Rhetoric as the basis of humanistic education and citizenship in the Polish Commonwealth

Abstract

In the 16th century the Polish nobility created an original form of the political system. The key concept to understand the social and political system of the time was the ideology of Sarmatism. It means that in search of its origins Poles saw themselves as heirs of the ancient Romans. They inherited not only their customs, values, virtues as well as a republic as a form of government, but also the ideal of the “good citizen”: a patriot and a good orator. In the Baroque period what differed the rhetoric of the Polish Commonwealth from the rest of Europe was the special patronage which rhetoric provided over the art of the Sarmatian’s oratory. It seems that in Sarmatian Poland all models, standards, customs of the ancient Romans as well as the language of the Roman Empire were treated with a special esteem and respect. In any situation the Sarmatian orator was delivering a speech and from the beginning of his rhetorical training he learned how to serve his country. The eloquence and freedom in the Sarmatian ideology were inseparable concepts. In the Polish Commonwealth a great role in the secondary education played Jesuit colleges, schools of humanistic type. The main emphasis was placed there on grammar, poetry and rhetoric as the final knowledge and a skill without which one could not perform his duties in the public life. The rhetoric played a significant role in the citizenship and political education.