BOHOMOLEC, FRANCISZEK

born Jan. 29, 1720, near Vitebsk, Pol. died April 24, 1784, Warsaw Jesuit priest, editor, and linguist; a prominent dramatist of the Enlightenment in Poland. After completing his studies in Rome for the Jesuit priesthood, Bohomolec taught in Warsaw and began to adapt comedies of Carlo Goldoni and Molire for performance by his pupils. His early works satirized the ignorance and folly of the Polish aristocracy. He wrote a number of other plays for a wider public, such as Malzenstwo z kalendarza (1766; Marriage by the Calendar), which ridicules ignorance and superstition and is usually considered his best work, and Czary (1774; Sorcery), also satirizing superstition. Pan dobry (1767; The Good Lord) is a social commentary on the relationship between the peasants and gentry. For the last 20 years of his life Bohomolec edited the magazine Monitor, which greatly contributed to the Enlightenment in Poland. It was modeled on the famed Tatler and Spectator of England and was one of the first modern periodicals in Poland. His works in Latin include a study of the Polish colloquial tongue.