Polish statesman and writer who was a noted satirist.

A highly educated and well-traveled man, and governor (wojewoda) of the province of Poznań, Opaliński figured in the history of Polish literature as the author of Satyry albo przestrogi do naprawy rządu i obyczajów w Polszcze należące (1650; “Satires or Warnings on the Reform of the Government and Customs in Poland”). In this work, which was widely read in Poland during the 17th century, Opaliński attacked the injustice and abuses of contemporary Polish life and castigated its society in vivid and realistic satires. One of his concerns was the lack in Poland of a strong central government and of a solid standing army. In 1655 he surrendered his province to the Swedes because he naively saw in King Charles X Gustav (Charles X Gustav) a powerful monarch capable of curing Poland's evils.