i68 KULTURA
and functioned until April 1794. It was funded from confiscated Jesuit property,
and in twenty years under the Chairmanship of Ignacy Potocki (1750-1809)
organized two universities, 74 secondary schools, and 1,600 parish schools. Its
main aim was to replace the moribund and fragmented Catholic schools by a
coherent state system inspired by secular and national ideals. It replaced Latin
with Polish as the language of instruction in schools and universities, and pro-
moted a wide range of subjects, from modern languages to natural sciences,
where both the practical needs of the individual and the requirements of the
state were kept in view. Girls were to be educated as well as boys. Hygiene and
physical activity, art and midwifery were encouraged no less than book learn-
ing. National holidays and national occasions, were to be observed in addition
to the old church festivals. Teachers were to be trained in state colleges, and
paid in accordance with a national salary scale. The Society for Elementary
Books set to work in 1775 to provide a full range of textbooks for all grades pre-
pared by specialists at home and abroad. Its secretary, Grzegorz Piramowicz
(1735—1801) an ex-Jesuit, himself composed the basic manual for elementary
teachers, Powinnosci nauczyciela w szkolach parafialnych (The duties of the
teacher in parish schools, 1787), and the first school anthology of Polish poetry
- Wymowa i poezja dla szkol narodowycb (Diction and Poetry for National
Schools, 1792). Important textbooks were prepared in mathematics by Simon
Lhuillier of Geneva, in logic by the Frenchman, Etienne Condillac, in physics by
Jan Michai Hube (1737-1807), headmaster of the Collegium Nobilium, in
botany by the Revd Krzysztof Kluk (1739-96), Vicar of Ciechanow, in Polish
and Latin grammar by Onufry Kopczynski, in Ancient History by
J. K. Skrzetuski (1743-1806), in ethics by Antoni Poplawski (1739-86)... In the
third part of his work, directed at pupils learning the essentials of 'respectable
conduct', Poplawski stated boldly: 'We are all without exception born equal..
. and all are united by our common needs, and by sharing in the fruits of mutual
assistance.' This statement, published in 1787, is proof enough of the preco-
ciously progressive spirit of Polish education in the era of the country's darkest
political tragedy. At that moment, some 15,000 pupils were registered in the
Commission's secondary schools alone.^4
The achievements of the National Education Commission were enhanced by
royal patronage. The extraordinary energy of Stanislaw-August and his circle in
the cultural sphere was born of their impotence in promoting effective reform in
other quarters. Their attack on the Church's monopoly in education was seen
as the surest means of undermining the long-term prospects of the conservative
party whose aim was to prevent change in the Republic at all cost. They were
well aware of the odds, yet hoped that their cultural triumphs would transcend
a long series of political disasters. In this regard the King's speech to the
Commission in 1783 was marvellously prophetic:
Much of my work, and many of my ideas directed to the improvement of our condition,
have already failed. But that does not extinguish in me the strong desire to strive in any
way I can for the good of the nation. As long as I live, I shall not cease to devote my time