Romania

excerpts Chapter IIISolitude Generally, the Romanian folk poetry shows a tendency toward an ideal and transparent world, which is full of serenity. The frequency of the optimistic motifs proves to what extent it would be good to know this surface only, but an inner disquiet

Ancientness is also confirmed by our energetic fatalism (which is not at all an Oriental aspect). Newer peoples are more stirred by desires, the achievement of which will barely endure, whereas Romanians cultivate a sound skepticism toward any pointless undertaking. New

I don't know how it happened, but I have been hearing lately, in various contexts, the well-known adage of our Mioritic fatalism. The meaning was approximately the same every time: nothing is done and nothing can be done because the Romanian is a fatalist, resigned,

excerpts We have wondered many times if it is possible to find or to hypothetically build a matrix-space, or an unconscious spatial horizon, as an underlying spiritual layer for the Romanian folk culture anonymous creations. The subject is worth the risk of any and all

In Miorita I believe I could see the force of Romanianism, not only in transfiguring the brutality and coarseness of history, but also in opposing it the refuge in splendor. by N. Steinhardt

Chapter X. The Influence of Physical Factors. The Climate and the Geographical Position The crystalline atmosphere that envelops the Carpathian Mountains and the hills of Oltenia and Moldavia resembles perfectly the atmosphere from the mountains and hills of Florence. Wallachia's

Many are the peoples that crossed the land over which Romania extends today. They left their mark in ancient Dacia, Moesia and Thrace, in the Greek colonies, Roman provinces, and Byzantine themes. The indigenous populations blended with the newcomers and produced a Romance

The esthetic appreciation of the external aspect of the Romanian imposed a non-differential consideration of the two sexes. However, the image of man has usually been in the foreground. To balance things, the numerous descriptions of Romanian women must be reminded. The

excerpt The authentic, unaltered Romanian population is to be found especially in the mountains of Transylvania. These vigorous mountain people, so beautiful in their lively colored national costumes, are very interesting in the eyes of those who want to study the customs

Romanian bravery is neither a musketeer's, nor itinerant (like the Western knights'), or quixotic; it does not take initiatives: a typical example is [Mircea the Elder's battle against the Turks at] Nikopol. I do not attack, I defend myself; I do not tease,

The obvious indifference of the Romanian peasant to the neighboring peoples stems from the instinct that these are more or less recent. Our physical typology is altogether different from that of neighboring and Central-European peoples. If we have some affinities with meridional

Foreword The few words that I put as motto at the beginning of this book can be translated like this: God must have had a hidden plan for this people that the western states rediscovered on the banks of the Danube and adopted like Pharaoh's daughter adopted Moses.