Swietochowski, Aleksander

Born Jan. 18, 1849, in Stoczek Podlaski; died Apr. 25, 1938, in Gołodczyzna. Polish writer and publicist.

From 1866 to 1870, Świętochowski attended the Main School in Warsaw. He was the leading exponent of positivism, a liberal trend in Polish social thought that helped establish realism in Polish literature. From 1870 to 1878 he contributed to Przegląd Tygodniowy, the organ of the movement. His publicist articles and treatises, for example, Reflections of a Pessimist (1876), exhibit philosophical positivism, rationalist ethics, and free thought. His plays, which include the trilogy Immortal Souls (1876–89), assail feudal tyranny and colonial violence. In his short stories, Ŝwiętochowski defended humanism and condemned national intolerance, for example, in the collection For Life (1879).