Postil of Mikalojus Daukša

The Catholic Postil, That Is a Lay Out of Gospels for Every Week and Feast of the Entire Year (modern Lithuanian: Postila katolicka, tai esti išguldymas evangelijų kiekvienos nedėlios ir šventės per visus metus, original Lithuanian: Postilla catholicka, tái est Ižguldimas ewangeliu kiekwienos nedelos ir szwętes per wissús metús) was a collection of Roman Catholic sermons and Bible commentaries (postil) by Jakub Wujek translated from Polish to Lithuanian by Mikalojus Daukša and first published in 1599.

[2] After the Council of Trent (1545–1563), the Roman Catholic Church religious texts in native languages to combat the Protestant Reformation.

Jakub Wujek, rector of the Jesuit Academy in Vilnius, published two postils in Polish – a larger one in 1573–1575 and a smaller in 1579–1580.

[12] In the 19th century, Daukša and his texts became firmly established as key developments in the history of the Lithuanian language and started attracting academic interest.

[12] Stanevičius and later bishop Motiejus Valančius raised the issue of republishing the Catholic Postil in full,[12] but the work was started by Eduards Volters only in 1898.

[21] Even though both Merkelis and Daukša were members of the clergy, the dedication does not reference the Bible or the popes and instead draws parallels with the Classical Antiquity.

Those "others" have been interpreted to refer to the Protestants showcasing Daukša's tolerance and concern for the Lithuanian language which surpassed religious differences.

[22] The postil is mainly known and valued for its Polish dedication to the reader which is part of the secondary school curriculum in Lithuania.

In a typical Barque fashion, the sermons frequently discuss the pitiful temporary nature of every material thing, including the human body and life.

The sermons support feudal society and argue for unconditional obedience both to good and bad rulers as both were given their power by God.

[34] Therefore, there is a marked difference between the dedications (Daukša's original works that show clear influence of Renaissance and humanism) and the translated sermons that are more medieval.

It appears that church officials wanted a faithful copy of Wujek's postil which they considered well suited for the Counter-Reformation.

Daukša paid particular attention to provide synonyms to enrich the reader and to appease speakers of different Lithuanian dialects.

[37] When a Lithuanian equivalent was not available, Daukša preferred internationalisms based on Latin or Greek over loanwords from Slavic languages.

[40] He often chose stronger and more expressive words than the Polish original to strengthen the emotional impact, to make the language more dynamic.

In the process, some saints or Biblical figures lost some of their otherworldliness and acquired features familiar to local Lithuanians.

[46] While these letters are part of the standard modern Lithuanian, they were forgotten and then re-imported from texts published in East Prussia.