Th e holdings of the Kórnik Library include a small parchment manuscript produced in 1495/6 as a gift from an assessor in the Carinthian bishopric of Gurk, Georg Unterburger, a doctor of both laws, for the newly elected archbishop of Salzburg, Leonhard von Keutschach. Th e codex is relatively richly ornamented – with gilding – and comprises three short works by the donator: Laudatory oration for the Inauguration of the Pontifi cate [Oratio demonstrativa], A Treaty on Sacraments [Traktat o sakramentach] with a short prologue, and a Poem [Carmen] in praise of the new archbishop. With his gift, Unterburger – as he openly announces – wanted to establish a client-patron relationship with the new archbishop. Th e paper briefl y presents both these fi gures against the background of the history of the Salzburg archdiocese analyses the Oration as an example of late-Medieval humanist rhetoric and, on the basis of the subsequent history of the manuscript, refl ects on whether Unterburger managed to achieve his goal. Th e paper is accompanied by the annotated edition of Oration, prologue of the Treaty and the Poem.

The presented article points to the issues of self-consciousness and the possibilities of its development. It defines in this context also concepts of self-evaluation, self-respect, self-appreciation, self-recognition, self-confidence and self-realization. In the text, it is emphasized that self-consciousness is related to the awareness of one´s own psychophysical and social identity - I myself and the world and my place in it. An important means for the development of the healthy self-consciousness is also praise. In the conclusion of the article, attention is paid to the psycho-hygiene as prevention of the failure.