Lithuania’s School of Thought

Next to the Prussians are the Samogitians, a hardy race whose lifestyle has nothing at all in common with that of its neighbors, nor its language. This race believes in the gods Apollo and Artemis. They follow the ancient Greek way of life and customs, but their material goods are similar to those of the Prussians.

- Laonikos Chalkokondyles. 🇬🇷 Apodeixis Historion

AN ITALIAN ON LITHUANIA

"Rome and Vilnius, Italy and Lithuania - two distant lands whose historical journeys and moments in life sometimes bore striking similarities; the fate of these nations, like the sun, would occasionally shine through, at times reflecting the everyday lives of geniuses and heroes, and at other times the bitterness of a cruel reality. <...> <...> A nation that, it seems, was fighting and dying for independence just yesterday, and in whose capital the great and enthusiastic cry of “Roma o morte!” must understand - if the noble spirit of Garibaldi’s men has not yet died in its heart - that the Lithuanian nation and its sons, too, will know how to fight and die with the cry, “Vilnius or death!” We do not want pity; we do not ask for mercy; we demand rights and justice! Only the enforcement of rights and justice! And we are pleased to note that this demand finds an echo in the hearts and consciences of Italian society and its youth. It is only natural to believe in the possible and beneficial cooperation between Lithuanian and Italian youth, and we hope that the cry “Justice pour la Lituanie” will find a wide response and numerous supporters among Italian youth."

Roma ir Vilnius, Italija ir Lietuva du vienas nuo kito tolimi kraštai, kurių istorijos tolimi žygiai ir gyvenimo momentai kartais turėdavo daug panašumo, tų valstybių likimas, lyg saulė, švysteldavo, protarpiais, genijų ir herojų buitimi ar žiaurios realybės kartumu. <...> <...> Tauta, kuri pati, rodos, vakar kovojo ir mirė dėl nepriklausomybės ir kurios sostinėje vis dar lyg tebeaidi didus ir entuziastingas „Roma o morte!" šūkis, turi suprasti, jei dar jos širdy nemirė kilni garibaldiečių dvasia, jog ir lietuvių tauta bei jos sūnūs mokės kovoti ir mirti su obalsiu, "Vilnius ar mirtis"! Mes nenorim pasigailėjimo, mes neprašom malonės; mes reikalaujam teisės ir teisybės! Tik teisės ir teisybės vykdymo! Ir mums malonu konstatuoti, jog tasai reikalavimas italų visuomenės ir jaunimo širdy bei sąžinėje randa atgarsio. Norme tikėti į lietuvių ir italų jaunimo galimą ir naudingą bendradarbiavimą ir norime viltis jog šauksmas,, Justice pour la Lithuanie" ras plataus atgarsio ir skaitlingų draugų italų jaunimo tarpe.

Translated by V. Vetusius (Zenonas Blynas) | Akademikas 1933-Nr.10 @NEWLTU

The sign of belonging to the nation is no longer the passport, The state, being the objectification of the nation, cannot treat national members and citizens of foreign nationalities, or so-called national minorities, in exactly the same way. Members of the nation are the true members of the new state, while all others are merely inhabitants of the state. They may use all the rights of members of the nation, but they cannot possess the same privileges as members of the nation. Their participation in the life of national culture, science, art, social institutions, and the economy is undesirable and, in certain cases, even impermissible. Minorities in the national state are always a foreign body, which can never fully merge with the body of the nation and become integrated into its organism. Therefore, in our times, the borders of the state must coincide with the borders of the nation, and foreign peoples living within the nation must either be incorporated into the national culture until they become assimilated, or transferred to their own state, or remain as guests and those enjoying the right of refuge. There is no other solution if we wish the state to truly and successfully become the objectification of the nation. This principle is especially important for small nations, for whom even a small number of foreigners can be harmful from a cultural point of view. The struggle against foreign elements that is seen in some states today has a profound meaning. It is a struggle against those who divide the body of the nation. One may disagree in certain cases with the methods of this struggle. However, the principle of preserving the purity of national culture itself is sound.

- Antanas Maceina. 🇱🇹 Social and Political Philosophy

The ideal of national culture is a harmonious synthesis of tradition and innovation. Respect for the past must be combined with openness to new ideas and creative search. A nation that is stuck only in the past risks becoming a museum exhibit. On the other hand, a nation that blindly chases after every new fashion loses its own face and spiritual independence. The healthy development of national culture is possible only on the basis of a creative synthesis of the old and the new.

- Stasys Šalkauskis. 🇱🇹 Nationality, Patriotism and the vocation of the Lithuanian Nation

✝️⚔️🇱🇹 Our centuries-long struggle against the Teutonic Order has completely forged the Lithuanian spirit. Grunwald became our Iliad, Vytautas the Great our Achilles, and the long journey that followed our Odyssey from that immortal triumph arose the symbol of Vytis, whose gallant horse with sword and shield has carried the flame and will of Lithuania’s courage and freedom throughout the ages through its constant rebellions and its road to independence.

Cosmopolitans, those who call themselves “citizens of the world,” often criticize nationalism, claiming that it fosters narrow-mindedness, chauvinism, or even hatred toward other nations. However, genuine, healthy nationalism does not deny the value of other nations, nor does it seek to dominate them. It simply affirms the natural right of every nation to live its own life, to develop its own unique individuality, and to contribute its own original values to the common treasury of humanity. True patriots and nationalists understand that only a strong, culturally rich, and morally healthy nation can be a valuable and worthy member of the family of nations. Therefore, they work not only for their own nation’s benefit, but indirectly also for the benefit of all humanity.

- Stasys Šalkauskis. 🇱🇹 Nationality, Patriotism and the vocation of the Lithuanian Nation

🐎☀️ Lithuania by Rapolas Jakimavičius (1935)

Man is the Son of Nothing because he is characterized by excessive destruction, and therefore man is a nihilist, Nihilism turns out to be “not a theory, belief, or posture, but constitutes the metaphysical core of man as the Son of Nothing.

- Arvydas Šliogeris. 🇱🇹 Nothingness and Essence

But the greatest cause of our poverty, when it comes to the wealth of our spirit, is something else. As we lived on, a foreign culture came upon us. And we began to cherish its fruits and to shape ourselves by imitating foreigners. We became imitators of others. It seemed we could no longer live otherwise, for at the same time we cast aside what had been left to us by our forefathers something which, had we developed and refined it while learning from others, could have enabled us to present ourselves to the world in our own way. Instead, we were left with almost nothing. And we have become poorer spiritually even more than materially. Only in these most recent years has this begun to change. Yet we are still poor. There is only one way out of our poverty. We must return, in every respect, to what our forefathers practiced. We must connect our own work to theirs, carry it forward, and perfect it. Then all our strengths will grow and flourish. We ourselves will begin to live differently again. We will once more cultivate the land with greater joy and love our homeland more deeply. Along with this, industry will rise, and all the talents of the Lithuanian people will awaken for their own delight.

- Vydūnas. 🇱🇹 Youth magazine, (1911)

The poet's grave - Paulius Galaunė.

Lithuania belongs only to the Lithuanians! It has been redeemed by our blood, and it is our will to be the owners of the capital it holds!

- Jonas Noreika. 🇱🇹 Raise your head, Lithuanian! Kaunas , (1933)

The first task of fascism, says G. Gentile, is "to organize the state not as an external form mechanically imposed upon national consciousness, but as a form arising from this very consciousness." For this purpose it was necessary to awaken the nation, to instill in it a desire for greatness, to revive its forgotten traditions; in short, it was necessary to activate the nation’s genius. Fascism, in strengthening the state, must bring to fruition the nation’s substance and its spiritual heritage, and it can do this only in one way: by awakening the individual.

- Antanas Maceina. 🇱🇹 National Education (1934)

According to the sages of antiquity, the inability to know is true knowledge. The inability to say anything is the most wondrous language. Its source is the primordial, speechless Abyss, to which we return not only upon entering the twilight kingdom of Osiris, but also in every moment of our dreamt existence, a moment immediately swallowed by time, which reason cannot comprehend. Thus the mystery of the world transforms us into mute actors upon the stage of life, gilded idols carved by the Demiurge, moving among colorful scenery. Some are destined to laugh, for laughter is the philosophy of the gods; others are destined to weep, lest the audience grow bored. One must not insist that the spectacle of Being is meaningless. No it possesses a metaphysical meaning. Yet it is not we who choose our particular roles, nor are we the spectators of this performance.

- Algis Uždavinys. 🇱🇹 Voices from the Abyss. Literature and Art, No. 2973, (2003)

🇱🇹 Vytautas Alantas - A Marching Nation A Marching nation offers a compelling exploration of Lithuanian nationalism, culture, statehood, and identity. It examines the ideals of national unity, leadership, work ethic, youth, and cultural development. Written just before the occupation of Lithuania, the book perfectly explains and dissects the Lithuanian worldview. It's a political text for the closing of the first Lithuanian republic. I present to you a full English translation of this piece on Lithuanian identity politics from an ideologist of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union. @LithowaveArchive

The worst feature of Lithuanian social democracy is that, by dividing the already small forces of the Lithuanian nation, it seeks to set them against one another. From such fragmentation of forces, only the opponents of Lithuanian national identity can benefit. If even the mere splitting of forces already causes so much harm, then what can be said about internal struggle? And what is there, it would seem, to quarrel about? In Lithuania we have neither an aristocracy nor a wealthy capitalist class; most of the intelligentsia is born from the same people. And yet opponents are set against each other who differ only by a few hectares of land, a few cows, and so on.

- Augustinas Voldemaras. 🇱🇹 Vilnius News, No. 57 (1907)