Petar Petrovic Njegos

Petar II Petrović Njegoš (Петар II Петровић Његош) (November 1 1813-October 10 1851) was a Serbian poet, ruler of Montenegro, vladika (bishop) of Metropolitanate (Bishopric) of Montenegro.

Born in Njeguši, educated in monastery of Cetinje, he became the bishop and sovereign ruler of Montenegro at the age of 17 years. Seeing the necessity for Montenegro to become a modern state, he reconciled quarrelling Montenegrin tribes, established Senate, the executive branch of government, and courts, started collecting taxes, strengthened the borders of Montenegro, built roads, the first school and a printing press. And while doing that, he wrote his poems; Mountain wreath is most famous of them. He died in Cetinje; he is buried in a small chapel on top of mountain Lovćen where, later, his mausoleum is built.

Major works

• Hermit of Cetinje (1834)
• Light of microcosm (1845)
• 1847)
• Stephen the Little (Šćepan Mali), the tsar-pretender (1851)

Quotes

Blessed is he whose name lives forever.

A good reason had he to be alive!

When my wife asks where I have been today,

I will tell her that I've been sowing salt.

And woe to her if she does not believe!

What is man? (And it's his fate to be man!)

A small creature deceived oft by the earth,

yet he sees that the earth is not for him.

Is not the real more puzzling than the dream?

My name is Faithful,

My surname Patriot.

Montenegro my motherland,

Rocks cover all over.

Serbian I speak and write,

To all say loud and clear:

Of Serb ethnicity

Of Slavic mind and soul.