Ares

*excerpts THE SOPHISTICATED PEASANTS The Romanians are a social phenomenon. As a nation among nations, they are westerners evolved in the East. They are Latins surrounded by Slavs. They are Romans two thousand years away from Rome. They are contemporaries re-produced on

excerpt It is said about Maiorescu that he did not really think Romanian scientific and philosophic creation possible, reckoning that the nervous cell is not strong enough. We do not know whether this statement is true or merely fabrication. The fact remains that it is

Chapter XII. The Current [1907] Psychological Traits of the Romanian PeopleAll foreigners that visited the Romanian countries were unpleasantly struck by the negative traits of our character. They don't care, says Mr. X. Marmier, for the name of their master. What they

historian In truth, Romanian society has a strong left-wing bent. A complete turnaround compared with the situation extant before communism. At that time, Romania inclined to the right, because it was a country of landowners, big and small (in particular peasants). Communism

excerpts There are quite a few psychological complexes which seem to shape nowadays the popular, maybe even intellectual mentalities and to badly distort people's behavior, as well as their political judgments. It won't hurt pointing our finger at them, speaking

In Bucharest, people are pleased to hear [the comparison with] 'Little Paris'. The city has definitely distanced itself from its Oriental tinge, but despite the trendy attire, the temperament and outlook have remained unchanged. Men are articulate and think fast;

 I must admit I didn't quite understand in the beginning why, shortly after 1989, the Western mass-media has so hastily labeled us as suffering from a deep identity crisis. I was downright indignant: after having sadistically experimented Communism on us for half

excerpt It's lunch time. Instinctively, I make for Calea Victoriei, where this hour is set for the fashionable to meet between the Royal Palace and [Elisabeta] Boulevard, as on rue Vivienne during the Restoration. The beautiful shops that border the narrow sidewalks

Noticing boulevards, gardens, big buildings in Bucharest, a Frenchman sees here a smaller Paris. Despite this, the impression stems from a fallacious reasoning. The pluvial gray of Paris, the refined baroque, the typical crowding of thousands of flues above the attics have

Chapter VIII – The vocation of Romanians1. Expressions through which a people demonstrates its calling2. Misguidance in the study of Romanian vocation3. Characteristics of Romanian culture in the past4. Romanian reality as opposing Europeanization5. Emphasizing individual

Chapter IX. The Romanians' Religion and CultureIt has been said and very often repeated that the Christian church and religion saved our nation and country from destruction. This is a statement too often made and too little controlled. With as much grounds one may state

Maiden Speech at the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 1940excerpts Gentlemen of the Academy,Honorable Audience, I am elected to a newly-established institution, and I wish to preserve the academic tradition of lauding a forerunner, therefore I feel obliged to come forward with