Eugeniu Sperantia ( – January 11/12, 1972) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n poet, aesthetician, essayist, sociologist and philosopher. He was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

to folklorist

Theodor Speranția Theodor Dimitrie Speranția (; born Theodor Dimitrie Nădejde ; May 4, 1856 – March 9, 1929) was a Romanian playwright, humorist, folklorist and journalist. Born in Deleni, Iași County, his father was D. Nădejde, a Romanian Orthodox deacon; ...

and his wife Elena (''née'' Cruceanu), a relative of poet

Mihail Cruceanu Mihail Cruceanu (December 13, 1887 – July 7, 1988) was a Romanian poet. He was born in Iași to Mihail Cruceanu, a doctor, and his wife Ecaterina (''née'' Petrovanu). He attended high school in Ploiești and Pitești, earning his degree in ...

. He attended primary and high school in his native city, graduating in 1906. That year, he made his published debut, in

Ovid Densusianu Ovid Densusianu (; also known under his pen name Ervin; 29 December 1873, Făgăraș – 9 June 1938, Bucharest) was a Romanian poet, philologist, linguist, folklorist, literary historian and critic, chief of a poetry school, university professor ...

's '' Vieața Nouă''. Prior to that, he had frequented

Alexandru Macedonski Alexandru Macedonski (; also rendered as Al. A. Macedonski, Macedonschi or Macedonsky; 14 March 1854 – 24 November 1920) was a Romanian poet, novelist, dramatist and literary critic, known especially for having promoted French Symbolism (arts ...

's circle. In 1910, he graduated from the philosophy faculty of the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

. Two years later, he received a doctorate in literature and philosophy; his thesis dealt with pragmatic apriorism. He took specialty courses in Germany from 1913 to 1914. A high school teacher from the time he was still a student, Sperantia was dispatched to the newly acquired

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

province in the wake of World War I, serving as director of higher education for

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

(1919–1921), professor at the

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

law academy (1929–1934) and professor of sociology and philosophy of law at the

University of Cluj A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

(1934–1949). He contributed poems and articles to ''

Flacăra ''Flacăra'' (Romanian for "The Flame") is a weekly literary magazine published in Bucharest, Romania. History and profile ''Flacăra'' was started in 1911. The first issue was published on 22 October 1911. The founder was Constantin Banu and t ...

'', ''Vieața Nouă'', ''Cele trei Crișuri'', ''Românul literar'', ''Revista celorlalți'', ''Farul'', ''Revue Roumaine'', '' Luceafărul'', ''Gând românesc'', ''

Gândirea ''Gândirea'' ("The Thinking"), known during its early years as ''Gândirea Literară - Artistică - Socială'' ("The Literary - Artistic - Social Thinking"), was a Romanian literary, political and art magazine. Overview Founded by Cezar P ...

'', ''Steaua'' and '' Familia'', sometimes using the pen names Eugenius, Genică, Corina Lazzariny, Victor Olimp, Victor Spoială, Victor Talpă and Cerchez. Sperantia was an early participant in the local Symbolist movement, drawing praise from Macedonski, Densusianu and

Gheorghe Bogdan-Duică Gheorghe Bogdan-Duică (born Gheorghe Bogdan; –September 21, 1934) was an Imperial Austrian-born Romanian literary critic. The son of a poor merchant family from Brașov, he attended several universities before launching a career as a critic, f ...

. Hailed, at the same time, by

Constantin Rădulescu-Motru Constantin Rădulescu-Motru (; born Constantin Rădulescu, he added the surname ''Motru'' in 1892; February 15, 1868 – March 6, 1957) was a Romanian philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, logician, academic, dramatist, as well as Left-win ...

for his contributions to philosophy and sociology, he was a professor shaped in the spirit of

Titu Maiorescu Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Culture of Romania, Romanian culture in ...

's school. His published books include collections of Symbolist poems (''Zvonuri din necunoscut'', 1921; ''Pasul umbrelor și al veciei'', 1930,

Romanian Writers' Society The Romanian Writers' Society () was a professional association based in Bucharest, Romania, that aided the country's writers and promoted their interests. Founded in 1909, it operated for forty years before the early Communist Romania, communist re ...

prize; ''Sus'', 1939), a novel (''Casa cu nalbă'', 1916), aesthetic studies (''Frumosul ca înaltă suferință'', 1921; ''"Papillons" de Schumann'', 1934,

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...

prize), memoirs (''Figuri universitare'', 1967; ''Amintiri din lumea literară'', 1967), short biographies of musicians, philosophical essays, studies of psychology (''Psihologia gândirii'', 1922) and of philosophy of law (''Principii fundamentale de filosofie juridică'', 1936). Sperantia helped develop

erotetics Erotetics or erotetic logic is a part of logic, devoted to logical analysis of questions. It is sometimes called the logic of questions and answers. Overview The idea was originally developed by Richard Whately. For example, he noted the ambiguity ...

with a "Projet d'une "logique du problème".E. Sperantia (1936) "Remarques sur les propositions interrogatives". Projet d'une "logique du problème", ''Actes du Congrès International de Philosophie Scientifique'', VII Logique, Paris, pp. 18–28. A member of the Romanian Writers' Society from 1916, as well as of international associations for legal philosophers and sociologists, he took part in numerous congresses abroad. He also undertook a prodigious cultural activity in Transylvania in the first years after the war. A scholar of multiple disciplines with an encyclopedic spirit, Sperantia forms part of Romania's humanist tradition.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 592. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. He reached the retirement age in 1949, early in the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

. This took place after he had undergone a concerted series of attacks during the preceding several years, both from committed Bolsheviks and from the opportunists who had turned to Marxism overnight.

Dan Dungaciu Dan Gheorghe Dungaciu (born 3 October 1968) is a Romanian sociologist and geopolitician. Biography He was born in Târgu Mureș. He graduated from the University of Bucharest in 1995 and received his Ph.D. in 2002. He is a professor at the Fac ...

, ''Elita Interbelică: Sociologia românească în context european'', p. 324-25. Bucharest: Editura Mica Valahie, 2011.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sperantia, Eugeniu 1888 births 1972 deaths Writers from Bucharest University of Bucharest alumni Academic staff of Babeș-Bolyai University Romanian schoolteachers 20th-century Romanian philosophers Romanian sociologists Romanian biographers Romanian male biographers Symbolist poets Philosophers of law 20th-century Romanian poets 20th-century Romanian novelists Romanian male poets Romanian male novelists Romanian male essayists 20th-century Romanian essayists 20th-century Romanian male writers 20th-century Romanian memoirists