Today, more than ever, we should grasp the exact meaning of the terms of nation and nationality. Well, that's what we call a nation of strength – a union of large and indomitable, and through it people are called a nation. However, it is not adequate to know about this in general, but it is essential to take a closer look to realize why this cohesion of nationality is so untapped.
So what is it that unites us Poles first and foremost? Of course, everyone will answer that speech without hesitation. This is our birthed speech, which the small kid calls out to the mothers and says his prayers to God; that our speech is beautiful and so varied, generous that all things can be spoken with it, whatever passes through the thought of man, or his heart will move. We humans are not made to be alone, but to be together in life and development. Hence, we feel the request and the request to communicate with 1 another in order to request aid from 1 another, guidance, advice to service 1 another and yet share the thoughts that come to us and the feelings that come to us. To all of this, the only way he gives us a common sense of speech. We associate ourselves with those who can realize us, and we keep indifference rather natural toward others, which will neither comprehend us nor answer our words. So this is how common, or family, national speech, by bringing us closer to our fellow countrymen helps us to meet the needs of life, and then work on improving these needs, enlightening our minds, making character, etc.
But that's not all. The powerful link between household speech is not only that we request it all, but that everything has become very expensive. Not everyone has realized this, but everyone loves her very much.
And how else would it be?
When, in joy or in distress, with thanks or supplication, we turn to God, we do so with words spoken or thought only, but always with words, words which are of our speech. erstwhile the beauty of nature, the phenomena of life, the circumstances of various things bring us impressions, feelings, thoughts, we who desire to keep this wealth within ourselves, usage it to specify the expressions taken from the household speech. In the words of everything that man has experienced, he has thought about, expressed various times in this very speech, and it is no wonder that attachment to it reaches to the bottom of our soul – deeply. Whoever has been in the abroad planet and especially for a long time, knows perfectly well the impression of the Polish word that is heard by chance among the crowd and the noise. How loudly our heart is at that time, as if we would like to capture, hold, lovingly and honorfully welcome this word. It was rightly and wisely said that this was the key to the beginning of the prison. As long as this key is respected in its entirety and the chance to leave sooner or later, it will happen.
In addition to common speech, we are associated with another and strong nodes. We all know how large the power of habit is, and how close and dear to it it becomes our custom, custom. This way of life, of dealing with certain household circumstances, home circumstances, of celebrating certain holidays and celebrations, which we inactive have from our great-grandfather, seems to us to be above another more comfortable and nicer. We feel kind and well between fellow countrymen whose customs are rather akin to ours, and abroad and sad in the surroundings of people, having a customized of life completely different from ours. The commonwealth of morality is simply a link of large importance.
Further – we, all Poles, are bound by the commonwealth inherited from the ancestors of tradition. What's a tradition? It is simply a treasure of experiences, convictions, feelings, and wisdom, a treasure gathered slow over a number of generations, and it is inactive given to the next generation. The name ‘traditional’ comes from the Latin word which means: to be given. The tradition includes stories from the ancient past of the nation and memories of its heroes, loud deeds and fame. In tradition, we find indications of how our people viewed various matters over the centuries, how they felt. How he did under different circumstances, what he felt was wrong, what good and just. Tradition transmits to us hereditaryly the qualities and ways of doing things. And so, for example, we Poles, despite many of our disadvantages, were always fighting and ready to give our lives for our homeland and noble cause, hence, in our national tradition there is valor, nobility and poorness of our own lives.
The enemies are trying to distract us today, separate us, destruct our comprehensive cohesion, but in vain. Not since yesterday we live together, we have a long series of events shared together, national history, history.
The past of this nation differs from tradition that it teaches us only about certain facts, or cases of the past, shows us what the general state of society was at the time, etc. But both of them with tradition complement each other. Human societies grow, develop, mature gradually. Their improvement and ripening consist of slow, but continuous, improvements in common devices and rights, and the acquisition of always more education. The increase in education is progressing evenly with any expanding accomplishment of the general population and thus creating the culture of the nation. Culture so means education combined with the improvement and uplift of all the components of our common life. No nation creates its own culture by itself, with its own resources, on the contrary, benefits from the experience and acquisitions of its neighbours, takes many of them, but it is all being transformed, processed in application to the needs of its conditions and character. Then, going further, to things known, he adds other, fresh ones, which he created on this basis, and so gradually builds a wonderful cultural building. The assembly, or human society, which could not get a akin culture, is not yet a nation.
We Poles have our own culture, and it is immeasurable, due to the fact that 1 of the top in the world. We had scholars for all ages, specified as Copernicus, politicians and husbands of the state highly wise, specified as Modrzewski and Staszic, preachers-prophets inspired – Complaint, poets-songers, whose equal was seen by fewer worlds: Mickiewicz, Slovak, Krasiński. present we have hosts of scholars, poets, painters and sculptors, intelligent and zealous social activists, etc. This is the culture of our ancient and ever-growing strength, our wealth. They converge in 1 of the links listed here successively, and creating an impenetrable nationality, we calculated speech, customs, traditions, the commonality of history, and yet culture. Let us also, as the eventual strengthening and culmination of national consciousness. Consciousness is about the exact feeling and knowing of what we are and what we are different from others, as well as knowing our tasks, duties and interests.
The society that has possessed all of this and has created it in itself, is irrefutable and in the full sense of the word, a nation, and as such, will last the fight and the top misery, but to wipe themselves off and to destruct it will not win and will come out of these woes again into free existence. No power of the enemy will teardrop out the nation's speech and custom, neither will it take distant the voice or breath of a surviving man. No power can take distant tradition, historical memories and culture, due to the fact that those within us are invincible, like memory, like reason, like the soul in man. No 1 will take the consciousness of our full, due to the fact that we know that we are a nation with all the data, we know that we are separate from others, that we are infinitely different from the full past, speech, tradition, character from Germans or Moscals. Finally, we know that we can afford to further make our strength and abilities, that our tasks in the planet are large and great, and our rights are obvious. knowing our common national interests and our respective responsibilities, the wise civic awareness is as if the highest link to the most powerful coherent. And this brings us from the depth, from the core, to the summit in the past, the present and the future far away; her name, as has already been said, is simply a nationality, permanence and extraordinary strength. Through it, through this power, we, the Polish people, are again burdened with so many misfortunes, we are reborn, we grow and will give God, we will have our due independency and glory.
Jan Ludwik Popławski
article from the diary “Poland”, No 3/1904
