Page:Bohemian poems, ancient and modern (Lyra czecho-slovanska).djvu/25

Rh wished to leave the crown to his son, as we have seen under the kings George, Vladislaw, and Ferdinand I. They lost all these privileges in the above mentioned space of time, (i.e. the reign of Ferdinand II.)

‘Up to that time the Bohemians were wont to appear on the field of battle as a separate nation by themselves, and have not unfrequently earned glory. They were now thrust in amongst other nations, and their name no more resounded on the field of battle. Formerly it was said: The Bohemians have marched into the field; the Bohemians have carried the fortifications; the Bohemians have taken the town; the Bohemians have advanced against the enemy; the Bohemians have gained the victory. These glorious expressions were never more uttered by a mouth, or transmitted to posterity by a historian. Up to that time the Bohemians, taken as a nation, were brave, dauntless, passionately fond of glory, enterprising; but now they lost all courage, all national pride, all spirit of enterprise. They fled into forests like sheep before the Swedes, or suffered themselves to be trampled under foot. Their valour was then lying buried on the battle field of the White Mountain. Individual Bohemians still possess courage, martial spirit and a love of glory, but mingled with foreign nations, they