Two Champions of a New Christianity: Lamennais and Mickiewicz

Abstract

HE MUTUAL relations and influences of Felicite de Lamennais (1782-1854)-apologist of Catholic theocracy, then revolutionary democrat-and the Polish poet and leader, Adam Mickiewicz (17981855), offer much that is interesting and instructive for comparative studies.1 The two men sprang from entirely different soils and grew up under entirely different conditions and circumstances, yet they present basic affinities of character and mind. They arrived, almost independently, at a very similar world view and, for a time, followed similar paths in writing and action. One may say that the works of each came to represent the basic thought of the other-for instance, Lamennais' Essai sur l'indifference en matiere de religion for Mickiewicz and Mickiewicz's Books of the Polish Pilgrims for Lamennais became a realization and final crystallization of thoughts, feelings, and conceptions independently acquired, although not always clearly realized. This is probably the psychology of all literary influences, apart of course from the socalled of the age, by which we denote certain spiritual properties common to large groups of men living in a given historical epoch. The spirit of the epoch around 1820-1830 manifested itself in Europe, among other trends, in a revival of Christianity and in a growing movement for liberty. Both Lamennais and Mickiewicz are outstanding representatives of these two trends, which embraced large circles of the European intelligentsia and even penetrated, in one form or another, the masses of the population of Western European countries. In France the modern renaissance of Christianity (and Catholicism) goes back to the beginning of the nineteenth century and is represented by Chateaubriand, de Maistre, de Bonald, and others. Lamennais certainly owed much to these writers, especially in his first, theocratic period, but even then the character and tone of his works were different-more