Page:A history of Bohemian literature.pdf/397

380 "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!"