Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 22.djvu/169

 SLAVS 153 lie has written a good historical novel entitled Andrew Chernisheff, which deals with the reign of Catherine II. of Russia. In 1880 appeared two other tales by the same writer, Romance concerning the Faithful Friendship of Amisa and Amil, and a strange book of Oriental tales styled Baje Sosany (Stories of Susannah). As with us, the social romance or novel of domestic life has latterly been much cultivated among the Chekhs. The legends and tales current among the peasantry have also been carefully collected, first by Bozena Nemcova (1820-1862), whose Slovenske Povcsti had a very great success. She was followed by Madame Muzak, authoress of some of the most popular of the modern Bohemian novels. Her "Country Romance" (Vesnicky Roman] has been translated into French. Excellent pictures of rural life have also been given by Yaclaff Smilovsky (a nom de plums of Smilauer), who has written a great many novels, as the "Old Organist" (Stary VarJiarnik), Martin Oliva, &c., much in the style of Auerbach and Zschokke. Other writers of historical novels are M. Bohumil Cidlinsky and Vaclaff Vlcek. Madame Zone Podlipska, sister of Madame Muzak, is known as a popular writer of social romances. For an account of the historical labours of Francis Palacky, see PALACKY. Among the pupils of the great historian the first place must be given to Yaclaff Vladivoj Tomek (b. 1818), now professor of Austrian history in the university of Prague, whose chief production is a history of that city, which he has carried to a fifth volume. In 1849 he published the first volume of a history of the university of Prague, which seems never to have been completed, and in 1880 a biography of the Bohemian hero ZizTca. He appears throughout as a most accurate and painstaking writer. Vocel (1803-1871) is the author of a valuable work, "The Early Days of Bohemia" (Prav&t Zcm$ t'cske), which we have quoted already when treating of Slavonic ethnology. Alois Sembera (1807-1882), whose literary activity ex- tended over a long period, wrote voluminously on Bohemian history and literature. He was professor of the Bohemian language at the university of Vienna. In a work on the western Slavs (0 Zdpadnich Slovancch) he maintained that the Chekhs, Moravians, Slovaks, and Polabes were settled much earlier in the countries which they at present occupy than many historians have been willing to admit. As a critic, Professor Sembera is an iconoclast and has attacked many of the (supposed) early monuments of the Chekh language. Dr Antonine Gindely, born at Prague in 1829, has proved himself to be a most conscientious and enthusiastic worker in the field of historical research. In order to collect materials for his publica- tions he travelled in various parts of Bohemia, Poland, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, and Spain. The results of this diligence have appeared in a collection of valuable historical works, such as the History of the Bohemian Brethren, Rudolph II. and his Times, and later a History of the Bohemian Revolt of 161S. The brothers Joseph and Hermenegild Jirecek have won a reputation in Bohemian literature by many useful works. They have conjointly published a book in defence of the Kralodvorsky Rukoj>is which is well worthy the attention of those who wish to make themselves acquainted with the literature of this vexed question. Joseph is now occupied in editing in a cheap form some of the most interesting monuments of early Bohemian literature. - In 1880 Hermenegild published a valuable Collection of Slavonic Laws, containing an almost complete series of the early codes of the Slavs in the original languages. Joseph Jirec"ek is also author of a useful chrestomathy of Bohemian literature with biographical and critical notices. Joseph Constan- tine Jirecek (son of Joseph, born in 1854), formerly a privatdocent of the university of Prague, has devoted himself to Bulgarian his- tory and bibliography. In 1872 he published a Bibliography of Modern Bulgarian Literature, and has written a History of Bulgaria, of which a German translation has appeared. Joseph Emler and Karl TieftruiiK have been co-operators with Dr Gindely in his "Old Monuments of Bohemian History " (Stare Pamiti Dejin Ceskych). The former has also edited the second volume of the Regesta Bohemica and since 1870 has been editor of the "Journal " (fcasopis) of the Bohemian museum. Karl Tieftrunk has written several useful works, among them the History of Bohemian Literature from the earliest period to the present time, and the interesting mono- graph on the opposition of the Bohemian states to Ferdinand I. in 1547. The History of Bohemian Literature is very carefully written and gives in a short compass much valuable information. An elaborate work is now appearing in parts by F. Backovsky, entitled Zevrubne Dejiny fteskeho Pisemnictvi Doby Nov6 (A Com- plete History of Modern Bohemian Literature) from the year 1774 to the present time. There is also a work by Jerabek, Early Days of Romantic Poetry. Many valuable contributions to Bohemian history have proceeded from the pen of Dr Joseph Kalousek (b. 1838). Vincent Brandl and Beda Dudik have devoted particular attention to Moravian history and antiquities. The former, among other works, has edited the letters of Karl ze Zerotin, previously mentioned. Beda Dudik, a Benedictine monk and historiographer of Moravia, has published some valuable works on the history of that portion of the Bohemian kingdom and has also written a History of Moravia. Like the great work of Palacky, it was first written in German, but has since appeared in the Bohemian lan- guage. Extracts from the interesting diary of 2erotin have been edited by him in the Mahrische Geschichtsquellen. Through his efforts twenty-one Bohemian manuscripts which had been carried away to Sweden at the time of the Thirty Years' War have been restored, and are now preserved in the state archives of Briinn. Among these is the Legend of St Catherine, many words in which are said to explain difficult passages in the Kralodvorsky Rukopis and to furnish testimony to its authenticity. Jakub Maly (d. 1885) was the author of many important articles in the Slovnik NaiiZny, the Chekh Conversations-Lexicon, and of a popular his- tory of the Bohemian people. He also wrote a grammar of Chekh for Englishmen, besides assisting in the translation of Shakespeare, which has been produced by the joint labours of many Bohemian scholars. In 1868 was published under the editorship of Erben the second volume of the Vybor z Literatury Geske, a very important work, containing specimens of the old Bohemian authors. The first volume had been edited by Schafarik, for an account of whose literary activity see SCHAFARIK. Valuable works on philology have been written by Martin Hattala, by birth a Slovak, who is now professor of Slavonic philology at the university of Prague. One of his most important productions is in Latin, De Contiguarum Consonantium Imitatione in Linguis Slavicis. He is a defender of the genuineness of the two celebrated manuscripts, the Zelenohorsky (i.e., "thatwhich contains the judgment of LibuSa") and the Kralod- vorsky. Among sound philologists are reckoned Drs Gebauer and Geitler. The former has contributed some valuable papers to the Archiv fur slawische Philologie, edited by Professor Jagic of St Petersburg. The latter, born in 1847, is at present professor of Slavonic philology at the university of Agram. He commenced his studies at Fragile under Alfred Ludwig, the translator of the Vedas, and Hattala, and at Vienna under Miklosich. Having begun with a dissertation in the Casopis on the present condition of comparative philology, he published in the same year a work on the Old Bulgarian language. In 1873 he made a tour in Russian and Prussian Lithuania, that, like Schleicher, he might study that interesting language from the mouths of the people. He afterwards published the results of his travels in his Lithauische Studien. He has since written a treatise on the Albanian alphabet (Die Albanesischen und Slavischen Schriften, Vienna, 1883). In this an attempt is made to connect the Glagolitic and Albanian alphabets. A valuable work was written by Antonin Matzenauer (b. 1823), entitled " Foreign Words in Slavonic Languages " (Cizi Slova ve Slovanskych Retech}. Excellent works on classical philology have been published by A. Kvicala and Vanicek. Natural science was successfully cultivated by Jan Svatopluk Presl (1791-1849), professor in the university of Prague, and Jan Ev. Purkyne (1787-1869), pro- fessor of physiology in the same university. As regards moral philosophy, the first part of Dr J. Durdik's History of Recent Philosophy has just appeared, which extends from Kant to Herbart. Throughout the whole period of the resuscitation of Bohemian literature the society called the Matice Ceska has worked energe- tically, printing its excellent journal or Casopis four times a year, and also issuing some of the old Bohemian classic and meritorious works by modern authors. It was a great triumph for the Chekhs when a part of the instruction of the university was allowed to be carried on in the Bohemian language. A new magazine (Slovansky Sbornik] made its appearance at the beginning of 1884. The Listy Philologickt (Philological Leaves) is still published. Recently a new literary journal ( The Athenaeum) has been started, which seems to be more or less modelled upon its English namesake. Slovak. This language or dialect is spoken in the north-western Slovak, corner of the kingdom of Hungary. It is generally considered to exhibit an earlier form of Chekh, and this is proved by many of its grammatical peculiarities being found in the older Chekh litera- ture. One characteristic of the language is the use of diphthongs in cases where the other Slavonic tongues use simple vowels. For a long time the Slovaks employed Chekh in all their published writings. About the close of the 18th century a separatist move- ment began. The first Slovak grammar was published by Bernolak at Presburg in 1790. It was followed by those of DianiSka and Viktorin. There is a Slovak dictionary by Loos. The attempt to form a new literary language was to be deplored on many grounds, for both the Magyar and the German have to be resisted. For a short time a literary society existed among the Slovaks, which published useful books and a journal. The Magyars, however, sup- pressed it, because it was "contra integritatem patrise," as we were told by one of their ecclesiastics. The Bohemian naturally resents the attempts at separation by the Slovak, and in 1846 the Chekh Literary Society issued a work entitled "Opinions in Favour of One Written Language for the Chekhs, Moravians, and Slovaks " (Hlasovc o potrcbe Jednoty Spisorneho Juzyka pro Cechy, Moravany, a Slovaky). The Slovaks have produced a few poets of repute, such as Holly, Sladkovic, and Chalupka, but their literature is meagre. Lusatian Wendish. This language is divided into two dialects, Lusatian Upper and Lower, although even these are capable of subdivision. Wendish. The word "Wend," as previously explained, is a purely German name and is never used by the Slavs themselves. The Lusatians are also XXII. 20