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LITUANUS
LITHUANIAN
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Volume 10, No.3-4 - Fall and
Winter 1964
Editor of this issue: Thomas Remeikis ISSN 0024-5089
Copyright © 1964 LITUANUS Foundation, Inc. |
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ALEKSAS VAŠKELIS
PIETIST SPIRIT IN DONELAITIS' POETRY
ALEKSAS VAŠKELIS attended universities of Kaunas and Vilnius, completed baccalaureate studies in the Hamburg D. P. University, Germany, 1946. For a diploma in Lithuanian studies he presented the study Lithuania Minor in the 18th Century and Kristijonas Donelaitis. His contribution to this issue draws heavily from this study.
Donelaitis can be considered a poet of pietistic bent and one of the representatives of that movement, for his personal life and work manifest the pietistic temper and pietistic Weltanschaung* Pietism in Lithuanian literature has not been sufficiently related to the stirrings of Lithuanian nationalism in the 18th century, nor to Donelaitis himself. To present the efforts of the pietistic movement and its reverberations in the cultural and religious life of Lithuania Minor, with Donelaitis and his work in view, is the main purpose of this article.1
Pietism in Lithuania Minor
Lutheran pietism manifested itself as a religious-philosophical movement in the 16th century in Frankfurt (a. M.) under the influence of the philosophical thought of P. J. Spener. Spener himself was the organizer of this movement and originator of its ideas and religious forms of expression. To describe the new movement, its organizers chose a popular phrase of the times: "Christianity in spirit and practice." The movement was not revolutionary or destructive in purpose, but rather a specific mode of interpreting religion. Pietism emphasized great devotion to the practice of faith and simplified certain religious problems. At its inception, the movement greatly stressed personal piety and good works; a link was drawn between such piety and the spiritual rebirth and awakening of the personality. Any authority for the understanding and interpretation of religious concepts became unnecessary and even dispensable. For this reason, the followers of the movement considerably deemphasized the role of the minister. To say that pietism waged war against the Protestant clergy would not be correct. Nevertheless, since the movement depreciated the role of the clergyman, deviated from the established course, and displayed a fierce energy, it drew quite active opposition from the ranks of organized Protestant clergy. As a result, Spener and his group of followers were forced to leave Frankfurt and to seek elsewhere for a place to live. Spener settled in Berlin; several of his followers went to Halle (a. S.) and the university of Halle became the center and fountainhead of pietism. One of the most important figures in the pietistic movement, A. H. Franke, matured here and rose to prominence; the king assigned him to the task of reforming the Prussian schools. The most important of Franke's merits is his concern with the education and training of youth. For this purpose he founded an orphanage in Halle which later became a stronghold of pietism, extending its influence throughout the kingdom bf Prussia and into other countries as well. One such example was the school of higher education in Koenigsberg, founded by the pietist Theodor Gehr, which in 1701 received the confirmation and patronage of the king and was named Collegium Fredericianum. This new school enjoyed considerable success, for it was attractive because of its new ideas and earnestness in education and training. The local clergy, however, was not favorably disposed toward the new, pietisti-cally oriented school. The school was quite mercilessly attacked from the pulpit and often had to defend itself against charges levelled through the consistory.
With the end of the plague and with the coronation of Wilhelm I, a more active interest was taken in the affairs of Lithuania Minor, At this time Collegium Fredericianum and the whole pietistic movement was headed by the energetic and active J. H. Lysius (1670-1731) of Flensburg, who, as professor of theology at the University of Koenigsberg, gave pietism a certain academic weight. Under Lysius' leadership, the pietists undertook to activate religious life in Lithuania Minor. With the king's appointment of Lysius as director of educational and ecclesiastical affairs of Lithuania Minor, pietists filled the important posts and began the work of disseminating pietism in the province. In his travels through Lithuania Minor, Lysius had become well acquainted with the private life of the clergy and with their problems. Understandably, in his concern with the religious and moral life of the country, Lysius could not but be vexed by the private life of the clergy, which at times did not at all accord with pastoral duties. No wonder, then, that Lysius met with more opposition than he had expected. But the most impelling motive for resisting Lysius and his reforms was supplied by the so-called plan of Germanization. In this plan, Lysius proposed that a serious error had been made in giving consideration to the national needs of Lithuanians. Lysius argued that learning the Lithuanian language was quite difficult for German ministers and that the task of supplying religious and educational literature in Lithuanian, because of the small demand, carried with it only financial loss. He therefore recommended that the youth be taught the German language in schools and churches and be provided with German religious and educational literature.
This explicit proposal of Germanization was strongly denounced by the Lithuanian clergy. For this reason, the consistory headed by Quandt, the general superintendent of the Protestant church in Koe-nigsberg, met with considerable support on the part of the Lithuanian clergy in its efforts to fight the spread of pietism and the Germanization policies of Lysius. This support was due not so much to insulted national feeling as to Lysius' hyperactivity, his irksome concern with the private affairs of clergymen. To a majority of the clergy this energetic reformer had become a tiresome annoyance. It was to be expected, then, that the Quandt opposition was joined by a large number of the younger clergy, intending to do battle not only against the Germanization ideas of Lysius, but also against the pietistic tendencies taking hold in the province.
With the failure of the Germanization plan and the creation of a powerful opposition to it, pietism lost some of its popularity and its influence in the province was curtailed. In his study of pietism in Lithuania Minor, the German historian W. Bormann concluded on the subject of Lysius' failure by stating, that "outraged Lithuanian national feeling defeated the pietists."2
In disrepute with the king, Lysius lost his administrative post and his position as adviser to the king on matters of the church and schools in Lithuania Minor. These duties were turned over to the theologian Quandt, who rejecting the policy of Germanization, successfully administered and reformed the churches and schools of Lithuania Minor. Not disregarding the live opposition on the part of the pietists, he pursued his work impartially, maintaining a close contact with Lithuanian clergymen and inquiring as to their opinion on matters of importance. For this purpose, he even learned to speak Lithuanian.
The Germanization plan of Lysius, abandoned for twenty years, was again revived in 1739 (eight years after Lysius' death), this time supported and financed by Wilhelm I himself. At the time of his last visit to Lithuania Minor in 1739 (during his reign he made nine such visits in all), and upon receiving the report of Quandt, his adviser on church and educational affairs, Wilhelm proposed to the commission for church affairs that Lithuanian and Polish children in Prussian schools be taught in German, that German copies of the Bible and German hymnbooks be distributed almost gratis to the population, and that non-conformist ministers not considering themselves Germans be dismissed and Germans be appointed in their place.
That twety-year period, marked by the defeat of pietism and the ascendancy of the opposition, was especially productive in the cultural life of Lithuania Minor. On the one side there was Quandt with his objective of preparing qualified workers for specific tasks in Lithuania Minor and providing religious and educational literature in the Lithuanian language; on the other — the pietists with their unyielding ambition to disseminate pietism in the province. During this period the clergy of Lithuania Minor actively participated in the writing of religious hymns. Many of them provided for their parishioners new and original hymns, often with the further design that they be included in published collections. The work of publishing hymnals divided the clergy of Lithuania Minor into several factions, wrangling and competing with each other in the preparation of a better, more useful hymnal. But the greatest ground for polemics was found in matters pertaining to the Lithuanian language; such discussions were largely the beginning of the academic and practical study of the language. This period defined the national character of the Lithuania Minor clergy; although their surnames indicate their German origin, many of these clergymen came to consider themselves Lithuanians and prided themselves on their ability to write versified letters and eulogies in Lithuanian. Reverend Adomas Fr. Schimmelpfenig (1699-1763), was particularly noteworthy among them; he was responsible for bringing Lithuanian national pride into contemporary letters. In this respect he is the predecessor of Do-nelaitis.
Led by F. H. Schultz, who since 1734 had conducted Lithuanian and Polish language seminars at the University of Koenigsberg, pietism gained a strong foothold in Lithuania Minor during this period and reached the provincial areas.
Until then, pietism had been largely associated with the university of Koenigsberg and with schools of higher education such as the Collegium Fredericianum, making no attempts to disengage itself from ecclesiastical authority, but seeking to use the church for implementing the pietistic program. Having reached the province and come into contact with people of a different mentality, it acquired somewhat different forms of conceptualization and interpretation. Here, of course, an important part was played by the Herrnhuter movement emanating from Moravia. This was a religious sect, closely akin to the pietists, founded in 1727 in Saxony by the count N. L. Zinzendorf; since it stemmed from the Herrnhuten locality, its followers were given the name of Herrnhuter. This movement made greater inroads in the Slavic sections of Lithuania Minor. With the arrival in Lithuania Minor of Salzburgers and of the first Herrnhuter missionaries Demuth and Bomisch, the pietistic movement benefited by the fanatical religious approach of the Salzburgers and found a fertile ground. Meetings conducted by these itinerant preachers, or "sakytojai" as they were called in Lithuanian, came into great vogue. During these meetings religious hymns were sung, prayers were said, and during intervals the preachers discoursed on biblical topics. The biblical commentary of some preachers at times would border on the comic, but there was a general drift discernible in nearly all the preaching: lead a humble life, do penance, study the truths of redemption and faith, earnestly and conscientiously perform your daily work in the field, in the garden, in the farmyard, and at home. Dancing, singing, play-acting, intoxicating liquor, tobacco, any kind of amusement, even loud laughter were vigorously condemned.
The success of the movement owed much to the participation of certain clergymen. The clergy of Lithuania Minor regarded the pietists (susirinkimininkai) as a great source of aid in their ministerial work. At the outset only the clergy occupied positions of leadership among the pietists, but eventually the pietists gained in autonomy and came to depend less and less upon church authorities. Later the pietists in Lithuania Minor carried on as a private society, with its own councils independent of ecclesiastical or civil government.
Pietism was a new religious movement in the face of a religious routine that had become hardened. Its expressiveness was able to stir the stagnant waters of religious life. With new maxims and a new apprehension of reality, this religious action, in clearing ground for its existence, not only tore at the old orthodox views of the religious life, but roused the ordinary believer's conscience out of its somnolescence. These efforts toward a new direction, aiming at the quality of the faithful, also called forth similar efforts from the opposition. Such, briefly, was life in Lithuania Minor during the second half of the eighteenth century, as the pietistic movement struggled for its existence. The positive results of this struggle came about largely from the conflict of cultural interests. The expansion phase of the new idea brought out not only directions to be pursued in cultural life, but the creative potential of the nation itself. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Lithuanian cultural history had witnessed not only a struggle between the Reformation and Catholicism, but also attempts to raise the national cultural level. The result of the religious struggle was the appearance of the printed word in Lithuanian. Although it was an entirely religious matter, it nonetheless marked the beginning of the Lithuanian press. Pietism's struggle for admittance to the schools, the pulpit in the church, the chair at the university, although not marked by such a great clash of interests, stirred the religious and cultural life of Lithuania Minor in the eighteenth century. The result was not only a more intensive religious orientation, but a more active concern with the spiritual interests of the faithful. Pietistic activity in Lithuania Minor was not only the initiator of the eighteenth century Lithuanian national movement, but the actual force behind that movement. The entire publishing history of hymnals, the translation into Lithuanian of the Bible and its publication, the interest in the Lithuanian language, the feeling of national pride on the part of the Lithuanian clergy, the appearance of secular Lithuanian literature, and finally, the figure of Kristijonas Do-nelaitis, one of the greatest of Lithuanian poets, are all related to this intensification of religious life, which in turn is closely linked to the pietistic movement.
A Pietist Character of the Poet
Not much is known about the life of Kristijonas Donelaitis. However, even the available fragments of knowledge seem to indicate that Donelaitis was a pietistic personality. He disliked amusements, loudness, despised smoking and alcoholism. In all seriousness he devoted himself to physical work; he was meticulous in cultivating his orchard, in the performance of various mechanical tasks. He had cast his own life into a rigid mold and scrupulously maintained this rigidity. This can best be seen from his notations in baptismal records, where he not only expresses concern over the negligences of his confreres but to an equal degree reproaches and accuses himself.
On February 18, 1780, the precentor of the Tolminkiemis parish, K. W. Schultz, entered Donelaitis into the parish records of the deceased together with this commentary: "Kristijonas Donelaitis, pastor at this parish for 37 years, died in the 67th year of his life, from total infirmity. He was an able mechanic, who managed to construct 3 splendid spinets and a grand piano, also a microscope and other artistic objects. Also, it must be said, he was an outstanding man. He was a man entirely not in the manner of the times. He was my loyal friend. During the 9 years of our close association we never had a disagreement or a quarrel, but lived in the manner of David and Jonathan. Among other things, he was a faithful admirer and follower of Christ's unfal-sified teaching. God bless his dust and let me again meet with him at Thy throne."3 In his eulogy on Donelaitis, the precentor Schultz places Donelaitis in the ranks of the pietists, for at that time pietism claimed to be the true teaching of Christ and the true life in the spirit of Christ's teaching.
Having spent the years of his education in poverty and deprivation, when Donelaitis assumed the duties of pastor in the well-to-do Tolminkiemis parish, he made no attempt at all to settle into a comfortable and, under the circumstances, luxurious way of life. As a pietist he was indifferent to the comforts and all the pleasures of such a life. He was conscientious and earnest in his pastoral duties. Never allowing himself to waver, to doubt, or to slacken, being determined and persevering in a spirit of dedication and renunciation of self, he cared for the religious and moral welfare of his parishioners. Condemning the negligence of his colleagues, their interest in the wool rather than the sheep, for his own part he testified to the upright and rigorous ascetic-pietistic life of the evangelical divine. "So that I wouldn't live scandalously," wrote Donelaitis in his Advice to My Successor, "I often had to employ the strength of Samson. And still at times I wanted to succumb, but this never took place."4 Not surprisingly, therefore, during visits by church authorities Donelaitis invariably received the best possible attestation.
The followers of the Herrnhuter pietism were publicly known as strict guardians of morality. F. Tetzner claims that some pietist preachers, would publicly strike in the face and rebuke those guilty of breaking matrimonial vows.5 Of course, Donelaitis, being a pietist of a different orientation, made no use of physical methods of humiliation and punishment. Severe in his demands upon himself in the moral sphere, he required the same of his parishioners and confreres. If there was occasion to speak about moral decline, Donelaitis did so with complete frankness and without even any attempt to withhold names. Where his parishioners were concerned, the parish register shows a number of notations made by Donelaitis, indicating that forms of public humiliation were acceptable to him and that he had no qualms about employing them. In a preaching tone, he reprimanded himself, his parishioners, even his confreres. These austere views are set forth in Advice to My Successor, where Donelaitis advocates a project for the construction of a home for widows: "In the last century, as shown in the parish accounts, the pastor in this place was a certain Sperber, in possession of great wealth. I myself saw how his daughter, an old widow, came to me begging and needy in appearance. She recounted to me that her father had been very wealthy, and wished me great wealth also; but she also told me openly that in this rectory on Sundays, after both services, there would be merrymaking and dancing. How can a minister, who is obliged to set an example everywhere, play cards for money, dance, and be shilly-shally? I was by nature of a gay temperament and could sing and play the grand piano and the spinet, but in playing and singing I was moral and would adapt myself to the company in order to entertain them. Earlier it was thought that divines are sullen and cross, but in my old days I have seen and known all kinds, whose behavior was immoral and scandalous."6
Pietist Spirit in The Seasons
Given to the practice of the pietistic-ascetic way of life, in his creative work Donelaitis gave peremptory and uncompromising expression to aspects of the pietistic life which in the uncomplicated religious mentality of the peasants was more approximate to a conception of the popular-Herrnhuter pietism. As an artist, Donelaitis at times gave in to human impulses and from time to time would speak out in a different tone, referring to the joys and diversions of the rustic life. But these are isolated instances in an inflexible ascetic-pietistic routine. As a whole, the work of Donelaitis is moralizing and didactic in tone with a concentrated pietistic flavor.
The positive characters in The Seasons — Krizas, Selmas, Lauras, and partly the elder Pričkus — represent the pietistic attitudes of the author. The most eloquent of the positive types is Selmas, who expounds, almost throughout, the program of a pietist preacher. He scoffs at the gentry's way of life and at luxury in general. He sneers at the exotic cuisine of the gentry with its "frogs" and "caviar," their indolence and their various amusements. He applies the same standard to the peasants who are inclined to imitate the lax life of the gentry and are beginning to forget how one should "faithfully worship God." Selmas and Krizas, the most clearly depicted characters on the positive end of the scale, represent the author's own convictions and show what all Lithuanian peasants should be like, how they should act and speak.7
... Krizas, in his shoes of felt
And his peasant sheepskin jacket, worn for visits,
Under his plain roof sings like a nightingale.
That with his whole heart he gives praise to God.
(p. 18)
If you were to visit the home of Selmas,
You would find it like a church, well ordered.
His table would seem to you like a holy altar
Upon which holy booklets are lying,
So that he himself or his well-mannered children,
Having worked much and been very busy,
Would sing sweet hymns of joyous happiness
And thus ease the hardships of this age.
(p. 38)
When the author speaks about the peasants' diversions and entirely agrees with the idea, it seems that what he most likely has in mind is the pietistic type of relaxation — with "sweet hymns" from "sacred booklets." Lithuanian marriage customs are acceptable only in so far as they are in accord with church traditions and include a fitting respect for them. Speaking about all other marriage customs, songs, and traditional rituals, the author raps out in a tone of contempt and ridicule:
Now the wedding guests, at their ease, having eaten
And too generously gauffed their heavy draughts,
Quite forgot to say their prayers, as Christians should,
And like pigs of manor serf (a shame to tell it),
Soon began to sing and squeal out swinish ditties.
(p. 101)
Customs are merely "silly boorish pranks"; fairy tales — "silly talk and gossip". When Donelaitis speaks in this way about "charm-ings," about "goddesses and idols" it is quite understandable, for fighting pagan superstitions is his direct pastoral obligation; when he criticizes Lithuanian songs, tales, and customs, however, the voice of Donelaitis the pietist is being heard, because to the pietist no type of singing was admissible, unless it was religious in theme. Not only singing, moreover; the pietist would not accept any merry frame of mind, not even loud laughter. Donelaitis finds no excuse even for work songs and story-telling while spinning or doing some other kind of work, not because such things distract and slow down the work itself, but rather because pietism demanded that daily work be done with seriousness and concentration, avoiding unnecessary chatter. The pietistic position was that everyone will derive satisfaction from his daily occupations if he performs his work with dedication and collectedness. In this is found the moral significance of daily work and everyone is obliged to do this work well and conscientiously. There is no such thing as menial work; all types of work, no matter how unpleasant, how offensive to the nose, are from the grace of God. for
Very often simple things become wonders,
And from a stinking dung a blessing rises.
(p. 63)
Therefore, exaltation of the peasant's daily work runs through the entire work and an exhortation to perform it with satisfaction and dedication, either from the lips of the author himself or the characters Pričkus and Selmas.
Another important aspect of the pietistic life was simplicity, together with self-discipline and temperance. This Donelaitis also demands of his peasants. Speaking about the boors' attire, he expresses strong disapproval of their occasional attempts to adopt German fashions. According to the pietistic conception, there is no need to give consideration to the appearance or stylishness of dress. Often in life a much more worthy and noble personality is concealed under "homespun" and "booted" attire than under citified and "dressy" styles. Just as the nightingale, who in her song is "like unto a queen" among the birds, when we see her "in her peasant dress" she appears "like a rustic sparrow." Simplicity and modesty were especially dear to Donelaitis. Even the word "simple" often occurs in The Seasons, characterizing "simple" boors, their "sparse and simple" meals, and their "simple, boorish" dress. Nothing expresses better the humble and peaceable attitude of Donelaitis, than his frequent appeal:
We Lithuanians shod in bast shoes, we poor ones...
(p.51)
Moreover, the entire creative work of Donelaitis could hardly be given a more fitting and apt description than has been done by Selmas in The Seasons:
Faithful as a true companion, I've instructed you,
Not in German, not in French have I praised you,
But in peasant manner, like a trusted friend,
I have spoken openly, as words came to me.
(p. 137)
In the pietistic program, a strong emphasis was placed on total abstinence from intoxicating liquor and tobacco; in the matter of food, the position was taken that one should eat only the amount that the body physiologically requires. On many occasions Donelaitis takes a firm stand against the use of alcoholic beverages, relating it to various economic and moral ills. Intoxicating liquor and tobacco are attributes of city life and Lithuanian peasants must fight these evils. But the greatest evil and even sin, which the Lithuanian peasants so very often commit, is overeating. This abuse is just as prevalent among the gentry as among the boors. Donelaitis is not at all upset, however, where the gentry is concerned, for this is their "inborn nature," but he is sincerely concerned about the boors' lack of moderation in eating. He acknowledges that on certain holidays and feasts one should allow himself something in the way of delicacies, but on no account should this be carried to excess, because "food is necessary, so that strength wouldn't forsake the working ones." Donelaitis gave a great deal of attention to the problems of rustic nutrition, for this was related to the pietistic principles of living. He even made concrete suggestions and provided recipes for preparing adequate food supplies; most important, however, he never neglected an occasion to point out how necessary was moderation in using this supply, so that during the labor season one could eat in somewhat greater quantity to replenish strength. It seems, though, that Donelaitis was only indirectly concerned here; it was much more important to him to make sure that the peasants, keeping those harder days in mind, would learn moderation and the use of only that quantity of food which the organism absolutely requires. Such was the pietistic attitude, such was the way Donelaitis regarded the matter.
One of the most distinct characteristics of the pietistic life was humility and acquiescence. To the pietistic mind, everything in life fol- lows a course ordained by God and everyone should be satisfied and bear his cross with love and dedication, in expectation of reward in heaven. This aspect of humility and acquiescence continues like a leitmotif through his whole work and turns up finally, as if it were the dominant idea, gathering together all the author's intentions into this practical pietistic formula:
... Thou, vain man, learn to be contented,
That sometimes you get a frugal meal.
Look at the birds ...
(p. 19)
... God will always find as he has promised,
And reward everyone as he deserves.
(p. 168)
Donelaitis represents a peaceful Christian outlook and pietistic de-votionalism; he will have nothing to do with any idea of revolt. He could not conceive of a world ordered by God otherwise than with gentry and serfs. If the gentry received no commendation from him, it was only for religious and moral reasons, but by no means social ones. Donelaitis regarded the problem of social injustice with suspicion and disfavor. This attitude he expressed in the following quite popular hexa-metric stanza:
Bellows are a useful thing to blow into the chimney,
But against the wind they never worked
And could not impede quick steps of clouds.
(p. 162)
If Donelaitis was in favor of any kind of" equality, it was by no means material, but rather moral equality. Thus, it appears that in his pastoral duties Donelaitis was concerned not with an individual's circumstances of birth, or wealth, or social position, but was much more impressed with the individual as an object of worth in himself. In so far as his ministerial obligations were involved, he took as his point of departure the fact that God had created all men equal. But he never considered this equality as fundamental when he imaginatively dealt with the social question in his work. Thus, if there exists in the world a certain social inequality, if there are the gentry and the peasants, this is more or less the Lord's affair:
For without God nothing can happen in this world.
(p. 166)
Understandably, therefore, with motives such as these, no voice could be lifted against the existing order. If within this classic grouping of mankind much could be found that was not good, much that was evil, there was still no need to institute social reforms. All those ills are due to evil men in the world: they are the consequences of evil, corrupt men. If anything stands in need or reform, it is man himself. Whereas, in regard to the social differentiation of men,
Each has to satisfy himself with God's decision.
He that was born up high in a lord's manor
Must think that he sits up there by grace of God;
And he that was born as a poor peasant,
Should not be ashamed of peasant shoes of bast,
But should instead carry out his tasks properly,
More so, because he fears the Lord.
(p. 166)
Donelaitis lived at a time when in the social
classification of Lithuania Minor the hardest lot fell to the
Lithuanian serf. At that time, when immigrant colonists organized into
their national groups and were able to gain release from servitude,
whole weight of servitude descended on Lithuanian serfs; therefore,
such a peaceable, meek tone with all its docility and humility, if
taken literally, could not be entirely justified. The pietistic
attitude of meekness lent its color to all nuances of social problems.
But it would be quite false to class Donelaitis in the category of
consoler to the serfs only; Donelaitis has one visage as a thinker
— the pietist, and another as an artist — the poet. The
latter reveals him in a very different light. His spontaneous ridicule,
satire, and irony when speaking about the gentry accomplished that
which Donelaitis the pietist could not. Such expressions as "I'll have
to cart a big belly"; "a gentleman from a good family, always strutting
when among boors, just like bacon drippings floating on top of warm
water"; "the peasant, just like the little master, must have his
buttocks wiped with a square of cloth and his diapers washed out with
water" impress the reader quite differently and place the author, where
social problems are concerned, on a platform on which the pietist did
not dare stand.
NOTES
* Kristijonas Donelaitis — classical Lithuanian poet of the
18th century. He was introduced to the English speaking world in a
special commemorative issue of Lituanus (Spring, 1964) on the occasion
of the 250th anniversary since his birth.
NOTES:
1. In preparing this article the following sources were consulted
in addition to those cited throughout the text: Dr. Beheim-Schwarzbadi,
Friedrich Wilhelms I Colonisationswerk in Litauen, vornehmlich die Salzburger Colonie, Koenigsberg, 1879; Vydunas, Sieben Hundert Jahre deutsch-lita-uische Beziehungen, Tilsit, 1932; Dr. G. Zippel, Geschichte des Koeniglichen Friedrichs-Kollegiums zu Koenigsberg Pr. 1698-1898, Koenigsberg P., 1898; L. Gineitis, Kristijono Donelaičio "Metai" (The Seasons
by K,D.), Vilnius, 1954; Lietuvių Enciklopedija (Lithuanian
Encyclopedia), Boston, vols. V and XXII, 1955 and 196 ; Vaclovas
Biržiška, Aleksandrynas
(Dictionary of Old Lithuanian Authors), Chicago, 1960, 1963, vols. I
and II; K. Doveika, "Archyvinė Medžiaga apie Donelaitį", Pergalė, Vilnius, March, 1955.
2. Walther Borrmann, Das Eindringen des Pietismus in die Ostpreussische Landeskirche, Koenigsberg i. Pr., 1913.
3. Altpreussische Monatsschrift, Koenigsberg, 1914, Vol. 51, p. 191.
4. F. Tetzner, Unsere Dichter im Wort und Bild, IV, 1896, p. 23.
5. See Tetzner's book Die Slawen in Deutsehland, Braunschweig, 1902.
6. Altpreussische Monatsschrift, 1914, vol. 51, pp. 184-185.
7. All cited passages from Donelaitis' poetry are from the following edition: Kristijonas Donelaitis, Metai
(The Seasons), ed. J. Ambrazevicius, Kaunas, 1940. The cited nassages
are literal translations from Lithuanian. They are intended as
illustrations of Donelaitis' world-view and not as examples of his
poetic expression. The pages given after the cited passages refer to
the above edition of the poem.