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Adamantios Korais

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Βίος Ἀδαμαντίου Κοραῆ Συγγραφεὶς παρὰ τοῦ ἰδίου [The Life of Adamantios Korais by his own hand], printed in Paris in 1833 by K. Eberhard Printworks. This edition includes a lithograph depicting his bust and a copy of the inscription on his grave.

Rare and Valuable Books Collection, ΒΕΙ*-616

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Σάλπισμα Πολεμιστήριον [Military Trumpet], pseudonymous work by Adamantios Korais, with Alexandria as the place of publication but in reality printed in Paris in 1801; the title page and the frontispiece with an engraving that depicts enslaved Greece.

Rare and Valuable Books Collection, ΝΦ-1009-X

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Σάλπισμα Πολεμιστήριον. Appel aux Grecs [Military Trumpet. Appeal to the Greeks], the French translation of the work Σάλπισμα Πολεμιστήριον [Military Trumpet] by Adamantios Korais and the Proclamation by Dimitrios Ypsilantis printed in Paris in July 1821; the title page and the frontispiece with a copy of a depiction of enslaved Greece from the 1801 edition.

Rare and Valuable Books Collection, ΝΦ-1010-E

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Dei delitti e delle pene [Concerning Crimes and Punishments], by Cesare Beccaria, first published in Livorno in 1764, here the Venice edition of 1781; the title page and the frontispiece with a depiction of Justice.

Rare and Valuable Books Collection, ΝΟΜ-153

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Περὶ Ἁμαρτημάτων, καὶ Ποινῶν, πολιτικῶς θεωρουμένων [Concerning Crimes, and Punishments, from a political point of view] a translation of Cesare Beccaria’s work by Adamantios Korais, which was printed in Paris in 1802 by Baudelot et Eberhart; the title page.

Rare and Valuable Books Collection, ΝΟΜ-161

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Περὶ Ἀδικημάτων καὶ Ποινῶν [Concerning Crimes and Punishments], edited version of the 1802 work by Adamantios Korais, printed in Paris in 1823 by Firmin-Didot Frères, Fils, et Cie; the title page.

Rare and Valuable Books Collection, ΝΟΜ-162

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A document from the Secretariat of Ecclesiastical Affairs and Public Education of the Kingdom of Greece to the Ephor of the Public Library regarding books to be sent to schools around the country, dated 21 August 1837 and signed by Anastasios Polyzoidis.

Catalogues of books received by the libraries of Ellinika schools in Hydra, Chalkida and Aigion. The work by Cesare Beccaria translated by Korais is among them.

Historical Service Archive of the National Library of Greece, Multiples Warehouse, Correspondence (1834-1841)

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Mémoire sur l’état actuel de la civilisation dans la Grèce [Report on the present state of civilization in Greece], by Adamantios Korais, which was first published in Paris in 1803, here the reprint of 1818; the title page.

Rare and Valuable Books Collection, ΙΣΤ-2584-X

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Ὑπόμνημα Περὶ τῆς Παρούσης Καταστάσεως τοῡ Πολιτισμοῡ ἐν Ἑλλάδι [Report on the present state of civilization in Greece], translation of the work by Adamantios Korais titled Mémoire sur l’état actuel de la civilisation dans la Grèce by Anastasios Konstantinidis, printed in Athens in 1853 by C. Nikolaidis Filadelfefs; the title page.

Rare and Valuable Books Collection, ΙΣΤ*-2585

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The Notebook II (1820) of the journal Μέλισσα ἢ Ἐφημερὶς Ἑλληνική [Bee or Greek Journal], with a reprint by Konstantinos Nikolopoulos of the afterword to Mémoire sur l’état de la civilisation en Grèce [Report on the present state of civilization in Greece] by Adamantios Korais and the Regulation of Société des Observateurs de l’Homme [Society of Observers of Man]. The publication extolls Korais as a “great friend of poor Greece” and attacks his rivals; the title page and page 179.

Rare and Valuable Books Collection, Π 1518

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Unsigned article titled “Whence the contemporary discord among scholars? Against the slander by N. Doukas and S. Kommitas, that Korais attacks Greek education and language”, published in the seventh issue (1 April 1821) of the journal Ἑρμῆς ὁ Λόγιος [Learned Hermes] which defended the views of Korais and attacked the disputes between scholars; pages 238-239.

Rare and Valuable Books Collection, Π 1157

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The passport of Petros Ipitis, who was sent by Dimitrios Ypsilantis on a tour of numerous European capitals (among them London, Paris and Amsterdam) in order to secure material and moral support to the Struggle by political and spiritual actors abroad. Seals and notes from the cities he visited during the first month of the Revolution are clearly visible.

Ipitis Archive, Η I ΙΑ 5

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Letter from Dimitrios Ypsilantis dated 1 April 1821: “Expatriate friends who live in enlightened Europe […]  don your armours and run wherever Ipitis the Physician wants to lead you. Those of you who cannot avenge with your hands and help the Fatherland, contribute with weapons, with monies or with anything else in your power”. The seal on red wax with the Ypsilantis family coat of arms is visible on the letter.

Ipitis Archive, Η143

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Letter from Dimitrios Ypsilantis to Adamantios Korais, dated 1 April 1821, asking him to support the Greek cause in Europe and acknowledging his contribution to the preparation of the Struggle: “Greetings, Wise Elder and common Father of the Greeks […] Your Greeks now confront the Ottomans […] inspired by You, we stormed against them throughout Greece and abroad”.

Ipitis Archive, Η146

It is impossible to form a virtuous and legal state without courts that are just, because the courts in an illegitimate state are also illegitimate..

Adamantios Korais

Adamantios Korais, using the penname Ἀτρόμητος ὁ ἐκ Μαραθῶνος [Fearless of Marathon], published the work Σάλπισμα Πολεμιστήριον [Military Trumpet],  in 1801 in Paris –and not in Alexandria, as written on the title page– linking the Greek call for liberation from the Ottoman rule with Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt. The frontispiece features an engraving that depicts enslaved Greece as a woman in ragged attire, with her hands raised in supplication while the Ottoman oppressor stands beside her. In July 1821, with the Revolution in full force in Greece, the French translation of the work was published in Paris with the title Σάλπισμα Πολεμιστήριον. Appel aux Grecs  [Military Trumpet. Appeal to the Greeks] . In December 1821, Korais published a reprint of his work from 1801.

In 1802, Korais translated Cesare Beccaria’s work Dei delitti e delle pene  under the title Περὶ Ἁμαρτημάτων, καὶ Ποινῶν, πολιτικῶς θεωρουμένων  [Concerning Crimes, and Punishments, the political ones]   and dedicated it “To the newly founded Greek Septinsular Republic”. In 1823 he published an edited version of this edition using the new title Περὶ Ἀδικημάτων καὶ Ποινῶν [Concerning Crimes, and Punishments] and the dedication “To the future Judges of the Greeks” . The translation of Beccaria’s work by Korais is also included in the series of publications in the “Deposit of Books” which opened in 1829 in the building of the Aegina Orphanage and the libraries that were founded “in each of the public schools of the state” according to an edict of 1835.

On 6 January 1803, from the platform of the Société des Observateurs de l’Homme [Society of Observers of Man] Korais read his speech in French titled Mémoire sur l'état actuel de la civilisation dans la Grèce  [Report on the present state of civilization in Greece] about the state of education in Greece. The text was published that year and reprinted by Korais in 1818, with the initial publication date . The Greek translation by Anastasios Konstantinidis was published in Athens in 1853 under the title Ὑπόμνημα Περὶ τῆς Παρούσης Καταστάσεως τοῦ Πολιτισμοῦ ἐν Ἑλλάδι [Report on the present state of civilization in Greece] .

The views expressed by Korais featured largely in articles written for journals of the pre-revolutionary period. For example, the article by Konstantinos Nikolopoulos in Μέλισσα [Bee] in 1820, where the afterword to the Mémoire by Korais is reprinted, as well as the unsigned article in the journal Ἑρμῆς ὁ Λόγιος [Learned Hermes] in 1821, which defended Korais and his views regarding education in Greece and the Greek language.

During the years of the Struggle, Petros Ipitis, member of Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends) and personal physician of Alexandros Ypsilantis, travelled to various cities of Europe, as depicted on his passport,  in order to establish communication with political and intellectual figures abroad and to secure their support. He also had a proclamation for the Greeks in Europe  and a letter by Dimitrios Ypsilantis to Adamantios Korais, dating from April 1821, with the characteristic address: “Greetings, Wise Elder and common Father of the Greeks […] Proclaim with your stentorian voice to the wise nations on earth the greatness of our rights”.

Exhibits