Period XV − the Stoicism of the Poet from Łużna

Abstract

The paper analyzes one of the funeral works by Wacław Potocki, that is Period XV, belonging to the cycle which was written after Stefan's death, the son of the poet. The author unveils the Stoic inspirations present in the text, revealed in the questions about the Cause of the world, in the reflection on such concepts as nature, Fortune, virtue, vice, but also stresses the apparent intention to revise the neo-Stoic stereotypes; this intention results from a belief that man, irrespective of his virtue and wisdom, is a twist of fate. The poet, broken down by his personal suffering, notices superficiality and conventionality of „comforts given by philosophy”.