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sorofVilniusUniversityanddedicatedittoK.L.Sapieha,thefounderoftheFaculty
ofLawthere.Theworkhasbeenassessedindiferentways-asacompilation,butalso
asignificantcontributionoftheoriginalthoughtsofitsauthor,anditholdsapromi-
nentplaceinthehistoryofPolishpoliticalscience.Takingintoaccountthenumerous
analyticalassessments,includingthoseofStanislawKot(1929)andIngaLuksaite
(1976),8LudwikPiechnikhighlightstheextensiveeruditionoftheauthorof“poli-
tics”(whorefersto254predecessorsdatingbacktoAntiquity)toconcludeasfollows:
“Numerousquotationsfromumpteenauthorscreateanimpressionthattheentirework
isanuncriticalpatchworkofotherpeople’sideas.Thisisactuallytheassessmentof
somePolishhistorians.[...]Whenonetakesacloserlook,however,itturnsoutthat
thesequotationsonlyservethepurposeofsupportingtheauthor’sownopinion,and
thatevenAristotleandBodinarenotabsoluteauthoritiestoOlizarowski.Forminghis
views,Olizarowskitakesintoconsiderableaccountthecontemporarypoliticalreality,
includingPolishreality,andwhatbecomesadecisivefactorforhimiscommonsense,
i.e.theassessmentofpeopleandobjectswhichstemsfromobservationandexperi-
ence.Hedoesnotmakereferencetogreatmetaphysicalsystemsandfavorsempirical
methodsmore.”9
AsaPolishcitizenOlizarowskiwasabletoproduceanexcellentcombinationof
universalknowledgewithananalysisoflocalrealityandthisiswhyhe(andhisfol-
lowers)canbeconnectedtothebeginningsofPolishresearchintopoliticalscience.
Unfortunately,itsadvancementwasrapidlybrokenasearlyasinthe1660s,asaconse-
quenceofsuchpoliticaleventsasthegreatwars,commencingwithaCossackuprising
intheUkraineandcontinuedwithRussianandSwedishinvasions.Themostauspi-
ciousperiodoftheAcademyofVilniuswasinterruptedbytheMoscowinvasionin
themiddleof1655,andafteritwasrepelled(thecastlehadbeenoccupiedforseveral
years)theactivityoftheAcademywasimpairedbythelongyearsofrebuildingthe
cityfromappallingdamage.Likemanyotherprofessors,Olizarowskisoughtrefugeat
Königsberguniversitywherehestayeduntiltheendofhisdays.
TheearlierperiodofJesuitactivityshouldnotbeneglected.Themainobjectiveof
theirliteraryactivitywasthestruggleagainstthestrongGrandDuchyofLithuaniaand
Protestantism,asexemplifiedbyMarcinŚmigleckiinthelate16thcentury.TheJesuits
hadlaidthefoundationsfortheprogressofthesocialsciencesbeforeindividualsub-
jectsemerged,includingpoliticalscience.10
OnlyaftertheinvadersfromSwedenandMoscowhadbeenexpelledin1661did
lifeinVilniusstarttoreturntonormal.Thedamagetoboththematerialandhuman
8S.Kot,AronAleksanderOlizarowski,profesorprawaAkademiiWileńskiej,[in:]Księgapa-
miątkowakuuczczeniu350rocznicyzałożeniaUniwersytetuWileńskiego,Wilno1929;I.Luksaite,
LietuvospublicistaivalstieciuklausimuXVIa.Pabaigoje-XVIIa.Pirmojojepuseje,“ActaHistori-
caLituanica,”XII,Vilnius1976.
9Ibidem,p.173andnext;seeidem,Olizarowski(Olizar,Olizarovius,Olzarowski,Ołzarowski)
AronAleksander,PSBXXII,p.822,bibliographythere.
10Cf.e.g.M.Kosman,ReformacjaiKontrreformacjawWielkimKsięstwieLitewskimwświe-
tlepropagandywyznaniowej,Wrocław1973;R.DarowskiSJ,MarcinaŚmigleckiegoSJtraktat
“Olichwie”(1596),“RocznikWydziałuFilozoficznegoTowarzystwaJezusowegowKrakowie,”
1993-1994,pp.209-229.
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