Romanian Poets

"[About Ştefan IV of Moldavia] He was very similar to his grandfather Stephen the Great, both in military art and in the choice of opportunities for waging war. (p. 146)"

"All men reach greatness from nothingness, but above all those who reach greatness and are unable to maintain the dignity of their high position are said to have achieved it. Pietro Rares began well, but towards the end of his career he fell to a status lower than that of a fisherman. His cruel conduct towards the country, his going to Constantinople and his fall under the feet of the sultan, as the Moldavian chronicler says, his carefree conduct in his second reign degraded him completely. (p. 151)"

"[On Ilie II Rareș] This prince was a scandal in the history of both countries, a second Elagabalus. (p. 151)"

"The Romanian people were great, purged and sanctified by the fire of suffering; and he only needed a valiant man. Michele had all the courage and all the bravery desired, he understood the character of his era, and all that remained was for him to take the necessary measures. (pp. 157-158)"

"Whoever looks at Michael sees a man who, if he had not been able to resemble the archangel Michael, would not have remained lower than Lucifer. (p. 165)"

"These are the causes that brought Michele so quickly to the edge of the precipice; he had no other friends left except his courtiers, and where there is no virtue there is no friendship. (p. 173)"

"Michel's contemporaries and posterity gave the name Valiant, but not Great, because there is no greatness where there is no justice and virtue. (p. 177)"

"If anyone were to compare the prowess and cruelties of Vlad the Impaler with those of Michael the Brave, he would see that the Impaler was cruel to purge Romania of its external enemies, to moralize it, and so that posterity would find, as Michele found, free men to defend it. Michael fought many battles and exploits with men trained by the old institutions, he breathed terror into Turkey and Transylvania, to finally deal a blow to the old institutions, believing himself to be strong, and turn every soldier's and every peasant's son into a serf. . From then on Romania no longer had soldiers, but foreign mercenaries. The Impaler prepared the era of Michael, and he prepared the era of the Bei of Phanar. The princes who succeeded him only made use of mercenaries, until, beaten by the Turks and torn apart by internal intrigues, they handed the kingdom into the hands of foreigners. (p. 178)"

"Mattia Bassarabo in a wise reign of 21 years did a lot of good for Romania; he founded schools for the Romanian, Latin and Hellenic languages; he established libraries; he built monasteries and hospitals; in short, he saved the nationality by driving the Slavic language out of the country. While the press was persecuted throughout Europe by papists as an infernal invention, Matthias introduced it into Romania, having books translated into the Romanian language printed. In addition to this he created a code of laws, and encouraged agriculture and commerce. (p. 183)"

"All we can say is that every regeneration and every reintegration is preceded by a crisis, and everything that happened from 1812 until today is nothing but a crisis, which will produce either reconstitution or death. (p. 207)"

"The Romanians supported the Orthodox religion not only with their arms and blood, but also with their assets, founding monasteries and leaving their children and descendants in poverty. The Romanians gave asylum to the Greeks after the capture of Constantinople from the Turks, and the first banner of Greek freedom was raised in Romania. The Romanians set themselves as a model for the regeneration of the neighboring peoples of the East. This is what their mission was: from republicans they became Christians, and Christianized many nations; they preserved primitive Christianity, that is, the Orthodox religion, defended and supported it. Being all Orthodox means being strong in union with each other and with the oppressed peoples of the East. Those who want to divide them through union with the Pope do nothing but sow discord and prepare ruin. The Romanians accomplished their mission in 17 centuries, and if there is a Providence, their future will be worthy of their lofty mission which they exercised for so long and with so many sacrifices. (pp. 207-208)"

"Giovanni Heliade Radulescu, Dacia and Romania. Compendium of Romanian history. Translated from Romanian and preceded by a biography of the author for Maria Stefanescu, Naples, typography of the royal academy, C.E.1876"