Page:A history of Bohemian literature.pdf/211

194 much as he likes—Nothing will be better—His house will be hell—They (=the servants) will take no notice of him—Perhaps even laugh at him.—In your own children too—You can see how different they are—Some give pleasure—Others cause but grief." This quotation is sufficient to prove that Lomnický extended his reflections far beyond the domain of agriculture. His book contains chapters "on wisdom," "on enemies," "on ill-conducted old women," "on female servants and their punishment," "on conjugal fidelity," "on dress," and on many other matters as little connected with his subject.

Somewhat later Lomnický published his Cupid's Arrow (Kupidova Střela), a poem which contributed greatly to his fame among his contemporaries. Though the book was not, as has been frequently stated, dedicated to Rudolph II., but to Lord William of Rosenberg, it found great favour with the King of Bohemia, and probably induced that prince to confer on Lomnický the rank of a noble, which he had long desired. In this book also Lomnický poses as a moralist, and inveighs against the vices of his age. Bohemian authors, perhaps the only ones who have seriously criticised Lomnický's writings, have generally, and perhaps rightly, doubted whether his virtuous indignation was sincere. Lomnický, indeed, in this very book, confesses that he was a "lover of sweet Venus," and all his works—not even the Advice to a Landowner excepted—show a predilection for risqué subjects and situations. Similar in tendency to the Arrow is Lomnický's book entitled Dance, a short treatise on dancing, considered as an exaggerated exertion of the luxurious body, which was dedicated to his most prominent patron, Lord Peter of Rosenberg. A con-