Edgar Quinet: „Va exista o Românie...” sau despre cuvântul care apără o națiune
Edgar Quinet: "There will be a Romania ..." or the word that defends a nation

Summary/Abstract: The contribution of the Coryphaeus triad from the Collège de France: Quinet-Michelet-Mickiewicz to the creation of the revolutionary consciousness of the elite of young Romanians studying in France in the mid-nineteenth century was recognized both by researchers in the Romanian space (T.G. Djuvara, J. Breazu, N. Iorga, D. Berindei), as well as foreign (L. Richer, A. Jianu, C. Durandin). The decisive presence of Romanians in his life, intertwined with the concern for the right of peoples to assert their national identity and European unity, may explain the assumption by Edgar Quinet of the task of pleading the cause of this people, by publishing “Les Roumains” (in Revue des Deux Mondes, 1856, January 15th and March 1st). The exegetes, not very numerous, who studied this work, are unanimous in appreciating its opportune character in relation to the decisive historical moment for the Romanians. Our paper presents and analyzes the ideas formulated by Edgar Quinet about the Romanian language - a defining component of the Romanian identity. The author not only argues the language community of the Romanian people with French, Spanish and Italian peoples, but also discusses current issues related to the Romanian language, such as the elimination of Slavic elements and the use of loans from related languages. A vibrant advocacy for the establishment of Romanians as an independent nation based on the arguments offered by their past and those related to the progress of history, Edgar Quinet's work must be inscribed along with the contributions of the time to the modern evolution of the Romanian language.

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