THE REVIVAL OF BOHEMIAN LITERATURE
The misery and degradation of Bohemia that were the result of the
battle of the White Mountain are beyond all description. Perhaps
no country has, in comparatively modern times, suffered as Bohemia
did at that period. Gindely, than whom no historian is less given
to exaggeration, has written: "The misery under which the land
(Bohemia) groaned can, as regards its extent and its depth, be
compared only to that which, at the time of the migration of nations
(_Völkerwanderung_), was inflicted on the inhabitants of Gaul and
Northern Italy by their Frank and Lombard conquerors." From the battle
of the White Mountain, Bohemian literature becomes, and continues for
many years, an almost complete blank.
It was at this time that the great destruction of Bohemian books, so
frequently alluded to in these pages, began, though it continued far
into the eighteenth century. Catholic priests, generally Jesuits,
accompanied by soldiers, visited the houses of the Bohemians; even
the cottages of the peasants were not exempt. As these priests were
generally unacquainted with the Bohemian language, it was thought best
to destroy all books written in that language. The famous, or rather
infamous, destroyer of Bohemian books, the Jesuit Konias, continued his
bonfires--he boasted of having burnt 60,000 Bohemian volumes--up to
the year 1760. It is, of course, only possible to attempt conjectures
as to the value of the lost works, but Bohemian writers agree in
thinking that many had considerable historical merit. Second, of
course, to non-Roman theological writings, the book-destroyers
relentlessly pursued all works of a historical character which might
suggest to the Bohemian people the contrast between their glorious past
and their present servile and miserable condition. It may be mentioned
as a proof of this, that even the historical work of Pope Pius II.
(Ænæas Sylvius) which deals with Bohemia was ordered to be destroyed.
The numerous emigrants from Bohemia continued indeed for some time,
as already mentioned, to write in the national language, and only the
death of Komenský marks the cessation of such writing. In Bohemia
itself, from the fatal year 1620 to the end of the eighteenth century,
no book appeared in the native language that is worthy of general
notice. Jungmann,[142] in his patriotic endeavour to conceal the
complete cessation of Bohemian literature, enumerates many writers of
prayer-books, collections of sermons, and calendars published at this
period. Whatever historical and philological value such writings may
have, they do not belong to literature.
The nobles and the educated classes in Bohemia at this period wrote--as
far as they wrote at all--in German or in Latin. It is curious to
note that Bohemian continued to be spoken long after it had ceased to
be written among all classes of the population. When, in 1697, Peter
the Great visited Prague, he was able to converse with the nobles in
his own language, so similar to that of Bohemia. This would have been
impossible a century later, and even at the present day more German
than Bohemian is spoken in the salons of the Bohemian nobility at
Prague.
Of the scanty German and Latin works written in Bohemia during the
seventeenth and eighteenth century, a few are noticeable as having,
though indirectly, contributed to preserve the ancient national
memories which are so inseparably connected with the national language.
The earliest of these writers is the learned Jesuit BALBIN or Balbinus,
who was born in 1621, a year after the catastrophe of the White
Mountain, and died at Prague in 1688. His very numerous works, all
written in Latin, deal principally with the history of his country.
Balbin's writings are, of course, in absolute accordance with the
doctrine of Rome, and, besides, teem with legends of saints, pedigrees
of the newly-established nobility of Bohemia, and other matters that
should have insured him the favour of the ruling powers. Still Balbin
found many difficulties in his path when he attempted to publish his
works. It is hardly doing injustice to the Government officials if we
suppose that these difficulties were raised, firstly, because it was
considered desirable that the history of Bohemia should be altogether
buried in oblivion; secondly, because Balbin's writings give evidence
of a degree of fairness which necessarily displeased them. Balbin's
fairness has already been alluded to when referring to the biography of
Milič, which is contained in his _Miscellanea_. Balbin's judgment of
Komenský also shows a degree of tolerance very unusual at that time.
He writes in his _Bohemia Docta_: "He (Komenský) published very many
works, but nothing whatever that was directly aimed at the Catholic
Church. Reading his works, it has always seemed to me that he wrote
with so much reflection that he did not wish to award superiority to
any one religion, nor to condemn any."
Of Balbin's many works we may mention the _Miscellanea_, a vast
compilation into which he admitted writings of earlier authors; the
_Epitome Rerum Bohemicarum_, his most valuable work; the _Bohemia
Docta_; and a curious work in defence of the Bohemian language
entitled _Disertatio Apologetica Linguæ Slovenicæ_. The difficulties
which Balbin encountered when he attempted to publish his works have
already been alluded to. Great objections were raised, in particular,
against the _Epitome Rerum Bohemicarum_; but after long negotiations,
influential friends of Balbin induced the Emperor Leopold I. in 1677
to give his consent to the publication of the book. The _Disertatio
Apologetica_, on the other hand, was totally condemned by the Austrian
authorities, and was, indeed, only published a century after the
author's death.
Another Catholic priest whose historical labours were valuable for
his country was Tomas Pešina, who was ennobled and granted the title
of Cechorod (born 1629, died 1680). The Latin works of Pešina, who
was a friend of Balbin, treat principally of Moravia, and are still
of interest. To the eighteenth century belong the German works of
Joseph Bienenberg, which deal with the archaeology of Bohemia. In 1778
Bienenberg published his _Alterthümer in Königreiche Böhmen_, and two
years later his _History of the Town of Königgrätz_. The latter work
has a far wider interest than its name suggests. Bienenberg gives
many interesting details concerning Zižka's wars, and he prints the
celebrated "Articles of war" of the great Bohemian general.
The fact that these and other writers who sympathised with the
Bohemian people yet wrote in foreign languages, proves how deep the
national language had sunk. Become little more than an idiom used by
the peasantry in some parts of Bohemia, it was no longer available for
literature of a more elevated character.
Within the second half of the eighteenth century a change took place.
The Emperor Joseph II. was indeed a determined enemy of the Bohemian
national aspirations, and his regulations, as well as those of the
Empress Maria Teresa, excluded the Bohemian language from even the
humblest schools to a greater extent than any of their predecessors
had attempted to do. On the other hand, the enlightened mind of the
Emperor Joseph disapproved of the exaggerated system of restriction
and coercion which during the reigns of his predecessors had been
enforced on all the lands of the Habsburg empire, though it weighed
with exceptional heaviness on Bohemia. During his reign a newspaper
written in the national language was allowed to appear at Prague, a
permission that even since his reign has several times been refused by
Austrian Governments. It was also a result of the comparative freedom
granted by Joseph that there began to appear new editions of ancient
Bohemian works, and translations of foreign works into Bohemian,
which contributed greatly to regain for Bohemian the character of a
written language. These workers live in the grateful memory of their
countrymen, but it seems unnecessary to enumerate them in a book
written for non-Bohemian readers. It will be seen, however, that in the
nineteenth century also even the most prominent writers considered this
editing and translating as an important duty towards their country.
During the reign of Joseph II. the Bohemian Society of Sciences was
established. The publications of the society at first appeared in
German only--they are now printed both in German and in Bohemian--and
German only was used in its deliberations. Still, the historical
studies which the society published reminded the Bohemians of their
glorious past, and revived the feeling of pride in their country, which
had greatly decreased. It was at the end of the eighteenth century also
that a professorship of the Bohemian language was established at the
University of Vienna, and somewhat later at that of Prague.
Before referring to the group of men who in the early years of the
present century successfully effected the revival of the Bohemian
language and literature, we must notice a writer who, though an
enthusiastic student of the Bohemian language, did not believe that
that language would continue, or perhaps rather again become, one of
the languages of Europe that possess an independent literature. I refer
to Joseph Dobrovský. Born in 1753, his earliest years coincide with the
time when the decadence of the Bohemian language was most marked. His
books, mostly written in German or Latin, give evidence of a knowledge
of the science of languages that was very unusual at that period. The
early education of Dobrovský, "the patriarch of Slavic philology", as
he was called in later years, was entirely German. It was only when
studying at the "Gymnasium", first of Deutsch Brod, then of Klattau
in Bohemia, that he acquired some knowledge of the Bohemian language.
An indefatigable worker, he soon devoted his entire energies to the
study of the historical development of the Bohemian language and of
its connection with the languages of other Slav countries. When very
young Dobrovský became a member of the Society of Jesus, and after the
suppression of that order lived for a few years as a tutor in families
of the Bohemian nobility. During the later years of his life he, though
he had been ordained as a priest, led the life of an independent
scholar, living either at Prague or in the country residences of the
Bohemian nobles, where he was always a welcome guest. Palacký quotes
his own remark as to the uniformity of his life: "What interest," he
said, "can the rather monotonous life of a private person have? One
works, that is, one writes; has one's writing printed; then rests, and
then begins another work of a similar character."
Dobrovský was entirely devoid of the enthusiasm for the national
language that animated Jungmann, Kollar, Šafařik, Palacký, and the
minor writers of the first half of the present century. He was, on the
other hand, a philologist of the highest rank. Not only the Bohemians,
but all Slav races, are indebted to him for his studies on Slav
philology, a subject which at that period, when even in Russia the
national language had to a great extent given way to Latin, French, and
German, was absolutely uncultivated. Of his works we may mention the
(German) "Detailed Grammar of the Bohemian Language" (_Ausführliches_
_Lehrgebände der Böhmischen Sprache_). This work has become the
model of all Bohemian grammars that were published subsequently, as
well as of those of other Slav nationalities which have recently
attained to the dignity of possessing written languages. The book
was first published in 1809, and again in an enlarged form in 1818.
Dobrovský's "History of the Bohemian Language and its Older Literature"
(_Geschichte der Böhmischen Sprache und aeltern Literatur_) first
appeared in 1792, but subsequently so completely rewritten, that when
it was republished in 1818 it appeared almost a new work. The book has
become somewhat antiquated and incomplete, as so many Bohemian books
have been rediscovered since it appeared, but it still has considerable
value. While these and other works of Dobrovský were written in German,
he employed the Latin language for his _Institutiones Linguæ Slavicæ
Veteris_. In this, his most important work, Dobrovský, as in his
grammar, paved the way for later workers. The _Institutiones_ have been
the foundation of the work of the many important Slav philologists of
the present century.
It has already been mentioned that Dobrovský had no enthusiasm for
the Bohemian language, to the development of which he so largely
contributed. His early recollections carried him back to the time
when it was little more than an idiom used by the peasantry in the
outlying country districts of Bohemia. When, in the present century,
the movement in favour of the national language acquired greater
strength, Dobrovský never sympathised with it. When the publication
of the _Časopis Musea Království Českého_ ("Journal of the Museum of
the Kingdom of Bohemia") in Bohemian, as well as in German, was first
discussed, Dobrovský expressed the wish that the new journal should
appear in German only. It must, in justice to Dobrovský, be added
that in the last years of his life he wrote a few Bohemian essays
for the journal. They are, indeed, with a collection of letters, the
only writings in the national language which he has left. Dobrovský's
critical nature and his thorough philological training induced him to
deny from the time of its discovery the genuineness of the "MS. of
Grüneberg",[143] an opinion that is now shared by almost all Bohemian
scholars. Dobrovský expressed himself strongly on the subject He wrote:
"It (_i.e._ the MS.) is a knavery which they (the "discoverers")
committed from hatred of the Germans, and from exaggerated patriotism,
for the purpose of deceiving themselves and others."
Dobrovský died in 1829, at a time when the question whether the
Bohemian language should live or not was already decided in the
affirmative sense. He had during the last years of his life become very
unpopular among the Bohemian patriots, but events have proved that his
critical faculties sometimes guided him better than enthusiasm did
others. As a philologist of the Slav languages Dobrovský was in advance
of his time. Etymological monstrosities, such as Kollar sometimes
committed in his _Staroitalia Slavjanská_, would have been impossible
to Dobrovský.
Very different from the calm scholarly nature of Dobrovský was the
temperament of the four enthusiastic patriots to whom, with, of course,
the co-operation of minor writers, the revival of Bohemian literature
is due. I refer to Jungmann, Kollar, Safařik, and Palacký.
JOSEPH JUNGMANN was born in 1773 at Hudlice, a small village near
Beroun in Bohemia. As Hudlice was even then a thoroughly Bohemian
village, Jungmann first acquired his native language; but when sent
to school at Beroun--where, as indeed everywhere in Bohemia at that
time, the teaching was entirely German--he almost forgot Bohemian,
and soon found it far easier to express himself in German. When on
a visit to his native village an old relation playfully accused him
of "stammering" whenever he spoke Bohemian. This remark; as Jungmann
has himself told us, made a great impression on the mind of the
young student. "From that moment," he afterwards wrote, "I became a
true Bohemian, at least to my best knowledge and will." Jungmann's
life was by no means eventful, and requires little notice. He, soon
after finishing his studies, became professor at the gymnasium of
Leitmeritz, from which he was afterwards transferred to Prague. Here he
spent the greatest part of his life, and died in 1847, a year before
revolutionary events obliged so many Bohemian patriots to emerge from
their seclusion and become popular leaders.
I have already alluded to the great activity the Bohemian writers
of this period displayed as editors of the works of their ancient
literature, as well as translators from the works of more advanced
foreign literatures. The two tasks were closely connected, as the
writers could only render in Bohemian the classical works of other
countries by availing themselves of the rich verbal treasury which is
contained in the works of their own ancient authors. Jungmann himself
at the beginning of his life became known as a translator, and, in
contradiction with his later vocation, oftenest attempted translations
of poetical works. It may interest English readers to know that many of
Jungmann's translations are from the English. Of all his translations,
that of Milton's _Paradise Lost_, written in five-footed trochees,
obtained greatest celebrity. It is really a wonderful achievement, if
we consider that it was written in 1811, when the Bohemian language was
only just awakening from its winter-sleep of nearly two hundred years.
Jungmann also translated Gray's _Elegy in a Churchyard_, Goethe's
_Herman und Dorothea_, and poems by Schiller and Bürger. From the
French Jungmann translated Chateaubriand's _Atala_. It is stated that
Jungmann planned a great original poem in the national language, but
if this is true the plan was never carried out. In later years Jungmann
devoted whatever leisure his official duties left him to studies of a
scientific, and particularly of a philological character.
Great as were his merits as a translator, the last-named works
constitute his principal claim to the gratitude of his countrymen. The
earlier of the great works of Jungmann is his _History of Bohemian
Literature_. Jungmann did not follow Dobrovský's example, but wrote
in Bohemian. The book was first published in 1825, and a second
enlarged edition appeared in 1849, after the author's death. The book
is scarcely what in the present day would be called the history of a
literature; perhaps such a task was impossible at the time Jungmann
wrote. Jungmann's history contains an enumeration of all writers,
great or small, of whom writings in the Bohemian language have been
preserved. Jungmann's intense patriotism induced him to attempt to
prove that at almost all periods works on almost all subjects written
in Bohemian had existed. Every translator of even the most valueless
work, every preacher who had caused even the most worthless Bohemian
sermon to be printed, therefore finds a place in this book. Yet this
very minuteness and absence of criticism which we find in the book
render it very valuable as a collection of materials; and even now,
seventy years after its first appearance, it is indispensable to all
students of Bohemian literature. The introductions to each of the
"odděleni" (divisions) contain a valuable historical and etymological
account of the development of the Bohemian language and literature in
each of the periods into which Jungmann has divided his history.
Jungmann also wrote numerous literary articles for the Bohemian
newspapers and reviews, which gradually sprung up in spite of the
constant opposition of the Austrian Government. These articles
contributed greatly to the success of the Bohemian movement. As I have
noted elsewhere, that movement was, at its beginning, necessarily
a purely literary one. No political paper that was not directly or
indirectly under the control of the Government, then entirely German in
its views, was allowed to exist.
The second great work of Jungmann that ranks with his history of
Bohemian literature is his vast dictionary of the Bohemian and German
languages, published in five large volumes between 1835 and 1839.
Jungmann's preparatory studies, both for this work and for the History,
however, began as early as the year 1800. The work is a monument of
indomitable energy and application. A work such as that of Jungmann
would, if undertaken by a whole academy, have been most meritorious;
but Jungmann worked almost alone, aided only in the merely mechanical
part of his task by a few students of the University of Prague. His
difficulties cannot be compared with those which the compiler of a
dictionary of a more developed language encounters. A large part of
ancient Bohemian literature, that within the last fifty years has been
carefully edited and published, could then only be found in MSS. that
were often difficult of access. Jungmann's work contains words that he
only found once or twice in his sources; it was his desire to include
all, for he laboured not only for the then scanty readers who wished to
study the works of ancient Bohemian literature, but also for the modern
Bohemian writers, whose vocabulary he endeavoured to enlarge.
Even now, when Bohemian literature has obtained an almost miraculous
development, Jungmann's dictionary has not been superseded; and the
same, as regards completeness at least, can be said of his _History of
Bohemian Literature_.
The originators of the Bohemian revival, drawn together by a common
passionate love for the national language, were mostly on terms of
intimacy, and their correspondence, very voluminous, as was formerly
the custom, gives a very clear insight into the views of the writers,
and the disheartening circumstances under which they pursued their
work. Of Jungmann's letters, the most interesting are those addressed
to Kollar, who will be mentioned presently, and to Anthony Marek,
an intimate friend of Jungmann, who was one of the minor Bohemian
writers of this period. The degree of intimacy which existed among
the small band of patriots is well described in one of Jungmann's
letters to Kollar, written in February 1821: "I am writing to-day,"
he says, "to our dear Šafařik also, and to Palacký. You three form
indeed my most beloved Trinity." The general impression of Jungmann's
letters is distinctly a depressing one. The writer refers constantly
to the incessant, often very puerile, vexations which he encountered
from the Austrian authorities. Jungmann complains incessantly of the
"censors", and we shall find the same complaints later when dealing
with Palacký. Every book published in Austria had at that period to be
previously submitted to the "censure-office" for inspection. There were
two "censors" to each book, one of whom had to guard against anything
contrary to the views of the Austrian Government being printed, while
the other suppressed everything contrary to the teaching of the Church
of Rome. Kollar had sent some sonnets, that were afterwards printed
in his _Daughter of Sláva_, to Jungmann for the purpose of submitting
them to the censors. Jungmann writes in answer: "The poems confided
to me I should be glad to get published, but the censure suppresses
everything.... Those beautiful (O most beautiful) parts of your poem
which refer to Sláva I cannot even present to the censors without
much danger to the good cause" (_i.e._ the revival of the Bohemian
language). "The other part also it will hardly be possible to publish.
The other day Ziegler[144] complained that the censor had struck out
thirty sheets from his writings, even love-songs set to music. We must
touch neither Eros nor politics; such are the orders and commands of
the censure."
Jungmann's letters to Marek, written in a very familiar manner, also
give an interesting insight into the lives and thoughts of the little
group of Bohemian literary men; they show their intense devotion
to the national language, their firm belief in the solidarity of
the Slavic races, which was intensified by the Russian victories
over Napoleon, their heartfelt delight when one of the then almost
Germanised Bohemian nobles appeared to be favourable to the national
cause, their dissatisfaction with the Government of Vienna, which
always regarded them with suspicion. To the last-named subject Jungmann
refers in some of his earliest letters to Marek. Writing on May 29,
1809, he says: "On me truly falls every burden of human life. On
one hand the malice of neighbours, magistrates, school directors,
vintagers and ploughers,[145] soldiers (who give it me well[146]), and
other ruffians oppress me; on the other hand, I have little hope of
obtaining my object (which, between us, is to obtain the professorship
of physics at the University of Prague), because of the fearful number
of competitors, and also because of the injustice of the Austrian
Government, which recently transferred to Prague three professors from
Vienna, as if we Bohemians were all donkeys." ... The passage of the
Russian army through Bohemia naturally greatly interested the Slavic
enthusiasts. On September 24, 1813, Jungmann writes to Marek: "The
Russian troops march through here (Leitmeritz) constantly. To-day
120,000 (?) are expected, whose passage will cost the town 9000
florins. I diligently _govorju_ [Russian for talking] with them, and
find that there are among them very good-natured men, and that that
which is--principally by Germans--said of their stealing and robbing
is not their fault, but that of the badly organised commissariat....
On the whole, they are not worse than our own soldiers. It will not be
to the disadvantage of the Bohemians that they should become better
acquainted with the Russians. They will at least know that there are
more Slavs in the world than they fancied." On May 4, 1814, Jungmann
writes to Marek: "The Germans and half-Germans here" (at Leitmeritz)
"are very angry with the newspapers, because they always--so they
say--mention the Russians as if they were everything. This war has
been advantageous to the Slav world, and has contributed in no slight
degree to its advancement. Not in vain has Europe learned to know the
Slavs and they Europe. I think the Slav languages will become better
known than they are now. It is already certain, now that the Muses are
establishing their realm in the North. I must endeavour to obtain a few
Russian books.... Perhaps Count Waldstein[147] will be favourable to
the Bohemians, as he knows Slavic languages. God be praised there is
another nobleman who is not a German!"
When more peaceful times began, Jungmann's correspondence deals mainly
with literary matters, but he continues to uphold the principle of
solidarity or mutual intercourse (_vzájemnost Slovanská_) between
the Slavs. On January 3, 1827, Jungmann writes to Marek: "Of what
else should I write but of the subject which we both carry in our
hearts--Slavic literature. Yes, Slavic literature, I say, for I
may at least name in writing to my friend what in print we can
scarcely mention. So low have we fallen through the misdeeds of our
countrymen,[148] that we scarcely dare openly to profess that we are
Slavs.... They treat even the word 'Slav' with great suspicion at the
censure-office, and Palacký has made it a rule to mention the Slavs
as little as possible in the journal of the Museum.... How little
they love us can be seen by the fact that the censors at Vienna only
gave permission to print an ancient Bohemian chronicle on condition
that it should be printed in Latin characters and published at a high
price, that it may come into the hands of but few, and of none that
are 'unholy' (_i.e._ whom the Government distrusts).[149] ... We have
pleasanter news from the East. According to a letter of Šafařik, the
treaty of Akjerman between Russia and Turkey guarantees freedom to the
Servian nationality; so a new epoch for that nation and its literature
may begin. At four Russian universities--Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, and
Charkov--professorships of general Slavic literature will be founded,
and one at Warsaw is also in contemplation. There, then, the Bohemian
language will be heard and its best works published. The Englishman
Povring,[150] is translating Servian songs into English, and,
stimulated by Šafařik, he will also translate the MS. of Königinhof.
In England very many are learning Slavic languages, particularly
Russian. Whenever a learned Englishman acquires a taste for one Slavic
dialect, he wishes to learn a second," &c.[151] As a last quotation
from Jungmann's letters, I shall give a short extract from one written
in 1837, which is curious as referring to Count Kolovrat, one of the
founders of the Bohemian Museum, who was then one of the principal
members of the Austrian cabinet. It proves that Jungmann was by no
means hostile to the Austrian Government, except when that Government
treated its Slav subjects unjustly. Jungmann writes: "Gay,[152] the
Croatian, is at Karlsbad. The Hungarians wished to imprison him because
he published some national songs; now to their great grief he has
received permission from Vienna to establish a printing-press. Our
Kolovrat obtained this favour for him, though the Hungarian Chancellor
opposed it. This minister (Kolovrat) has acted like a true Slav. Thanks
and glory to him!"
Closely connected with Jungmann is his friend Kollar, whose name has
already been mentioned frequently in this chapter. He was the greatest
poet of the early Bohemian revival, though living Bohemian poets have
undoubtedly surpassed him. JOHN KOLLAR (1793-1852) was born at Mošovec,
in the Slav district of Northern Hungary. His parents were Protestants,
and it was decided that he should become a minister of that Church. In
1815 he proceeded to the then famous University of Jena in Germany,
for the purpose of finishing his theological studies. The University
of Jena was then one of the centres of the movement in favour of the
unity of the German race, which has since been effected by "blood and
iron". It does not seem improbable that the contact with the German
patriots laid the germ of Kollar's passionate devotion to the idea of
the unity of the Slav nations; though of course it was of a literary,
not a political union of these nations--that are separated from each
other by millions of aliens--that Kollar dreamt. It is, however,
anticipating the future if we assume that these ideas exclusively, or
even principally, occupied young Kollar while at Jena. An event during
his stay at Jena influenced his whole life, and became the origin
of the only one of his works that will live. He became passionately
attached to Mina (or Wilhelmina) Schmidt, the daughter of a Protestant
clergyman who lived in a village near Jena. How the German country girl
was by Kollar transformed into the _Daughter of Sláva_ is one of the
curiosities of literature. Kollar's suit for Mina Schmidt was for the
present unsuccessful. Frau Schmidt declared that she would never allow
her daughter to live in a "savage country," as she termed Hungary; and
it was to that country that Kollar's ecclesiastical career obliged him
to return. Kollar afterwards became minister to the Protestant Church
at Pest, and continued there up to the year 1849. He corresponded with
Mina for some time after his departure from Jena, but news--incorrect,
as it afterwards turned out--was brought from Germany announcing
Mina's death. The news proved untrue, and fifteen years after Kollar's
departure from Jena, and some years after he had raised Mina to the
Slav heaven, she became his wife. Kollar's life, like that of all the
Bohemian patriots, was a very laborious and painful one. His letters
contain constant complaints of the incessant persecutions on the
part of the Hungarian Government which his Slav sympathies brought
on him. A plot on the part of Hungarians to murder Kollar was even
discovered. Kollar several times appealed, and appealed successfully,
to the Emperor Francis I. for protection. Kollar's ideas of Slavic
solidarity also resulted mainly in disappointment. The separation of
the Slavs on the whole continued as before, and even Kollar's own
language, the Bohemian, was abandoned by Kollar's own countrymen. The
Slavs of Northern Hungary, identical in race with the Bohemians and
Moravians, had always used the Bohemian language. Šafařik, as well as
Kollar himself, both born in the Slavic districts of Hungary, wrote in
Bohemian. In the present century only the Slavs of Northern Hungary
adopted as a written language a dialect that slightly differs from
Bohemian. The result of this injudicious step, which Kollar from the
first strongly blamed, has been the almost complete absorption by the
Magyars of the isolated Slavs of Northern Hungary.
During the Hungarian revolution Kollar left Pest. Like most Slavs, his
sympathies were rather with the Austrians than with the Hungarians, who
had, indeed, constantly persecuted him. He spent some time travelling
in Germany and Italy. One of the results of his visit to the last-named
country was that deplorable work, _Staroitalia Slavjanská_ ("Slavic
Ancient Italy"). In recognition of his faithfulness to the Austrian
Government, Kollar, immediately after the suppression of the Hungarian
revolution in 1849, was awarded the professorship of Slavic archaeology
at the University of Vienna. He did not live long to enjoy the
comparative prosperity of which he was now assured. He died at Vienna
on January 24, 1852, leaving his wife and children in a state of great
destitution.
Kollar's _Slávy Deera_ ("Daughter of Sláva") perhaps contributed more
than any other work to the revival of Bohemian literature. Its first
appearance was received with great enthusiasm, which continued for many
years. Some of the Bohemian patriots boasted that they knew the whole
enormous collection of sonnets by heart. The book, at first a small
collection of sonnets, gradually grew to one of the largest books
consisting entirely of sonnets which exists. The first collection was
published in 1821, and consisted principally of reminiscences of Mina
and of Jena, though Kollar's enthusiasm for the Slav race also already
finds expression here. It was impossible that so fervent a Slav should
love a German girl, but Kollar discovered that the family of Schmidt
had come to Thuringia from Lusatia, which was formerly a Slav country,
and where, indeed, a Slav dialect lingers to the present day. Mina
thus being a Slav, it was possible to celebrate her as the "Daughter
of Sláva", a goddess who personifies the Slavic race. Kollar firmly
maintained that such a goddess had existed in the heathen mythology of
the Slavs, but recent and more critical writers have expressed doubts
on the subject. At any rate, Kollar gave the name of the _Daughter_
_of Sláva_ to the second and enlarged edition of his sonnets, which
appeared in 1824. While the first collection had consisted mainly of
love songs, the national Slav motive now becomes equally prominent.
Kollar was greatly struck by the fact that large parts of Northern
Germany, including the country near Jena, where Kollar had first
loved and written, were formerly inhabited by Slavs. Constant warfare
with the Germans, which began at the time of Charles the Great, has
indeed long since destroyed all trace of these Slavs, but Kollar's
imagination recalled them to life. Though very little is known of the
Slav inhabitants of Northern Germany, there is no doubt that Kollar
has greatly idealised them. The edition of the _Daughter of Sláva_
published in 1824 consisted of three cantos. The poet, accompanied
by Milek (the Slavic god of love), who has descended from heaven to
bring him news of Mina, visits the countries that are watered by
the Saale, the Elbe, and the Danube, and the three rivers give their
names to the three cantos. Kollar and his companion everywhere search
and find traces of the former Slav inhabitants of the countries which
they visit. The edition of 1824 first contained the "fore-song"
(_předzpěv_), or introduction, written in distichs, in which Kollar
bewails the fate of the early inhabitants of Northern Germany. These
verses rank among the finest in the whole range of modern Slav poetry.
In 1832 Kollar published a third, again enlarged, collection of his
sonnets. The second canto was considerably added to, and now entitled
_The Elbe, the Rhine, and the Vltava_.[153] Two new cantos were added
under the names of _Lethe_ and _Acheron_. Kollar chose those names
to give unity to his poem, as the former cantos had also been named
after rivers. But the two new cantos are really a Slavic _Paradiso_
and _Inferno_ modelled on Dante. Kollar has here glorified and
stigmatised those whom he considered prominent friends or enemies of
the Slav race. It must be confessed that large portions of these cantos
consist in a mere enumeration of names, often of persons who have long
sunk into oblivion. Thus we find in hell a Miss Pardoe, who wrote a
long-forgotten book of travels in Hungary, in which she, it appears,
adopted the Hungarian standpoint, always hostile to the Slavs. Kollar,
in his new peregrinations, is no longer accompanied by Milek, but by
the "Daughter of Sláva," the glorified Mina Schmidt. The last sonnet of
the poem, which I shall translate, contains an appeal of the "Daughter
of Sláva" to all her countrymen, exhorting them to concord.
Though no subject could then be more original than the glorification
of the then little-known Slav races, Kollar's poem yet contains many
reminiscences of other writings. It has already been stated that the
leading idea of the two last cantos is borrowed from Dante. The pilgrim
in the earlier cantos sometimes recalls _Childe Harold_. Mina, or the
"Daughter of Sláva," is sometimes modelled on Beatrice, sometimes
on Laura. Kollar indeed never made a secret of the fact that he had
studied the poetry of Western Europe. Such study was indeed a necessity
at a time when, with the exception of the songs of the people, the
Slavs possessed no poetry. Bohemian critics agree in asserting that
the first canto of the _Slávy Deera_, written under the influence of
a passionate love for Mina, is infinitely the best. The introduction
to the poem has also been justly admired. It is interesting also as
containing a general exposition of the author's views and dreams
concerning the past and future of the Slavic race. Want of space will
oblige me to quote only a portion of the "fore-song." Kollar, viewing
the former homes of his race, exclaims: "Here before my tearful eyes
lies the land, Once the cradle, now the tomb, of my nation. Stop!
it is holy ground on which you tread. Son of the Tatra (Carpathian
mountains), raise your head towards heaven, Or rather guide your steps
towards that oak-tree Which yet defies destructive Time. But worse than
Time is man, who has placed his iron sceptre on thy neck, O Sláva;
Worse than wild war, more fearful than thunder, than fire, Is the
man who, blinded by hate, rages against his own race.[154] O ancient
times that surround me as with night! O land that art a record of all
glory and all shame! From the treacherous Elbe to the perfidious
plains near the Vistula, From the Danube to the devouring waves of
the Baltic, In all these lands the harmonious language of the brave
Slavs once resounded. Succumbing to hatred, it now has perished. And
who has committed this offence that cries to heaven for vengeance? Who
has in one nation dishonoured humanity in its entirety? Blush, envious
Germany, the neighbour of Sláva! It is thy hands that once committed
this guilty deed. No enemy has spilt so much blood--and ink, As did
the German to destroy the Slavs. He who is worthy of liberty respects
the liberty of all. He who forges irons to enslave others is himself
a slave. Be it that he fetters the language or the hands of others,
It is the same; he proves himself unable to respect the rights of
others...." Kollar then proceeds to give the idealised account of the
ancient Slav inhabitants of Germany, to which I have already referred.
He attributes to them a very advanced degree of culture, and describes
them as instructing Europe in seamanship, agriculture, and mining.
Enumerating the Slav tribes, he writes: "Whither have you vanished,
dear Slav nations, Nations that once drank the waters of Pomerania and
the Saale, Peaceful tribes of the Sorbs, descendants of the Obotrites?
And you tribes of the Ukres and Wiltes, whither have you gone? I look
far to the right, I glance to the left, But in vain does my eyes seek
Sláva in Slavic land. Tell us, O tree, growing as a temple, under
which sacrifices were once offered to the ancient gods, Where are the
nations, the princes, the towns, Who first spread civilisation in these
northern lands?"
Writing as a poet, not as a politician, Kollar believed the
Germanisation of these ancient Slav lands to be far less complete
than it actually is. He writes: "As two rivers, though their waters
have joined in one channel, yet differ in colour during a long part of
their course, thus these two nations (the Germans and Slavs), though
intermingled by the force of fierce war, yet still differ visibly in
their manner of life. But the degenerate sons of Sláva often insult
their mother, while they kiss the rod of their hateful stepmother
(Germany). They are neither Slavs nor Germans in their ways. Hybrids,
they belong half to one race, half to the other. Thus has the race of
Osman settled down in the Hellenic lands. Its horsetails are prominent
on the summit of Olympus. Thus, too, did the avaricious Europeans ruin
the two Indian worlds, giving the people indeed education, but robbing
them of their virtue, their land, their colour, and their language.
Nationality and honour with us, too, have disappeared; Nature alone
has remained unchanged. Woods, rivers, towns, and villages would not
abandon their Slav names.[155] The sound still remains, but the Slavic
spirit has fled...." The introduction ends thus: "It is shameful when
in misery to moan over our fate; he who by his deeds appeases the wrath
of Heaven acts better. Not from a tearful eye, but from a diligent
hand fresh hope will blossom. Thus even evil may yet be changed to
good. A crooked path may indeed lead men astray, but not humanity at
large. The confusion of individuals may yet serve to the advantage of
the community. Time changes everything, even past times. The errors of
centuries may yet be repaired by time."
The fame of Kollar's introduction is so great that I have translated
a considerable part of it, and I am therefore yet more limited in my
quotations from the sonnets themselves. Those of the first canto, where
the love-motive is still strong and enters into a quaint rivalry with
the author's Slav enthusiasm, are the earliest and most valuable fruits
of Kollar's muse. Čelakovský[156] was undoubtedly right in stating
that the poetic genius of Kollar left him with his younger years. In
the twelfth sonnet of the first book Kollar describes his hesitation
between the two subjects that inspired him. There is an easily
noticeable echo of Anacreon in the song. The poet writes:--
"_I wished to sing of the thrones of the Bohemian kings, of the_
_arrival of the brothers, of Vlasta and Libussa,[157] of Attila,
the scourge of God, and how he taught his Huns to use the
crossbow._
"_I wished to sing of the golden Carpathians, the wines of Tokay,_
_the splendour of the moon; but when I touched the strings of my_
_lyre, 'Mina,' and again 'Mina,' alone resounded in my ears._
"_In simple style I wished to write of fables, flowers, kingdoms,_
_but my pen, self-willed, traces other characters than those that
I intended._
"_My speech also does not obey my will, and what when in company_
_my heart carefully conceals my rash tongue reveals._"
The singular mixture of love and national enthusiasm already noted
appears quaintly--it would be severe to say grotesquely--in another
sonnet of the first book. Kollar writes:--
"_Once when a heavy sleep closed her weary little eyelids, I for_
_half an hour practised kissing her as a true Slav should._
"_My kisses were not such as Roman, Greek, or German
describes--sensual buffooneries. They were pure, proper kisses,
such as the customs of our Russian brothers allow._
"_Thus then did I kiss my love: from the forehead downward to_
_the chin, then in the shape of a cross from one little ear to the
other._
"_On this voyage twice I reached the little rose-garden of her
lips, through which my soul enters into hers._"
Of the sonnets of the second canto I shall quote one in which Kollar's
enthusiasm for "Slavia," the Slav world, which he distinguishes from
the goddess "Sláva," appears most clearly. He writes:--
"_Slavia, Slavia! Thou name of sweet sound but of bitter memory;
hundred times divided and destroyed, but yet more honoured than
ever._
"_From the Ural Mountains to the summit of the Carpathians, from
the deserts near the equator to the lands of the setting sun, thy_
_kingdom extends._
"_Much hast thou suffered, but ever hast thou survived the evil_
_deeds of thy enemies, the evil ingratitude also of thy sons._
"_While others have built on soft ground, thou hast established_
_thy throne on the ruins of many centuries._"
One of the sonnets of the third book contains a curious prophecy of the
future greatness of the Slav race. Kollar writes:--
"_What will become of us Slavs a century hence? what of all_
_Europe? Slavic manners, as the floods of a deluge, will extend_
_their strength in every direction._
"_That language, which the Germans falsely believed to be but a
dialect fit for slaves, will be heard even under the ceilings of_
_palaces and in the mouths of our very enemies._
"_By means of the Slav language science will be developed. Our_
_dress, the customs, the songs of our people will be the fashion on
the Seine and on the Elbe._
"_Oh! had it but been granted to me to be born at that time when
the Slavs will rule, or might I at least then rise again from my
tomb!_"
The recent development of the Slav races is so little known in England,
that these lines will probably appear to many readers far more absurd
than they really are. Professor Léger, who has devoted his life to the
study of Slavic history and literature, and is wondrously in touch
with the national feeling, writes of the sonnet which I have just
quoted: "These lines were written about the year 1830. Is it necessary
to state to how great an extent the predictions have been fulfilled?
The Slav language, then considered a jargon of peasants, is now the
recognised language of the courts of St. Petersburg, Belgrade, Sophia,
and Cettigne, of the parliaments and representative bodies of Prague,
Brünn, and Agram, of the universities of Russia, Bohemia, Poland, and
Illyria. ... Russian is ardently studied at Berlin, Paris, Vienna, and
Budapest. Muscovite novels invade the libraries of Paris."[158]
The two last cantos of Kollar's great poem have little literary
merit, and their always rather local interest has, as I have already
mentioned, decreased with the lapse of time. I shall, however,
translate the last sonnet of the fifth canto, which forms the
conclusion of the whole work. Mina, in heaven, addresses thus the Slavs
who are still on earth:--
"_Oh you, brothers and sweet sisters who yet live in the world,_
_grant me willingly your ear that I may briefly instruct you._
"_Beware of that smooth path which the devil has interwoven with
nets that he may entangle the souls of traitors in his deceitful_
_snares._
"_Come here and find (in heaven and hell) an example in the good
and a warning in the evil. Learn above all to love your country._
"_May these words resound from your summits, O Carpathians, to
the Černa Hora (Montenegro), from the Giant Mountains to the
Ural: 'Hell for traitors, heaven for faithful Slavs!'_"
Kollar's merit as a writer depends mainly on the "Daughter of
Sláva," though he was a copious writer of prose as well as poetry.
A small German pamphlet by Kollar entitled, _Ueber die literarische
Wechselseitigkeit zwischen den verschiedenen Stämmen und Mundarten
der Slavischen Nation_ ("On the Literary Solidarity of the various
Branches of the Slav Nation"), which appeared in 1837, caused great
sensation, and for a time acquired even political importance. In
Bohemian Kollar wrote, besides his _Slávy Deera_, an account of his
travels in Germany and Italy and several archaeological works. Of
these, the _Staroitalia Slavjanská_ ("Slavic Ancient Italy"), written
in the last year of Kollar's life, and dedicated to the Emperor Francis
Joseph, is the largest. The author endeavoured, on the slightest
evidence and by means of the most fantastical suppositions, to prove
that a large part of the population of Italy--particularly in the
north--is of Slav origin. Kollar is here constantly carried away by his
exuberant imagination, and the book has no scientific value. It is,
indeed, scarcely an exaggeration to call it a tissue of absurdities.
Kollar's recently published correspondence with Jungmann, Šafařik,
Palacký, and others has great interest.
While Kollar devoted to the revival of the Bohemian language and
literature his enthusiastic eloquence and poetic talents, Šafařik
employed for the same purpose his vast erudition and unusual ability
as a philologist. His works deal principally with the early origins of
the Slav language and race, and of the early literature of Bohemia. The
latter works were very valuable at a time when the Bohemian language
was again acquiring the dignity of a written language. Like Jungmann,
Šafařik also endeavoured to forward the advancement of his language by
means of translations from more cultivated languages, and in his youth
he also wrote poetry. But it is on his philological and archaeological
works on the Slav race that his fame is principally founded. Equal to
Dobrovský, and perhaps superior to Jungmann in erudition, some of his
writings on these subjects are still standard works.
PAUL JOSEPH ŠAFAŘIK (1795-1861), like Kollar, was a native of the Slav
district of Northern Hungary. As the son of a Protestant clergyman he
received his first education in his own country, and from his early
youth gave proof of his enthusiasm for the Slavic race, which inspired
him during his whole life. In 1815 he visited the then far-famed
University of Jena in Germany, and on his return to Hungary accepted
a situation as private tutor at Pressburg. He here became acquainted
with Palacký, and the friendship that sprang up between them continued
during the whole of their lives. In 1819 Šafařik was appointed director
of the gymnasium at Nový Sad (Neusatz), in Southern Hungary. His
life here was embittered by constant persecution on the part of the
Hungarian authorities, whose aversion to the Slav aspirations was as
great as that of the German officials in Austria.
Šafařik's writings had meanwhile attracted attention at Prague, and
some of the Bohemian patriots, though by no means opulent, subscribed
a sufficient sum to enable him to proceed to Prague. His life here
also was a wretched one. He was in constant financial distress. While
occupied with learned works of the highest importance, he was obliged
to gain his living by writing in popular journals, and he had at one
time even to accept the humiliating and invidious office of a "censor."
Writing on Slav subjects is not at the present day a very lucrative
occupation. It was yet less so at the time of Šafařik, when interest
in these matters was still more limited. Šafařik's health began to
fail in consequence of constant anxiety, but he continued his studies
on the history and language of his country and race undauntedly. A
speaker at the meeting of Bohemian scholars that in 1895 celebrated the
centenary of Šafařik's birth, rightly described him as a "martyr of
science." While the Austrian Government continued to regard Šafařik's
researches with indifference, the attention of the Prussian authorities
was attracted to his profound knowledge of Slavic philology and
archaeology, sciences that were then in their infancy. Šafařik was
offered a professorship both by the University of Breslau and that
of Berlin, but the Austrian Government, not wishing that he should
expatriate himself, now appointed him professor of Slavic philology at
the University of Prague. He, however, gave up this appointment a year
later, when he became librarian of that university. In 1848 Šafařik
made a brief appearance in the political arena. He was a member of
the Slav congress that met at Prague in that year, and a speech in
favour of the solidarity of the Slav nations which he delivered there
caused great sensation. The failure of the congress and the German
reaction,[159] which lasted from 1849 to 1859, were deeply felt by
Šafařik. He now confined his studies to the remote antiquity of the
Slav race. Every allusion to Bohemian history of later times again
became inadmissible during these years. Šafařik, whose health had long
been failing, died on June 2nd, 1861. Some time before his death his
mental faculties had been affected.
I shall only mention a few of the most important of Šafařik's
numerous writings. His many Bohemian essays on Slavic philology
and archaeology--mostly published in the Journal of the Bohemian
Museum--have indeed inestimable value for those who devote themselves
to these studies, but little interest for others. Šafařik's first work
was a small collection of Bohemian songs, written when he was only
nineteen-years of age, and entitled _Tatranská Músa s lyrou Slovanskou_
("The Carpathian Muse with Slavic Lyre"). Early works also were
several translations, of which that of the _Clouds_ of Aristophanes
and that of Schiller's _Maria Stuart_ are the most important. A
work which had already occupied Šafařik at Jena, but which he only
completed during his stay at Neusatz, was his German _Geschichte der
Slavischen Sprache und Literatur_ ("History of the Slavic Language
and Literature"). Neusatz or Nový Sad, a town in the south of Hungary,
close to the frontier of Croatia, and not far from that of the present
kingdom of Servia, was situated very favourably for the purpose of
studying the various Slav languages. In his book Šafařik, contrary to
the now generally accepted method of dividing the Slavs into three
branches, distinguishes two classes of Slav nations only, and divides
his book into two parts in accordance with this system. The first part
deals with the Old Slavic language, the Russian, Servian, Croatian
languages, and some minor dialects. The second part contains the
history of the Polish and Bohemian literatures, and notes on the now
nearly extinct dialects of the Slavs of Northern Germany, The book
became antiquated even during Šafařik's lifetime, and he planned a
new revised and enlarged edition, which was to have been published
in Bohemian. Failing health and other occupations prevented Šafařik
from carrying out this work. Even in its first state the book, which
was only reprinted after Šafařik's death, long remained the standard
authority on the little-known subject of which it treats. It is only
since Mr. Pypin and Mr. Spasovič; published in 1865 their (Russian)
_History of the Slav Literatures_ that Šafařik's work can be
considered as superseded. Another fruit of Šafařik's residence in the
South Slav countries was his _Serbische Lesekörner_, an historical and
critical analysis of the then little-known Servian language. This book
also was written in German.
During his stay at Prague, Šafařik produced his most important work,
which rendered him famous in all Slav countries. I refer to the
_Starožitnosti Slovanské_ ("Slavic Antiquity"), which was published
in 1837. The book--written in Bohemian--is an attempt to record the
history and culture of the Slavs in the earliest times. The subject,
still very obscure, was then entirely unexplored. Šafařik intended
the work to consist of two parts, but only the first, which is purely
historical, was completed. Of the second part, only some essays on
the ancient ethnography and archaeology of the Slavs were published.
The historical work, which Šafařik again divided into two parts,
deals, in the first, with the history of the Slav race from the time
of Herodotus to the fall of the West Roman empire. The second part
continues that history to the time when most Slavs were converted to
Christianity--that is to say, speaking roughly, to about the year 1000.
Šafařik's work entirely revolutionised the then current ideas on the
origin of the Slavs and their early history. The more recent writers
who, particularly in Russia, have studied these subjects, acknowledge
that Šafařik's great work has been the foundation of their researches.
One of his minor works requires notice, as it is connected with the
much discussed question of the antiquity of the MSS. of Königinhof and
Grüneberg. In 1840 Šafařik published jointly with Palacký a German
work entitled _Die ältesten Denkmäler der Böhmischen Spracke_. In
this book the two authors maintain the ancient origin, not only of the
MS. of Königinhof, but also of that of Grüneberg, in which scarcely
any Bohemian scholar now believes. Of course the question had not
then--more than fifty years ago--been so thoroughly thrashed out as is
now the case. Šafařik was an indefatigable worker. Besides his many
published works, a large number of MSS. in his handwriting dealing
with Slavic research were found. They prove that, had circumstances
been more favourable, and had his health not failed him, he might
have produced yet more works on the subjects to the study of which he
devoted his life.
The works of Jungmann, Kollar, and Šafařik will always be highly valued
by Bohemians, and indeed by all Slavs. But the career of Palacký, the
greatest of the Bohemian leaders, whom I mention last, has a far wider
interest, as have also the contents of his greatest work. Dealing
mainly with Bohemian history, it incidentally throws a great deal of
light on many questions connected with the general history of Europe up
to the year 1526. It is much to be regretted that English historians
have as yet availed themselves so little of Palacký's monumental
_History of Bohemia_.[160]
FRANCIS PALACKÝ was born in 1798 at Hodslavice in Moravia, not far
from Přerov or Prerau, an old centre of the Unity. The traditions of
the Brethren never quite died out in this part of Moravia. Palacký's
forefathers had belonged to the Unity, and the family, during the
many years of persecution, continued secretly to worship according to
its teaching. When the Emperor Joseph II., who, as regards religious
toleration, was far in advance of his age, issued a decree authorising
Protestant religious services according to the Augsburg and Helvetic
Confessions, Palacký's parents declared their adherence to the former
creed. It may be mentioned that the Bohemian Brethren have only during
the present reign again been recognised as a religious community.
The traces of the traditions of the Brethren are very noticeable in
Palacký's works, particularly in his masterly account of the career of
Hus.
After obtaining the rudiments of education in local schools, Palacký
in 1812 proceeded to the Protestant lyceum at Pressburg in Hungary.
Here already Palacký gave proof of his studious nature, and his
predilection for historical research was already evident Gifted with
the Slav facility for acquiring languages, Palacký at Pressburg
obtained a thorough knowledge of the English language. We are told
that Bolingbroke's _Letters on the Study and Use of History_, Blair's
_Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres_,[161] and the historical
works of Robertson and Gibbon were among Palacký's favourite books.
Other historical works that he read with great interest were Karamsin's
_History of Russia_ and Johannes Müller's _History of the Swiss
Confederation_. After finishing his studies at Pressburg, Palacký
continued to live there for some time, and was engaged as tutor by
several noble families. It was during his stay at Pressburg that his
life-long friendship with Kollar, that has already been mentioned,
began. It was, indeed, probably mainly through Kollar's influence that
he decided to devote his life to the study of Bohemian history and
literature; he had previously thought of becoming a minister of the
Protestant Church.
Pressburg, and Hungary generally, was not then a desirable residence
for one who intended to devote himself to Slavic studies, which the
Hungarian Government regarded with marked displeasure. Palacký,
therefore, travelled to Prague, where he had the good fortune to obtain
the protection of Dobrovský, who from their earliest acquaintance
had realised the exceptional talent of the young Moravian. Through
Dobrovský's influence Palacký obtained from Francis Count Sternberg
the appointment of archivist to the family of which Count Francis was
the head. This appointment left Palacký sufficient leisure to pursue
his historical studies, and the small salary attached to it was very
welcome to Palacký. He had, indeed, while a tutor, laid by a little
money, but that could not last long, and his literary work was not
likely to afford him much pecuniary gain. One advantage which Palacký
obtained by his appointment as archivist to Count Sternberg will
surprise English readers, but his Bohemian biographers lay great stress
on it. Palacký's post secured him against all molestation on the part
of the police. The Austrian police authorities in the earlier part of
the present century were empowered to expel from any town "strangers of
no profession," and they were particularly likely to do so in the case
of a man known to be favourable to the Bohemian national movement.
In other ways, also, the modest appointment was a turning-point in
Palacký's career. Through the favour of Francis Count Sternberg, and of
his brother, Count Kaspar, president of the Bohemian Museum--which the
two brothers had, jointly with Count Kolovrat, founded in 1818--Palacký
became acquainted with many of the Bohemian nobles. He succeeded in
obtaining from many of them the then quite exceptional permission to
study the archives contained in their castles. Had it not been for the
researches which he was allowed to make in these archives--particularly
in those of Prince Schwarzenberg at Trěbon or Wittingau--Palacký would
have been unable to write his _History of Bohemia_. The impulse to
write the work, indeed, also came from the Bohemian nobles. The Diet
in 1829 conferred on him the title of "Historian of the Estates of
Bohemia;" but their legislative authority was very limited, and ten
years passed before the title conferred on Palacký was confirmed by the
authorities of Vienna.
It was on the suggestion of Palacký that it was decided that the
newly-founded society of the Bohemian Museum should publish an annual
journal, which was to contain principally studies on the history,
ethnography, literature, and mythology of Bohemia. After some
discussion as to whether the new journal should appear in Bohemian
or in German--even so learned a Slavist as Dobrovský declared that
it was impossible to publish a scientific periodical in the national
language--it was decided to publish it in both languages. The _Journal
of the Museum of the Bohemian Kingdom_ ("Casopis Musea Království
Českého") first appeared in 1827, and Palacký was its first editor. The
German edition, which, though the great Goethe wrote in its favour,
found few readers, was discontinued in 1831. The version which appeared
in the national language, on the other hand, has been continued up
to the present day. It is invaluable to those who endeavour to study
the history and literature of Bohemia, and I have used its volumes
extensively while writing this book. Mr. Morfill, one of the few
English writers on Slavic subjects who writes with thorough knowledge
and insight,[162] has truly described the volumes of the journal of the
Bohemian Museum as a "mine of Slavonic lore."
Palacký's time up to 1837 was fully occupied with the duties connected
with the editing of the new journal, with the composition of minor
historical writings, and with his studies in the Bohemian archives.
He soon, however, found that the preparations for his great history
of Bohemia which the Estates urged him to write, would necessitate
study in foreign archives also. Palacký, therefore, visited Munich
and Dresden, and in 1837 undertook a more extensive journey to Italy,
where he spent considerable time in studying the valuable documents
contained in the archives of Venice and Rome. In the latter town he
found some difficulty in obtaining access to the library and archives
of the Vatican. Count Rudolph Lützow, then Austrian ambassador at Rome,
who was himself a Bohemian, and to whom Palacký had been recommended,
succeeded, however, in obtaining for him permission to examine at least
some of the MSS. which he wished to see. Palacký has himself left us an
interesting account[163] of the difficulties he encountered on the part
of Monsignor Marini, prefect of the Vatican archives. They were caused,
it was stated, principally by alleged indiscretions committed by Ranke,
who some time previously had been allowed to study the archives of the
Vatican.
After Palacký's return to Bohemia, the task of continuing his great
historical work absorbed him so completely that he ceased to edit the
Journal. His quiet and studious life was, like that of other Bohemian
scholars, interrupted by the revolutionary events of the year 1848. The
movement in favour of the revival of Bohemian nationality had hitherto
been an entirely literary one, and the Bohemians very naturally chose
their most prominent writers as their political leaders. As Bohemia,
with many other non-German parts of Austria, then formed part of the
Germanic Confederation, prominent Bohemians, and among them Palacký,
were invited to take part in the proceedings of the German National
Assembly that met at Frankfort in 1848. Palacký's reply, which caused
great sensation at the time, is still worth quoting, as it became the
watchword of the Bohemian patriots. He wrote: "I am not a German,
but a Bohemian. Whatever talent I possess is at the service of my
own country. My nation is certainly a small one, but it has always
maintained its historical individuality. The rulers of Bohemia have
often been on terms of intimacy with the German princes, but the
Bohemian people has never considered itself as German." It is a proof
of the rapidity with which Palacký acquired consideration, that one
of the short-lived Austrian cabinets of 1848 (that of Pillersdorf),
wishing to obtain the support of the Bohemian nation, offered him the
post of Minister of Public Instruction. Though his national theories
prevented Palacký from taking part in the deliberations of the German
National Assembly, he was a member of the Slav Congress at Prague and
of the Austrian Parliament which in 1848 and 1849 met first at Vienna,
then at Kremsier.
The short period of liberal government in Austria ended with the year
1849. Palacký suffered, like all the Bohemian patriots, from the
German and absolutist rule, which was re-established in Bohemia in
a more aggravated manner than before.[164] A paper to which Palacký
contributed was suppressed because of an article from his pen which had
caused sensation, and the military authorities deliberated whether the
writer should be tried by court-martial.
In 1861, when a new attempt to establish constitutional government in
Austria was made, Palacký was made a life-member of the Upper Chamber
of the Parliament of Vienna. He only spoke there twice, in August
and September of the year that he had been named. The question of an
agreement with Hungary was then under discussion. Hungary claimed
almost complete independence, and Palacký rightly maintained that the
establishing new small states was contrary to the tendency to union
that then prevailed in Europe. Palacký advised the Hungarians, as well
as the Bohemians, to make considerable concessions to the Central
Government of Vienna. He seems already to have foreseen, what actually
occurred six years later, that Hungary would be granted almost complete
independence, and Bohemia considered a mere Austrian province.
Though Palacký, always favourable to the preservation of the Austrian
empire, was prepared to concede to the Central Government in Vienna
far more extensive powers than the Hungarians were, he yet claimed
for Bohemia and the Parliament of Prague a very extensive autonomy,
on lines similar, though not identical, with those of the ancient
Bohemian constitution, which perished on the day of the battle of
the White Mountain. When Palacký found that the Parliament of Vienna
was discussing matters that he considered beyond its competency, and
encroaching on the rights of the Bohemian representative body, he left
Vienna on September 30, 1861, and never again took his seat in the
Austrian Upper House. Of the Bohemian Parliament Palacký was a member
from the time that it first met in 1861. He attended its meetings
whenever the National or Bohemian party took part in its deliberations,
which they, from political reasons, often refused to do. From 1861 to
his death in 1876, Palacký was the recognised leader of the National
party in Bohemia. A detailed account of his life during that time
would be a record of the political struggles of Bohemia during those
years, and would be out of place here. The admiration and veneration
of the Bohemians for the "Otec Vlastí" (Father of the Country), as he
was called, increased with his increasing years. On April 23, 1876,
the completion of Palacký's great historical work was celebrated by
a banquet at Prague, at which the historian was present. He seems to
have felt the presentiment of approaching death, and indeed described
the speech which he delivered as his testament. The speech is so
characteristic of Palacký that I shall quote a few words from it.
"Our nation," he said, "is in great danger, surrounded, as it is, by
enemies in every direction; but I do not despair; I hope that it will
be able to vanquish them, if it has but the will to do so. It is not
enough to say 'I will'; every one must co-operate, must work, must make
what sacrifices he can for the common welfare, particularly for the
preservation of our nationality. The Bohemian nation has a brilliant
past record. The time of Hus was a glorious time. The Bohemian people
then surpassed in intellectual culture all other nations of Europe....
It is now necessary that we should educate ourselves and work in
accordance with the demands of culture and intellect. This is the only
testament that, speaking almost as a dying man, I wish to leave to my
people." Palacký's presentiment proved but too true. He died, after a
very short illness, on May 26, 1876. His funeral was the occasion of
general national mourning in Bohemia.
Though, as already mentioned, the study of history from his early youth
appealed particularly to Palacký, it was by a work of a very different
character that he first became known to the small group of men who in
the earlier half of the present century were interested in Bohemian
literature. While still studying at Pressburg, Palacký published a
translation of some of the poems of Ossian, which was enthusiastically
welcomed by his friends.
It was at Prague only that he decided on writing his _History of
Bohemia_, which made him the foremost man of his nation, and which
he has himself described as "especially the work of my whole life."
Palacký's preliminary labours in the archives of his own country and
then in those of Germany and Italy have already been noticed. Of the
immense difficulties which Palacký's historical work encountered he has
himself given an interesting account. All printed writings were then
in Austria and Bohemia under the control of the "censure-office," to
which I have already referred. The Government, there is no doubt, was
in principle opposed to the publication of a history of Bohemia founded
on the best available documents, that is to say, of a work really
deserving the name of a history. They were too ignorant to know to how
great an extent such a work would contradict the short accounts of the
past of Bohemia--written with a strongly Romanist and anti-Bohemian
tendency, and founded on Hajek's chronicle--that were then in general
use; but they somehow felt that this would be the case. "The Austrian
Government was convinced," Palacký writes, "that its past conduct as
regards Bohemia would not obtain praise from the tribunal of history.
What occurred during the Thirty Years' War and since that period in the
interior of Bohemia is still one of history's secrets; it makes the few
who have attempted slightly to lift the veil under which these events
are hidden shudder."
In 1836 the first volume of Palacký's _History of Bohemia_ appeared.
It was published in German, as were all the volumes that were issued
up to the year 1848. Henceforth the book appeared simultaneously
in German and Bohemian. When Palacký, towards the end of his life,
re-wrote his great work, the earlier parts also appeared in Bohemian.
The first volume, dealing with a period when the history of Bohemia is
more than half mythical, was treated very leniently by the censors,
who considered the fables of Prěmysl and Libussa very harmless. In the
Austria of the earlier part of this century the words "Securus licet
Ænaeam Rutulumque ferocem committas ..." were as true as in the Rome of
the emperors.
Difficulties, however, began when Palacký had reached the period of
Hus. The masterly account of the life and death of the great Bohemian,
no doubt the most brilliant part of Palacký's work, greatly displeased
the censors to whom it was submitted. The ecclesiastical censor
suggested a very plain course, namely, that Palacký's work should be
entirely suppressed. Prince Metternich, who was consulted, proposed
that Palacký should omit all "objectionable reasoning," but should be
allowed to state facts.
The correspondence between Palacký and the censors--published by
the former after the suppression of that detestable institution--is
irresistibly comic. The censors had not only, as is generally supposed,
the power of striking out passages in an author's work that displeased
them, they were also entitled to insert passages in a book that were
often in direct contradiction with the writer's views. Palacký's
description of the corruption of the Roman clergy in the fifteenth
century was suppressed, and he was ordered to attribute the rise of
the Hussite movement to the "stubbornness, inflexible obstinacy, and
dogmaticalness" of Hus. Palacký patiently consented, but he ventured
to remonstrate when objections were raised against his account of the
courageous demeanour of Hus when before the Council. He was instructed
to state that Hus had "appeared irresolute" when brought before his
judges. Palacký remarked that this statement would be in contradiction
with the passage quoted above which he had been ordered to insert The
ignorance of the censor is proved by the fact that when Palacký quoted
Poggio Bracciolini's account of the death of Jerome of Prague, he
was unaware of the existence of the well-known Italian humanist, and
requested to be informed who he was. He also expressed doubts as to the
authenticity of the letter to Lionardo Aretino in which that account is
contained, though it had then already been frequently printed, and is
quoted by numerous Protestant and Catholic writers, including Pope Pius
II, Palacký lived to see the abolition of censure, and to republish in
their original form the volumes of his History that he had been obliged
to submit to it.
Political events and the ever-increasing mass of materials, which
of course proportionately increased Palacký's labours, delayed the
progress of the History, and it was only in 1867 that the second
part of the fifth volume, which reaches to the accession of the
House of Habsburg to the Bohemian throne in 1526, was published.
Bohemian historians generally end their work with the battle of the
White Mountain in 1620, and this was no doubt Palacký's intention.
His remark, quoted above, proves that he never intended to write the
history of Bohemia during and after the Thirty Years' War. In 1861 he
had, however, already formed the decision to end his narrative with the
year 1526, and he informed the Estates of Bohemia--who contributed to
the expenses of the publication--of that intention.
During the last nine years of his life Palacký employed whatever spare
time his political engagements left him in re-writing parts of his
History in accordance with fresh materials, in completing the Bohemian
version of parts that had at first appeared in German only, and in
eliminating the passages that the censors had obliged him to insert.
This new revised edition was, as already mentioned, completed only in
the year of the author's death.
Palacký's _History of Bohemia_ is now recognised as one of the great
historical works of the nineteenth century. Though less known in
England than on the Continent, it has there also obtained the praises
of historians, such as Bishop Creighton and the late Mr. Wratislaw. It
is not easy to define the circumstances that rendered the publication
of Palacký's monumental work a political event in Bohemia, contributing
greatly to the revival of national feeling. The record of a glorious
past came as a revelation to the Bohemians, whom the German inhabitants
of Austria were, in consequence of their long supremacy, in the habit
of treating with contempt. It fortified the patriots in their belief
that their nation and its language would not perish. It is this
conviction which alone explains the intense veneration for Palacký
which all Bohemians felt, many of whom had neither the money to buy
nor the time to read his great historical work. The recently published
centenary memorial of Palacký contains many striking instances of the
devotion with which Bohemians of all classes regarded the historian
of their country. I may be permitted to quote one anecdote from the
Memorial. A young tailor's apprentice from Moravia, named Breynek,
during a visit to Prague, met Palacký in the street. Innumerable
photographs of the great historian had rendered Breynek familiar with
his features. He walked up to him, stating that he was a Moravian and
a countryman. Palacký conversed affably with him for several minutes
and then gave him his hand. This meeting became the principal event of
Breynek's life. Every date was designated as having happened "before
I met Palacký" or "after I met Palacký." He only regretted that he
had been too shy "to kiss the hand that had written the history of
his country." Palacký's History, as already noted, was published
simultaneously in German and in Bohemian; the earliest volumes indeed
at first appeared in the former language only. The book is therefore
not so inaccessible as the works of the earlier Bohemian historians,
from which I have given copious quotations. An English translation of
Palacký's history of Bohemia is, however, still a desideratum.
With the exception of a short German biography of Dobrovský, most of
Palacký's minor works are connected with his great History; some are
the results of studies preparatory to the great work; others contain
documentary evidence in support of statements made in the book; in
others again, Palacký enters into controversies with some of the
critics of his work. I shall mention some of the most important of
these works. In the year 1829 the Bohemian Society of Sciences offered
a prize for the best essay on the early historians of Bohemia. Palacký
won this prize with his first historical work, entitled _Würdigung_
_der alten Böhmischen Geschichtschreiber_. The book was written in
German, and was first published in the Journal of the Bohemian Museum,
that then appeared in German as well as in Bohemian. In 1830 it was
republished separately in an enlarged form. The book gives short and
concise sketches of the lives of the Bohemian historians from Cosmas
to Hajek. It is still of value, and indispensable to all who study
the works of these historians. Like this book, closely connected with
Palacký's principal work, is a short historical sketch entitled _Die
Vorläufer des Hussitanthums_ ("The Precursors of Hussitism"). The fate
of this little book is rather curious. In 1842 Palacký read a paper
on "The Precursors of Hus" before the Bohemian Society of Sciences.
Wishing to publish its contents, he, as in duty bound, submitted the
MS. to the censure-office. The officials there, however, entirely
declined to give their consent to the publication of the book. A copy
of the MS. came into the hands of Dr. Jordan of Leipzig, who in 1846
published it there under his own name. This was done with the consent
of Palacký, who was more desirous that the fruits of his research
should become public than that he should obtain personal recognition.
The book has since been reprinted under the name of the real author,
and still has great value. I have availed myself of its contents when
writing of the precursors of Hus In chapter ii. of this book.
It is not surprising, if we consider the previous general ignorance on
the subject of Bohemian history, that from the moment his book began
to appear Palacký became the object of violent attacks. The first
attacks proceeded from German writers, but after the publication of
the volume that deals with Hus, other Catholic writers also joined
in these attacks. The treatment which the Slavs of Northern Germany,
and sometimes those of Bohemia also have endured on the part of the
Germans, could only be defended by describing these tribes as brutal,
savage, and cruel barbarians. Palacký has certainly proved that
these descriptions, founded on vague statements of German monks or
on the mendacious Hajek, are at least grossly exaggerated. Palacký's
impartial account of the career of Hus, who had in Austria previously
been described in accordance with the words of the censor, which I
have quoted, displeased the more prejudiced Roman Catholics, Professor
Höfler, who was both a fanatical Teuton and a bigoted Roman Catholic,
was the most persistent opponent of Palacký. Palacký replied to his
criticism in his _Geschichte des Hussitanthums und Professor Höfler_
which appeared in 1868. Mainly polemical also was Palacký's small work,
_Zur Böhmischen Geschichtschreibung_, published in 1871. In this book
the author defends his historical work against the attacks of Professor
Höfler and other German critics. He gives here also an account of his
old controversies with the censure-office, from which I have quoted.
Several collections of documents are also due to the diligence of
Palacký. In 1860 he published a collection of--mostly Latin--documents
referring to the reign of King George of Poděbrad. A similar but
far more interesting collection of Latin and Bohemian documents was
published in 1869. I have in chapter iii. frequently quoted this
collection, on which, indeed, my account of the career of Hus is
principally based. The Latin documents are printed in that language
only, but Palacký has given a Latin translation of those that were
written in Bohemian. An additional collection of documents, published
in 1873, refers to the period of the Hussite wars. In the last years
of his life Palacký published in three volumes a selection of the most
important historical, political, and literary essays which he had
written in Bohemian. This is by no means a complete list of Palacký's
works. In the "question of the MS." he, as already mentioned, figured
as a defender of the authenticity of these documents.
It is to the four writers whom I have now successively referred to
that the revival of the Bohemian language and of Bohemian literature
is principally due. They were the centre of a group of writers who, if
less talented, were no less patriotic and enthusiastic. The isolated
position in which they were at first placed, surrounded by Germans or
Germanised Bohemians, and living under an absolute Government, that
always treated them with suspicion and often with positive enmity,
caused these men to draw closely together; many of them were indeed
on terms of intimate friendship. The vast amount of correspondence
that passed between them, to which I have already referred, is now
gradually being published. It is characteristic of these writers that
they rarely limited their labours to one subject, but generally wrote
both in poetry and in prose, and on the most varied subjects. Their
patriotic motive was the wish to prove that the new, or rather revived,
literature possessed works on all subjects and in every literary form.
That this sometimes led to superficiality and mediocrity cannot be
denied.
WENCESLAS HANKA (1791-1861) has already been mentioned in these pages
as the discoverer of the MS. of Königinhof, and it is as such that he
is principally known. He is, however, the author of a collection of
Bohemian songs that soon became very popular, and of several works on
Bohemian grammar and etymology. He also published numerous translations
from the German and from the Slav languages, and edited Hus's _Deerka_
and _Dalimil's Chronicle_, which were then almost unknown.
A better poet than Hanka was his contemporary Ladislav Čelakovský.
The best of his many poetical works are two collections of national
songs entitled respectively _Echoes of Russian Song_ and _Echoes of
Bohemian Song_. These books, contrary to what the title would lead one
to infer, are mainly original, though Čelakovský has made thorough use
of his knowledge of the legends and traditions of the Slav peasantry.
Another collection of poetry is entitled _The Hundred-Leaved Rose_.
As in Kollar's _Daughter of Sláva_, the love motive struggles with
the patriotic motive for supremacy in this poem--not perhaps to its
advantage. We possess prose works also of Čelakovský dealing with
the Bohemian language. That subject was ever before the minds of
the Bohemian writers of the earlier half of this century, of whom
Čelakovský is one of the most correct.
It is beyond the purpose of this book to give a complete list of the
modern "minor poets" of Bohemia. I may mention as among the best,
Macha, who imitated Byron, Jungmann's friend Marek, Halek, Koubek,
and Rubes. The last-named is the author of a song entitled _Ja jsem
Čech a kdo je vic?_ ("I am a Bohemian, and who is more?"), which
is still very popular in Bohemia. The drama has only been greatly
cultivated in Bohemia within the last twenty years, particularly since
the establishment of the large Bohemian theatre at Prague. At present
Bohemia possesses a considerable number of dramatic authors. Of older
dramatists we must first mention Joseph Tyl (1808-1856), the author of
very numerous dramatic works. In one of these Tyl introduced a song
beginning with the words _Kde je domov muj?_ ("Where is my home?").
This song rapidly became very popular, and can now almost be considered
as the national air of Bohemia. Wenceslas Klicpera (1792-1859) wrote
over fifty comedies and tragedies, and, though none of his plays are
above mediocrity, contributed considerably to the development of the
Bohemian stage, which then possessed hardly any dramatic works. Of
novelists belonging to the early period of the revival of Bohemian
literature, we should mention Mrs. Božena Němcova, who was born in 1820
and died in 1862. Her novels, which deal mainly with the simple life
of the Bohemian villagers, have obtained a well-deserved popularity.
Mrs. Němcova's masterpiece, the _Babička_ ("Grandmother"), has been
translated into English, French, Russian, German, and many other
languages. A very talented writer of historical novels was Wenceslas
Beneš Třebizky (1849-1884).
Two gifted sisters, whose work was of great assistance to the
development of Bohemian literature, also deserve mention. I refer to
the sisters Rott, who belong to a period somewhat later than Mrs.
Němcova. The elder sister assumed the pseudonym of Karolina Světla
(1830-1893), and is the author of many interesting novels, of which
_Križ u potoka_ ("The Cross by the Stream") obtained the greatest
success. Sophia Rott--afterwards Mrs. Podlipská--(1833-1897) produced
a cycle of historical novels that have great interest, though they are
not devoid of anachronisms.
Of writers on scientific subjects, one of the earliest was John Presl
(1791-1849). Presl was Professor of Natural History at the University
of Prague, and the first modern Bohemian works on this subject are
due to him. The patriots, as already mentioned, wished to prove that
all subjects could be treated in the national language. Presl is the
originator of the present system of Bohemian phraseology as regards
the subjects on which he wrote, and he has therefore well deserved the
gratitude of the Bohemian people. It is of him and of Marek that the
story is told that, when they were visiting Jungmann to discuss the
future of Bohemian literature, the latter remarked to his visitors: "It
needs only that the ceiling of this room should fall in, and there will
be an end of Bohemian literature!"
Great also are the services to the Bohemian cause of Charles Jaromir
Erben; born in 1811, he died in 1870 as archivist of the town of
Prague. Erben's works, like those of many Bohemian writers of his
time, deal with various subjects. It is really only the establishment
of the national university which has made it possible for us to have
specialists in all branches of science at the present day. Erben
published several collections of Bohemian popular poetry and various
interesting works on the folklore of his country. We have to thank
him also for an edition of selected works of Ilus, which has value
until the definitive edition of the works of the Bohemian martyr is
completed. The works of Hus, particularly those written in the Bohemian
language, were formerly almost inaccessible. Erben also edited Štitný's
books on _General Christian Matters_, Harant of Polžic's Travels, the
Chronicles of Bartoš, the writer, and many minor works. These editions
have valuable notes and biographies of the ancient writers, which I
have frequently used in the earlier parts of this work.
More limited was the range of studies of Dr. Joseph Jireček
(1825-1888). His works mostly deal with Slavic, particularly with
Bohemian literature. Jireček's _Rukovět_, or _Handbook of the History
of Bohemian Literature_, is still one of the best books dealing with
the subject. That part of the work which refers to the writers of the
so-called "unity", founded on entirely new documents, will not be
superseded for a considerable time. Dr. Jireček played a considerable
part in Bohemian and Austrian politics, and was, as Minister of Public
Instruction, a member of Count Hohenwarth's short-lived Cabinet
(1870-1871).
One of the results of the revolutionary movement of 1848 was the rapid
development of journalism in Bohemia. Its originator was Charles
Havliček (1820-1856). Endowed with an exceptional talent for satire, he
strongly attacked the unpopular Austrian rule in Bohemia. He collected
many of his political articles in the famed _Kutnohorskí Epištoly_
("Letters from Kutna Hora"). Of his satirical works, _Křest' Svatého
Vladimira_ ("The Baptism of St. Vladimir") is the most witty. During
the time of reaction that followed the revolutionary years 1848 and
1849, Havliček was exiled to Brixen in the Tirol by the Austrian
Government. We owe to this exile his _Tyrolské Elegie_ ("Tirolese
Elegies"), one of his finest works. Havliček was allowed to return to
his country shortly before his death.
As a result of the brilliant example given by Palacký, great attention
has recently been devoted to the long-neglected annals of Bohemian
history. Dealing now only with those who are deceased, I will first
mention Dr. Anton Gindely (1829-1888), whose studies were mainly
devoted to the history of Bohemia in the early part of the seventeenth
century. He did not live to complete his great work, a history of the
Thirty Years' War, but his minor studies have thrown considerable
light on little-known subjects connected with Bohemian history. Thus
the great influence of Christian of Anhalt on Bohemian politics can
be considered as almost a discovery of Gindely's. It may be said that
Gindely's speciality was his liking for the study of original sources
(the "Quellenstudium," as it is called by the Germans), and there may
have been some exaggeration in his method.
Professor Karel Tieftrunk's (1829-1897) studies of Bohemian history
deal with a rather earlier period than that chosen by Dr. Gindely. His
principal work, _Odpor stavuv cěských proti Ferdinandovi I._ ("The
Opposition of the Bohemian Estates to Ferdinand I."), is very valuable,
and is founded on the contemporary record of Sixt of Ottersdorf, as
well as on careful archival study.
Professor Wenceslas Tomek (1818-1905), during his long life of study,
enriched Bohemian literature with numerous and valuable historical
works, and he held up to his death the rank of the most prominent
historian of his country. In the last years of his life he published
his memoirs, which are somewhat disappointing. The extreme caution
which was innate in an Austrian subject of Tomek's generation, and
perhaps also the staunchly conservative views which he held after
youthful radicalism had left him, induced him to avoid, with perhaps
exaggerated caution, all mention of matters that might give offence
to the governing powers. Wenceslas Tomek was born at Králové Hradec
(Königgrätz) in 1818. His father, as he tells us, was a shoemaker,
who had some time previously established himself in that town. Though
Tomek for a time studied law, he soon devoted himself entirely to
historical work. Even in his younger and more liberal days he appears
to have been a fervent adherent of the Church of Rome; but he tells us
in his memoirs that he was severely reprimanded by the then formidable
"censure"-office for having stated in one of his earliest writings that
Socrates--a pagan!--had been an honest man. The greatest work of Tomek,
his _Dějepis města Prahy_ ("History of the Town of Prague"), perhaps
one of the greatest town-histories of the nineteenth century, which
he only began late in life, remained unfinished. It is of priceless
value because of the treasures of research that it contains, and is as
valuable to those who frequently differ from Professor Tomek's views
as to those who are always in sympathy with his opinions. A history
of the University of Prague by Tomek also remained unfinished, and
it may be considered as having been superseded by Dr. Winter's more
recent works. Tomek is also the author of a biography of John Zǐžka,
which--as indeed do all Tomek's works--gives evidence of deep and
conscientious research. That the author is not in sympathy with the
hero of his biography is a fact which, though it does not diminish the
historical value of the book, undoubtedly detracts from its artistic
worth. Zǐžka's biography remains unwritten, and the strange, totally
uncritical, and fantastic _Jean Zǐžka_ of George Sand is perhaps none
the less a truer portrait of the great Bohemian hero than Professor
Tomek's book. The other works of Tomek on Austrian and Bohemian history
are little more than school-books.
Two writers who died recently, and whose influence on the Bohemian
literature of the present day is great, are Neruda and Zeyer. As is
frequently the case with Bohemian writers, these authors cultivated
several branches of literature. Jon Neruda was born in the Prague Malá
Strana (the part of the city which is situated on the left bank of the
Vltava river) in 1834. His books, both in prose and in verse, are very
numerous. Of his poems, the _Písně Kosmické_ ("Cosmic Poems"), which
are the result of deep philosophic thought, had a great success when
they appeared in 1878. Some critics, however, assert that the book is
somewhat obscure. Of Neruda's many prose works, some of which first
appeared as _feuilletons_ in the _Narodni Listz_, the foremost Bohemian
newspaper, the best are the _Malostranské povídky_ ("Tales of the Malá
Strana"). Neruda died in 1891.
Julius Zeyer (1841-1901) was certainly one of the most prominent
writers of the period of the literary revival in Bohemia. Though he did
not begin writing in early life, he was, like most of the writers of
his time, the author of numerous works both in prose and in verse. His
first book, _Ondry Cernyšev_, a historical novel, the scene of which is
laid in Russia at the time of the Empress Catherine II., appeared in
1875. Zeyer lived a considerable time in Russia, and also frequently
visited Italy. Next to his own Bohemia, these two countries influenced
him most. In perhaps the best of his many novels, _Jan Maria Ployhar_,
the scene is laid in Italy. Of Zeyer's poetical works, the best is his
_Vyšehrad_, a cycle of epic poems which deal with the legendary period
of Libusa and Premysl. It is undoubtedly one of the most valuable
fruits of modern Bohemian poetry.[165] Zeyer also attempted, though
not very successfully, to write for the stage and he is also the author
of a biography of the Bohemian patriot, Vojta Naprstek, with whom and
with whose family he was on terms of friendship.
The last twenty years have contributed in a quite unprecedented manner
to the development of the Bohemian language and literature. The
Bohemian writers now living have added greatly to the fame of their
country, and have brought the national language to a degree of purity
and polish which it had never attained before. Many circumstances have
contributed to this result. The foundation of the Bohemian Academy of
Francis Joseph, which added to the Society of Sciences and that of the
Museum a third learned society, has been very helpful. The foundation
of a large national theatre has greatly encouraged dramatic authors,
and the fact that the national language has to a very great extent
among the middle classes, and to a lesser degree among the upper ones
also, taken the place of German, has been of immense value to the
Bohemian novelists. Those of the present day have naturally a great
superiority over their predecessors, who, when attempting to describe
Bohemian society, wrote of counts and barons, while the counts and
barons of that period in real life only spoke German.
The living Bohemian writers are so numerous that I have, though
reluctantly, omitted the names of many whose works are of value.
The study of history continues in Bohemia without interruption, as
is indeed natural in a country where the records of a splendid past
afford some solace to those who feel that their country plays but a
subordinate part in the present Austro-Hungarian empire. Of the living
historians of Bohemia, one of the most prominent is Professor Joseph
Kalousek, born at Vamberk in 1838. He showed from early youth great
talent for historical research; and his writings include, besides
larger works, a vast number of articles that have appeared in the
various Bohemian reviews and magazines. One of the most important works
of the learned professor is his _Statni Pravo_, a study of the ancient
constitution of Bohemia. The book first appeared in 1871 at the moment
when an imperial decree had assured the Bohemians that the constitution
would be restored to them. Other works of Professor Kalousek are a
treatise on the use of the chalice in Bohemia in the period previous to
Hus--a matter the importance of which only those thoroughly acquainted
with Bohemian history can gauge--and a recent book entitled _Obrana_
_Knižete Václava Svatého_ ("A Defence of Prince Wenceslas the Holy").
Dr. Kalousek, a firm adherent of the Church of Rome, here upholds the
memory of St. Wenceslas, who has been treated rather unfavourably by
Palacký and other Bohemian historians. Kalousek has also shown great
interest in the history of the Bohemian peasantry during the period of
serfdom. Many of the documents referring to this subject, published by
him in the _Archiv Česky_, which he edits, are of great value.