Page:A history of Bohemian literature.pdf/258

Rh the New Testament, are still considered models of Bohemian writing. One cannot, however, help regretting that he, who was so severe on "Latinisms," should have interspersed his writings with Latin words, and sometimes with Latin sentences, that are most disturbing and irritating to the reader. Blahoslav seems to have inserted these patches of Latin as evidence of his learning, in the same manner as English novelists some time ago were given to introducing into their writings fragments of French as evidence of their knowledge of the ways of society.

Of later writers of the Unity I may mention Brother Jaffet. He entered the ecclesiastical service of the Unity in 1576, and afterwards became a member of the "small council." He also was a voluminous author, but many of his works have been lost and the others remain in MS. His most important works were the Voice of the Watchman, which appeared about the year 1600, and a work which he published in the year 1607 under the somewhat long-winded title of ''The Sword of Goliath for the defence of God's people against their enemies, that is, the Description of the. . . constant succession. . . of true and genuine bishops and priests within the Unity of the Brethren.'' In the preface to this work Jaffet declares that his purpose is to prove that the brethren have always preserved the apostolic succession which they received from the Waldenses. As a proof of this assertion, Jaffet published a list of the ordinations which took place within the Unity from its beginning. This list Dr. Gindely, who had thoroughly studied the history of the Unity, declared to be spurious. Brother Jaffet died at Horaždovic in 1614. He was one of those enemies of Rome on whom vengeance was wrought after their