ence; he retired to Austria after
the king had joined the confederation of Targowicz, and there devoted
himself entirely to his studies. In 1807 he returned to his country;
and there, as president of the department for schools and education,
he found means to carry out his enlightened views and benevolent
intentions for the good of his country. At the foundation of the
kingdom of Poland in 1815, he was made minister of public instruction,
and was always found at the head of every noble and patriotic
undertaking. From his oratorical powers, he was called _princeps
eloquentiae_. In respect to genius he was above his brother; although
the latter seems to have surpassed him in energy of character. His
principal work, "on Style and Eloquence," was published in 1815;
another work of value is his translation of Winkelmann's book on
ancient art, which he accompanied by illustrations and remarks, but
did not finish. His influence on Polish literature was decided.[51]
Another nobleman, distinguished as an orator and political writer, was
Hugo Kollantay, count Sztumberg, who published, together with Ignatius
Potocki, a history of the constitution.

At the head of the historical writers of this period stands Adam
Naruszewicz, the faithful translator of Tacitus, whose style he
adopted also in his original works. His history of the Polish nation
is considered as a standard work; as a production, which in respect to
erudition, philosophical conception, and style, is the _chef d'oeuvre_
of Polish literature. The six volumes published by himself comprise
only the period between A.D. 965 and 1386, beginning with the second
volume; as for the first, which was to have contained the earliest
history of Poland, he intended to have executed it afterwards, and had
indeed collected all the necessary materials, but was prevented by
death. The Warsaw Society of Friends of Science published it thirty
years after his death, and endeavoured to engage the principal talents
of Poland in the continuation of his work. This was done in such a
way, that each writer was to undertake the history of the
administration of a single king; and at last, after each part had
appeared separately, the society was to make a collection of the
whole, and, if necessary, cause it to be rewritten. Several able men
have devoted themselves to this work. The plan of the society, which
by its very nature excluded all unity of character, seems to have met
with more approbation