Polish PridePOLSKA. Z BLISKA.Mikołaj Rej 1505–1569
„A niechaj narodowie wżdy postronni znają, iż Polacy nie gęsi, iż swój język mają”.
“And let foreign nations always know that Poles are not geese, that they have their own language.”
— Mikołaj Rej, Do tego, co czytał, Źwierzyniec (1562)
Rej encouraged writing in Polish, demonstrating that the native language could express ideas and experiences as fully as Latin. In Renaissance Europe, Latin remained a prestigious language of scholarship, the Church and many educated elites, even as literature in national languages was also flourishing.
These lines became a declaration of confidence in Polish: Poles have their own language and can create a literature of their own.
In a playful, literal reading, Rej separates Poles from geese — charming birds that popular sayings rarely cast as symbols of cleverness. This plays on a cultural stereotype, rather than judging the birds’ actual intelligence.
The meaning of “gęsi” in this quotation is debated. It can be read as a noun (“geese”) or an adjective referring to a “goose language”; one interpretation sees an allusion to Latin. The playful comparison with birds is therefore only one possible reading of Rej’s words.
Polish quotation: Mikołaj Rej (public domain). English translation: wording supplied for Polish Pride.
UMCS · Gęsi swój język mają? ↗Polish educational platform · Renaissance thought ↗Senate of Poland · Mikołaj Rej, father of Polish letters ↗