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3 In Searcb of -the Perfect Citizen 67

good i order, of justice and of truth” ¹. Similar requirements were madę also in MoIdavia. For example, Costache JTegruzzi, member in a commission which analyzed the situation of the school-system, urged one of the pro-fessors "to base yourself on these two high principles of every education, Te-ligion and morality. When you manage to make your pupils understand the holiness of religion, when with morał advice and counsels you manage to remove from them the vices which so easily penetrate the young hearts, then you will fulfil your mission and the requirements of the Govemement, which are to fashion good citizens, useful to the country, and you will build yourself a lasting monument in your young pupils” ².

The teachers also pleaded that religious and morał education were crur-ciał for molding the ideał citizen. It is quite difficult to define how much of this. eon viction was determined by the suggestions coming from their supe-riors and how much was genuine, but we are inclined to believe. that most teachers were sincerely persuaded by the paramount importance of religion and morality. Therefore, in the speeches delivered by teachers these two pil-lars of education were always praised, sometimes even in the disadvantage of other elements involved in the process of education: "together with the enlightenment of spirit must be filled also the heart with morality; because leaming without morality, science without virtue is like those beautiful trees >vhięh bear no fruit” ³.

The same belief was shared by the parents of the young pupils. The pa-rents and relatives often participated at school ceremonies and sometimes expnessed publicły their opinions, a? did 90 boyars and merchants from C&mpulung, who thanked professor I. Brezoianu because ''religion and morality, these twin sisters which together make the foundation of the whole society, were the first teachings which our children took from generous hands” ⁴. It seems quite surę that this idea was not only the result of official propaganda, but had been intemalized through previous lectures ⁵ and edu-catiop up to the moment when it had become a part of the mental structure of most people living in the mid-19th century.

. School had the mission to tum each pupil into a citizen. This citizen. had to be first a j(ood Christian and then a good member of society, a man who fulfills assiduously his duty towards the homeland, the authorities and his family. In all speeches the religion comes on the first place, while the other-atta.chments may change their order; despite these possible changes, no one. of the three elements (authorities-family-homeland) misses in any of the dis-courses. The ideał citizen had to be a good and obedient subject, filled with. devotion to his prince. In all speeches held in schools (excepting those delive-red by the princes themselves), the last culminating part was assigned to the loud and forceful affirmation of the loyalty to the prince and of the importance of the attachment to the princely authority. Neither the ministers*

1

   “Curierul Rom&nesc", 1841, XII, no. 30, p. 112. The discourse was republished in "Curierul Rom&nesc”, 1841, XII, no. 38, p. 1 — 3 in French.

2

   Al. Bardieru, "...A forma ceiafeni bitni folositori 'ferei. .in “Manuscriptum”, 1974, t. 45, no. 4, p. 30—31; see also: Gh. Asachi, Discurs la serbarea de deschidere a cursuri-lor Academiei din łasi, in "Albina RomS.neasc5.", 1843, XV, no. 83, p. 329.

3

   ^M Ol tul", 1857, I, no. 18, p. 72.

4

^u "Vestitorul Rom&nesc”, 1845, no. 64, p. 254.

5

¹⁸ See: Alexandru Du{u, Cdrftle de infelepciune in culłura romand, Bucure§ti, 1972 ..