Matas Grubliauskas (Vilnius University Library, Lithuanian Culture Research Institute, Lithuania)
“You lie,” “Make a note,” “It seems applicable to Bohemians,” and “The Polish downfall”—these are just a few of the inscriptions left in the margins of the old Vilnius University library books. Such inscriptions not only help us to identify the relationship between a book and its owner and reader, but also shed light on the most pressing issues and ideas of the microsociety and macrosociety of the time. By studying the marginalia, today’s Polish scholars are already recording new and corrective statements about the specifics of political thought at the time. Such research reveals a much more marginal and problematic cultural space at the time. In Lithuanian scholarship, the political views of statesmen and intellectuals have been mainly reconstructed from official documents, journalistic works, and students’ lecture notes. Due to the specificity of these works, the aspect of spontaneous thought and individual thinking, manifested in personal inscriptions intended only for oneself and not for the public, is usually lost. The library maintained by the Jesuits was enriched on numerous occasions, with personal libraries bequeathed to the nobility and political elite of the GDL. Naturally, most of the newly acquired books were of a secular and political nature. From the end of the 17th century onwards, especially when a course on politics was introduced at the University, Jesuit professors inevitably had to browse, read and mark up such books in preparation for lectures in the course. Aristotle’s Politics was the foremost authority for the Jesuits. We believe that the inscriptions left in the margins and in the text of this and other works on politics may reveal new aspects of reading culture and political thought in Jesuit culture.