ously disfigured the latter
by Gallicisms; since French forms of expression seemed to be the
best adapted for the expression of French thoughts and French
philosophy. A modern Polish author calls the Polish literature of this
period a second edition of the French with inferior types and on worse
paper.[45] Long after the rest of literary Europe had shaken off the
yoke, the Polish poets, although the genius of their rich, creative,
and pliant language was decidedly opposed to such a slavery, continued
to submit to French rules and laws, and do so partly still.

We begin the enumeration of the distinguished writers of this period,
with its principal founder, Stephen Konarski, mentioned above,[46] who
was born A.D. 1700, and died in 1773. In his seventeenth year he
entered the order of Piarists, and became later a professor in the
college of this congregation at Warsaw. After a long stay in Italy and
France, he returned to Poland; accompanied king Stanislaus Leszczynski
to Lorrain; but again returned to his country and founded several
institutions for education in Warsaw, Wilna, and Lemberg, on
principles different from those of the Jesuits. In the year 1747 he
went a third time to France, but returned after three years; and from
that time devoted himself entirely to the literary and mental reform
of his own country. Of his printed works, twenty-eight in number,
fourteen are written in Polish. They embrace different topics in
poetry, and a tragedy; but his principal merits lie in his writings on
the subject of politics and education.[47]

After him we name the illustrious philosopher Stanislaus Leszczynski.
Most of his works, on politics and ethics, were written in French; in
the Polish language he wrote, besides one or two other works, a
history of the Old and New Testaments in verse.[48] Zaluski, known
more especially by the foundation of a large and celebrated library,
in which he spent an immense fortune, and which he finally made over
to his country,[49] was the friend of king Stanislaus and of Konarski.
In possession of an uncommon amount of knowledge, and a very extensive
erudition, which however he owed more to his remarkable memory than to
any distinguished capacity, he wrote a large number of Latin and
Polish books on literary and biographical subjects, and on poetry; in
all which the genius of the preceding period still reigns.

Another nobleman of high rank, who distinguished himself by his
patriotism and er