Mr. Cogito Mr. Cogito Mr. Cogito Mr. Cogito is a character created by Zbigniew Herbert, a Polish poet and essayist. He first appears in a poem entitled "The Envoy of Mr. Cogito" ("Przesłanie Pana Cogito") published in 1973. Initially Mr. Cogito was an Everyman, a universal element of humanity sharing his opinions on various aspects of life and existence. However, the more he says, the more disembodied he appears, and becomes transformed into an ethical symbol and a metaphor of the tough choices we have to make between good and evil. The character's name originates from Descartes' famous phrase, "Cogito ergo sum."
Mr. Cogito collection published in Hebert's lifetime. Surprisingly religious, it contains 5 more texts with Mr. Cogito's name in the title. These are: "Pan Cogito a Małe Zwierzątko ("Mr. Cogito and a Small Animal"), "Pan Cogito. Aktualna pozycja duszy" ("Mr. Cogito. The Current Position of the Soul"), "Pan Cogito. Ars longa" ("Mr. Cogito. Ars Longa"), "Pan Cogito. Lekcja kaligrafii" ("Mr. Cogito. A Calligraphy Lesson"), "Zaświaty Pana Cogito" ("The Underworld of Mr. Cogito"). On one hand, they still show Mr. Cogito as willing to change the world around him, but, on the other, they express a final resignation to his fate. Mr. Cogito