We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Simon Szymonowicz
FREE Catholic Classes
Known also by the Latin name of Somonides, b. at Lemberg, 1558; d. 1629. He studied first at Lemberg, afterwards in the Cracow Academy, and then abroad in the Netherlands and in France. On his return, he became a private tutor; among the other young men, he taught Sobieski's father and the son of John Zolkiewski, who took Moscow. He enjoyed intimate relations with the famous John Zamoyski, whose son he also educated.; after which (1614) he retired to the country where he remained until his death. He was never married. Szymonowicz may be styled the last of the Polish Humanists, to whom indeed he belongs both by his erudition and by the character of his creations. He spent the greater part of his life writing Latin poems, once much appreciated throughout Europe. The best of these are: "Flagellum Livoris", a colection of odes dedicated to Zamoyski; "Aelinopaean", in honour of one of Zamoyski's victories; "Joel Propheta", a paraphrase of the Book of Joel, inscribed to Clement VIII, whom our poet had known personally as a legate in Poland ; "Hercules Prodiceus", written for his pupil, the young Thomas Zamoyski; and two dramas : "Penthesilea" and "Castus Joseph".
His first Polish verses were written in 1606, in favour of the rebellion of Zebrzydowski. He also wrote a few fugitive poems, but his fame mainly rests on his "Idyls", which appeared in 1614. They were the first and still remain the best poems of the kind in the Polish language. They faithfully follow the old classical type, so often imitated by French and Italian Humanists in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; but under this form there is a true national element and the Polish landscape and peasantry are gracefully described. Like Virgil's "Ecologues", all are short; several were composed on special occasions. Not all are uniformly beautiful, indeed the finest are often marred by weak passages. But they have the merit of simplicity, not unfrequent depth of feeling or pleasant wit and humour, profound political allusions, clarity of thought and a noble diction. His influence is visible in the writings of both the Zimorowicz, and also in Gavinski's "Idyls". More recently he has been imitated by Naruszewicz, and at times by Kniaznin and Karpinski. In the nineteenth century Mickiewicz appreciated him admirably in his course of lectures on Slavic literature, and, we may say, rediscovered him.
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
St. Faustina Kowalska
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Saint of the Day for Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023
-
Popular Saints
-
St. Francis of Assisi
-
Bible
-
Female / Women Saints
-
7 Morning Prayers you need to get your day started with God
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Come Holy Spirit! The Whole Church Needs Pentecost
-
Our Lady of Fatima asks the same thing of us today
-
Embracing the Light of Our Lady of Fatima on Her Feast Day
-
Mother's Day and the Gift of Mary as Mother
-
How Molecular Biology Sheds Light on The Catholic Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and ...
Daily Catholic
- Daily Readings for Wednesday, May 15, 2024
- St. Dymphna: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, May 15, 2024
- Prayer to St. Gabriel, for Others: Prayer of the Day for Friday, May 10, 2024
- Daily Readings for Tuesday, May 14, 2024
- St. Matthias: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, May 14, 2024
- Prayer for Travelers: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, May 09, 2024
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.