Work · Empiricism, Enlightenment & Liberalism
Life and Adventures
An autobiography, its second part in the form of letters, describing the author’s flight from the monastery and travels through Europe as an education in reason and tolerance.
Introduction
Obradović published the first part of his autobiography in Leipzig in 1783, preceded by the “Letter to Haralampije”, in which he explained why he wrote in the language of the people; the second part followed in 1788. The first part tells of his childhood in the Banat, his early piety, his entry into the monastery of Hopovo and his flight from it; the second, written as letters, follows his travels through the Mediterranean and Europe. The book is at once confession, travel account and programme of education: the young monk’s escape from the monastery becomes an argument for reason, learning and useful work, and against superstition and blind obedience. Written in a style close to spoken Serbian, it is regarded as a founding work of modern Serbian prose and has remained a school classic.
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