L’héritage de Maiorescu
The Legacy of Maiorescu

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to Titu Maiorescu (1840–1917), literary critic, philosopher, professor, poli­ti­cian, founding member of the Romanian Academy, the man who gave Romanian culture the shape and structure it exhibits even today. He was also the spiritual mentor of the Junimea (Youth) cultural association. The author outlines the methods employed by Maiorescu in his attempt to synchronize Romanian culture with that of Western Europe. At the core of the study lies the concept of “forms without substance” (1868), Maiorescu’s original contribution to the philosophy of culture, describing, in organicist-evolutionist terms, the crisis experienced by Romanian society following the hasty and indiscriminate imitation of Western models. In order to achieve a balance between European forms and European substance, contended Maiorescu, the imitation of Western structures should be selective and proceed at a slower pace. Highlighting one of the consequences of the hasty imitation of Western structures, the fracture between the upper classes and the commoners, Maiorescu formulated what the author calls his ethical-political imperative: the obligation of the upper classes to pursue knowledge and to do their utmost to elevate the lower classes to the level of the already imported forms. The author presents the long-term influences of Maiorescu’s ideas, over five generations of followers.

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