This dedication to Šafařík was used as the preface to the poem the
_Heretic_ in which Shevchenko glorifies Jan Hus. It expresses, better
than any other poem, the spirit with which the poet entered the Society
of Saints Cyril and Methodius and his dreams of a union of the Slavs in
which all would be truly free. It is interesting that this preface is
a direct answer to Pushkin’s poem, _To the Slanderers of Russia_, in
which he expressed his assurance that the future of the Slavs lay in
submitting to the domination of Russia.
Pavel J. Šafařík (1795-1861) was one of the brilliant leaders of the
movement for a Slav brotherhood following the ideas of Jan Kollár. He
had published a _History of the Slavic Languages and Literatures_ and a
very valuable work on _Slavonic Antiquities_, so that his name was well
known to the entire group of young men at Kiev.
+To Šafařík+
Evil neighbors burned the dwelling,
It was new and modern,
Of a neighbor. Then well warmed,
They lay down in slumber,
But they quite forgot the ashes
By the wind were scattered;
On the crossroads lay the ashes.
Under them there smouldered
A lone spark of that great fire,
Smouldered, did not perish,
Waited kindling, as th’ avenger
Waits for the right season,
For the hour. So it smouldered,
Smouldered and it waited
There upon the traversed crossroads,
And began to perish.
The Germans once destroyed by fire
The mighty house and then they scattered
The Slavic family far and wide,
And stealthily they sent into it
The cursed snake of family feuds.
There poured out freely streams of blood,
The fire they extinguished,
And then the Germans parcelled out
The place and the poor orphans.
The children of the Slavs grew up,
All bound in fetters heavy.
In their slavery forgetting
They were in the world.
But amid the burnt out embers
Smouldered on the spark
Of their brotherhood and waited
Firm courageous hands again--
So it waited. For the fire
You saw hidden deeply
With your bold, courageous spirit
And your eye like eagle’s.
Seer, you caught the glimpse of freedom,
Freedom, and of truth!
And the Slav wide-scattered family
Sunk in dark and slavery,
You collected all together,
Yes, and e’en the corpses
And those Slavs no longer. Then you
Mounted on the debris,
Stood upon the crowded crossroads
As Ezekiel.
’Twas a marvel--all the corpses
Rose, their eyes they opened.
Brothers clasped the hands of brothers
And they promised loudly
Oaths of quiet love and friendship
Ever and forever!
Into one great sea there gathered
All the Slavic rivers.
Glory be to you, O wise man,
Czech and Slav together,
That you did not leave to perish
In the German swampland
All our truth! Your mighty ocean
Of the Slavs, reviving,
Will be full again, ’tis certain
And the boat goes sailing.
With its mighty sails wide spreading
And a helmsman noble
It will sail on a free ocean
O’er the boundless waves.
Glory to you, Šafařík,
Ever and for ever!
That you called into one ocean
All the Slavic rivers!
Welcome in your mighty glory
My poor, lowly tribute
That is neither wise nor mighty,
To that Czech renowned,
To the martyr great and holy,
Hus the well revered.
Take it, father, I will humbly
Pray to God Almighty
That the Slavs may be hereafter
Worthy friends and brothers,
Sons of that same light of truth,
Heretics forever,
Like that noble heretic,
Who at Constance suffered!
May they give true peace to mortals,
Glory too forever!