Josef Šafařík’s philosophising reflects an important stage in our nation’s cultural development. The article seeks to trace the distinctive trait of his reflections, his positing of contrasting polarities. Such polarities present not only the motivational contrasts of human behaviour but also the possibility of application to the chronology of history. It is precisely this context of historical interpretation – presented most fully in Šafařík’s life-work, On the Way to the Last – which may in retrospect offer an in¬sight into the very nature of the polar articulation of Šafařík’s thought.