Sarbievijus Lietuvos kultūroje

LTMotiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus nepasakė tokios sakralinės frazės kaip Adomas Mickevičius: „Litwo, ojczyzna moja", į kurią atsirėmę galėtume kalbėti apie Sarbievijaus santykį su lietuvių tauta ir Lietuvos valstybe. Tačiau beveik 25 Lietuvoje išgyventi metai buvo labai reikšmingi jo kūrybai, jo dvasinei ir intelektualinei patirčiai. Sarbievijaus 400 metų jubiliejinė konferencija, įvykusi Lietuvoje, Vilniuje, buvo gera proga tiesiogine ir perkeltine prasme dar kartą pereiti Poeto vaikščiotais takais, pabandyti suprasti, ką reiškė Sarbievijui Lietuva ir ką reiškė Lietuvai, Sarbievijų supusiems lietuviams tokios asmenybės, europinę šlovę poeto buvimas šalia, jo skleidžiama kūrybinė ir dvasinė šviesa. Ligšioliniuose tyrinėjimuose labiausiai buvo pabrėžiamas Sarbievijaus „lenkiškumas" arba „sarmatiškumas", galbūt kaip kompensacija už dar amžininkų darytą priekaištą dėl abejingumo Lenkijai. [Iš straipsnio, p. 93]

ENUntil present Sarbievius 'Polishness' and 'Sarmatishness' had been mostly underlined in research, and this might have been a kind of compensation for the reproaches to Sarbievius, which had been made by his contemporaries for Sarbievius' indifference towards Poland. The present statement of mine is not aimed at any „conversion" of Sarbievius with an attempt to call him Lithuanian. I would rather be interested in the exploration of the way a poet of Polish descent felt living abroad, i.e. not in his native Poland. Did he feel losing touch with his Fatherland? Did he experience any spiritual discomfort? How was Lithuania depicted in Sarbievius' poetry? What kind of poeple used to surround him over there? Could we possibly speak about any influences which they exerted on Sarbievius? These are the questions I discuss in more detail. Having returned from Rome, the place which was turning point for both Sarbievius' enormous intellectual experience and spirit, the so-called Vilnius University period marked by his work was undoubtedly the most important and productive. It was in Vilnius where Sarbievius wrote the biggest part of his works (i.e. works of poetry, poetics, rhetorices and theology) and it was here where he matured as a professor in the following academic subjects: Rhetorics ( 1627-1628), Philosophy (1628-1631), Theology (1631-1635). He was rector's advisor, dean of the Faculties of Philosophy and Theology, assistant at Mary's Congregation and famous orator and preacher. It was at Vilnius University where Sarbievius received most important academic degrees: MA in Philosophy and Liberal Arts in 1632 (philosophiae et liberalium artium magister) and PHD in Theology {doctor s. theologiae) in 1636. When in 1620 Sarbievius started his studies of Theology at Vilnius University, the Bible course was taught by Konstantinas Sirvydas (Constantinus Sirwyd, 1579-1631), Lithuanian, the founder of the written Lithuanian, lexicographer and theologist.Sirvydas read to his students the course Explanationes in Cantica canticorum et in epistolam D. Pauli ad Ephesios (The Explanations of Solomon's Song of Song and Paul's Letter to Ephesians). This course might have partly encouraged Sarbievius to get into the heart of the allegorical meaning of Song of Songs and create religious metaphysical lyrics. At Vilnius University Sarbievius was surrounded by a number of Lithuanians. There were Michael Ginkiewicz, Joannes Jamiel- kowski, Jonas Jaknavičius, Žygimantas Liauksminas and other. Sarbievius' initiative or authority of his talent influenced the formation of a kind of literary-humanistic circle at Vilnius University to which belonged the most gifted rhetors and poets. Sarbievius was not only a recognised authority to his junior colleagues, a connoiseur of antique literature and a famous poet, but also organiser of meetings, where young poets read or recited their first poems. Sarbievius was quoted and imitated in many publications of the 17th-18th centuries as well as in the manuscript courses of Rhetorics and Poetics. His poetry served a basis for an explanation of literary genres, kinds of rhyming and ways of imitation. Sarbievius' poetry was comparedwith the works by Horace, Petr arch and Jan Kochanowski, translated into Polish and was an example for the original creation.Sarbievius represents a type of personality of university culture and humanitarian education in Lithuania as well as the conception of Jesuitical Christian culture. The Antique, Bible and Latin were the three pillars the culture was based on, three sources which fed the poetical creation of Sarbievius and his contemporaries and helped to create a specific field of intellectual activity for the university people to communicate. It was due to insufficiency of intellectual atmosphere rather than to the intensive work and daily preaching at the Palace of Kind Vladislaus IV Vasa which embittered Sarbievius' presence in Warsaw and quickened his death. The cultural panorama of old Lithuania would have seemed to be more miserable without Sarbievius and the heritage of his Latin University of Vilnius. [From the publication]