jego wpływ na przemiany religijne w Europie. Autor stawia sobie za cel prześledzić wspólne wątki przewijające się w dziełach Lutra i Marksa. Obaj określali sens ludzkiego życia przez zaangażowanie w wykonywanie ciężkiej i mozolnej pracy, umysłowej lub fizycznej. Obaj byli oburzeni naiwnością i ideologicznym zaślepieniem niewykształconych mas. Obaj uważali, że przyczyną zabobonnego myślenia była opresyjna wiara nasilająca strach przed wiecznym potępieniem lub przed głodem i zmuszająca lud do posłuszeństwa. Wreszcie obaj uważali, że bierność i naiwność można przezwyciężyć tylko przez rewolucję, która zajdzie w powszechnej świadomości i w warunkach życia. Obaj dążyli do takiej rewolucji, choć każdy do innej.

Adam Mickiewicz’s Pan Tadeusz (in English: Sir Thaddeus, or the Last Lithuanian Foray), the national epic poem, was first published in June 1834. It was perceived as a idyllic work, full of happiness and very ideal heroes. However, one of the most problem of this poem is treason! It is very important to put a question: what is treason in the strict sense of the word? There are a lot of kinds of treason or only one? Is it possible to betray own country on account of favouriting strange fashion, customs or painting? In Pan Tadeusz Mickiewicz intended to stand up for the Polish tradition. He had a high opinion of loyalty, steadiness and the selfless sense of duty.

Adam Mickiewicz’s Pan Tadeusz (in English: Sir Thaddeus, or The Last Lithuanian Foray ), the national epic poem, was first published in June 1834. It was perceived as a patriotic work, full of very ideal heroes. However, one of the most problem of this poem is love! Pan Tadeusz is the poem about love. There are many kinds of love: erotic love and maritial love, also familiar love (between parents and their children), love for country and others. My article applies not just to love affairs, but the very essence of love. What is love in Mickiewicz’s poem – is it “love that moves the sun and other stars” (Dante)?