Stanislovas Dagilis

He graduated from the Saint Petersburg Historical and Philological Institute which prepared teachers for Russian gymnasiums. For 21 years, until 1894, Dagilis taught classical languages at a gymnasium in Sumy (present-day Ukraine). Despite the long distance and isolation from other Lithuanian activists, Dagilis joined the Lithuanian National Revival. He contributed articles on Lithuanian topics to Russian press, joined the Lithuanian Literary Society, wrote and translated poetry (most notably the narrative poem Konrad Wallenrod by Adam Mickiewicz). After retiring from teaching, he returned to Lithuania and continued to be active in Lithuanian cultural life. He supported and mentored local youth, collected samples of Lithuanian folk songs, published edited hymnal for the Evangelical Reformed Church in 1910. He died of cancer in 1915.

• Name — Stanislovas Dagilis • Born — 17 March 1843 • Birthplace — Mažutiškiai, Russian Empire • Died — 19 December 1915 • Place of death — Biržai, Russian Empire • Occupation — Teacher, translator, poet • Notable Works — Lietuviškas šiupinys • Awards — Order of Saint Anna Order of Saint Stanislaus • Education — Saint Petersburg Historical and Philological Institute • Relatives — Jonas Yčas (nephew) Martynas Yčas (nephew) • Movement — Lithuanian National Revival

Dagilis was born on in Mažutiškiai north of Biržai to a family of serfs which belonged to Parovėja Manor. His family were members of the Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed Church and worked 33 desiatinas of land. He was the oldest child (he had four younger sisters) and thus was expected to inherit the farm. He attended a primary school in Biržai. His musical talents were noticed by the parish superintendent Konstantinas Močiulskis. At the age of 18, Dagilis was sent to study organ music in Kėdainiai so he could work as a church organist. However, he was bright and quickly picked up Russian, geography, arithmetic from roommates. This allowed him to enroll into the third grade of Kėdainiai Gymnasium which was maintained by the Evangelical Reformed Church. The school was closed a year later due to the Uprising of 1863. Dagilis then transferred to Slutsk Gymnasium which was maintained by the Evangelical Reformed Church. The school focused on humanities, particularly on the classical antiquity, its languages, literature, and history. It is likely that Dagilis received a stipend from the church, but he still struggled financially. According to his nephew Martynas Yčas, Dagilis traveled for three weeks on foot to Slutsk as he could not afford a carriage. Upon graduation from the gymnasium, Dagilis continued his education at the Saint Petersburg Historical and Philological Institute which prepared teachers for Russian gymnasiums. The institute provided free tuition and board in exchange for at least six years working as a teacher.

Dagilis graduated from the institute in 1873 and obtained a job teaching Latin and Greek languages at the Oleksandrivska Male Gymnasium (Sumy) in Sumy (present-day Ukraine). Despite the long distance and isolation from other Lithuanian activists, Dagilis joined the Lithuanian National Revival. He contributed articles on Lithuanian topics to Russian press. In 1881, he joined the Lithuanian Literary Society established in East Prussia to study the Lithuanian language. Daigilis sent the society a selection of 23 Lithuanian folk songs that were sung in the Biržai region. In 1894, after 21 years at the Sumy Gymnasium, Dagilis retired due to hearing loss with an annual pension of 588 rubles. For his teaching, he was awarded the Order of Saint Anna (3rd degree in 1884) and Order of Saint Stanislaus (3rd degree in 1881 and 2nd degree in 1891).

Dagilis returned to Lithuania and settled in Biržai. Due to progressing hearing loss, he avoided public gatherings, but his home was visited by various Lithuanian intellectuals, including Povilas Jakubėnas and Mykolas Kuprevičius. Dagilis owned a large personal library which he allowed others to use. It included rare Lithuanian books, including the Postil of Jonas Bretkūnas (1591). The library was lost during World War I. He interacted with, financially supported, and became a mentor of local youth. In particular, he looked after the future poets Julius Janonis and Kazys Binkis. He helped his nephews Jonas Yčas and Martynas Yčas obtain an education. Around 1896–1897, Dagilis organized a choir and held practice in his apartment after mass on Sunday. However, after several years, he had to give it up due to his hearing loss. Other sources claim that he organized the choir in 1908 which became the basis for the cultural Lyra Society. The society staged amateur theater performances and was active until 1915. During summers in 1902–1907, Dagilis and Konstantinas Galkauskas toured villages and recorded Lithuanian folk songs. In December 1909, Dagilis became a member of the Lithuanian Scientific Society. Dagilis spent about seven years editing the hymnal of the Evangelical Reformed Church which was published in 1910. In 1909, Dagilis became one of the co-founders of a four-year school in Biržai which was initiated by Povilas Jakubėnas. In 1912, Dagilis became one of the co-founders of the Biržai Printing Press which was initiated by his nephew Martynas Yčas. He also wanted to establish a charitable society for mutual aid, but it was carried out due to disagreements with the Evangelical Reformed Church.

Dagilis is best known for poetry translations to Lithuanian. He translated works of Adam Mickiewicz (Konrad Wallenrod, Trzech Budrysów, Pan Tadeusz), Władysław Syrokomla (Urodzony Jan Dęboróg translated as Lietuva), Alexander Pushkin (excerpts from Eugene Onegin), Ivan Nikitin, Aleksey Koltsov, Mikhail Lermontov (The Angel, Three Palms), Gavrila Derzhavin, Friedrich Schiller, Aleksey Koltsov. Dagilis translated works that varied in genre and style and, unlike many other contemporary Lithuanian translations, remained true to the originals and avoided Lithuanizing them. His most popular and well received translation was that of Konrad Wallenrod. Dagilis published four volumes of poetry titled Lietuviškas šiupinys. The first 16-page booklet was published in 1884 by the Mauderode Printing Press in Tilsit. Expanded to 48 pages and corrected, it was republished in 1906 in Riga. This edition included 24 translated works and Joninės Parovėjos karčemoj, an original poem by Dagilis. The second 27-page booklet was published in 1891 by Martynas Jankus in Tilsit. This publication included the first half of the translation of Konrad Wallenrod. Expanded to 66 pages, this publication was republished by Martynas Kukta in 1910 in Vilnius. This edition included the full translation of Konrad Wallenrod.

Dagilis published very little of original poetry: • A quatrain about home printed on the cover of Lietuviškas šiupinys in 1884. It became popular and was added to school curriculum in interwar Lithuania. • Skaitytojui is a rhymed introduction to the reader of Lietuviškas šiupinys in 1884 • Čiūčia liūlia, varguolėli is a peculiar lullaby with religious moralization • Artojui is an idyll about nature • Joninės Parovėjos karčemoj is a humorous and playful poem about youth celebrating the Saint Jonas's Festival in Parovėja inn. It is most popular of Dagilis's poems. It was adapted into a song by Vytautas Kernagis. He also wrote a few poems following examples of other authors, including Adam Asnyk and Friedrich Schiller. Dagilis's poetry reflects village life and belongs to literary realism. Dagilis's poetry was influenced by Adam Mickiewicz. He, in turn, influenced poets Julius Janonis and Kazys Binkis.

The 6th edition of the official hymnal of the Evangelical Reformed Church was published in 1910. It has 348 pages and 214 hymns. It was last substantially revised in 1877. Dagilis spent about seven years editing the hymnal. He removed about 100 hymns, newly retranslated some hymns from Polish or German, borrowed other hymns from Prussian Lithuanians. Dagilis edited remaining hymns to modernize the Lithuanian language, remove barbarisms, improve the verse, etc. He also suggested printing the hymnal not in the traditional blackletter script, but in the Latin typeface. Such modernization efforts were met with reluctance from the older members of the congregation. A new hymnal edited by Adomas Šernas was published in 1942, but Dagilis' hymnal continued to be used by the church until it made Šernas' work the official hymnal in 1986. Dagilis also added an introductory article, a rather detailed historiography of the Evangelical Reformed Church. Some hymns were edited by Jonas Šepetys, Povilas Jakubėnas, and Adomas Cumftas. Dagilis employed Julius Janonis as his assistant; Janonis helped copy the texts.

Dagilis published tow articles in Aušra, the first Lithuanian periodical for Lithuania proper. He published a study on Lithuanian written works in 1884. This article reflected romantic nationalism: Dagilis searched for pre-Christian Lithuanian runes and attempted to showcase pagan Lithuanian culture as equal to other European cultures. This articles was particularly well regarded by Juozas Tumas. In an article on poetry in 1886, he discussed differences between prose and verse and their relationship with reality and emotions. He praised the poem The Forest of Anykščiai by Antanas Baranauskas. It is considered the first Lithuanian text on theoretical aspects of poetry. While living in Sumy, Dagilis contributed articles on Lithuanian cultural topics to Russian periodicals, including Golos (ethnographic article on Lithuanians), Russkiy Vestnik (1856–1906) (on Christmas), Sovremennye Izvestiya (examples of Lithuanian proverbs), and Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti (short local news). Dagilis published articles in Draugija (in response to criticism of his translations of Konrad Wallenrod by Petras Kriaučiūnas) and Vilniaus žinios. He also collaborated in Pasiuntinys (1911–1913) and Biržų kalendorius (1911–1915) which were published by the Evangelical Reformed Church.