this period with the poets of that age; who, although
perhaps they exhibited more talent than the cotemporary prose writers,
must necessarily, from the nature of poetry, have suffered more from
the predominant tastelessness of the time. Sam. Twardowski, ob. 1660,
must be named first; a poet of fine gifts, but of an impure,
bombastic, rhetorical style, the author of numerous lyrical and epic
poems of very unequal value. After him came Vespasian Kochowski, the
best lyric poet of the age; Gawinski, a very productive author, whose
pastorals have been collected by Mostowski, together with those of
Kochanowski, Simonides, and other classical poets; and Wenceslaus
Potocki, the author of novels, poetry, and more especially epigrams,
not without merit, but frequently licentious and indelicate. Among the
poets of this age, who are in some measure distinguished by Polish
critics, we find also a lady. Elizabeth Druzbacka, a poetess of high
rank, but without a literary education or a knowledge of foreign
languages, though not without natural gifts. Satires were written by
Dzwonowski and Opalinski; historical and didactic poems by Bialabocki,
prince Jablonowski, and by Leszczynski, father of king Stanislaus
Leszczynski. Ovid was translated by Zebrowski and Otfinowski; Lucan's
Pharsalia by Chroscinski, who versified also portions of the Bible;
and again with more fidelity and skill by the Dominican monk
Bardzinski.

Other poets of this age were, prince Lubomirski, who on account of his
wealth and wise sayings is styled the Polish Solomon; prince
Wisniowiocki, who published whole poems without the letter _r_,
because he could not pronounce that letter; Bratkowski, the author of
a series of happy epigrams; Falibogowski, Szymonowski, the Jesuits
Ignes and Poniatowski, and others.

FIFTH PERIOD.

_From Stephen Konarski, A.D. 1760, to the Revolution in 1830_.

The Polish language, at the beginning of this period, was in a
melancholy state; it was, to use Schaffarik's expression, stripped of
its natural gifts of perspicuity, simplicity, and strength, deformed
by tastelessness, and grown childish and obsolete at the same time. An
able work, _Memoirs_, referring to the period between 1750 and 1760,
written by K.H. Kallontaj, and published a few years since by count E.
Raczynski, gives a graphic picture of the miserable and illiterate
state of society in Poland at that time; and shows clearly how the
seeds of decay and destruction wer