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 788 BOHEMIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE sounds, viz., and cA, as in the German word (rliischen. Cz was formerly used for c, rz for, and sz for $. The Czech language has no article, but has declinable demonstrative pro- nouns. It has three genders, eight declen- sions, seven cases (nominative, genitive, da- tive, accusative, vocative, instrumental or so- ciative, and locative) ; three numbers (a dual only in nouns and pronouns) ; two kinds of adjectives, determinate and indeterminate; organic and periphrastic degrees of compari- son; declinable numerals; six forms of the verb (with but one inflection), six modes (indicative, imperative, conjunctive, optative, conditional, and transgressive or participial). The passive voice and the future tenses are made by means of auxiliaries ; but the termi- nations of persons and numbers are not less developed than in Greek and Latin. Great liberty in the sequence of words characterizes the syntax, which is analogous to the Greek and Latin. Metre predominates over the tones in the vocalism of words, so that the Czech language can vie with the Magyar in rendering Greek and Latin poetic rhythm. Great variety, force, and phonetic symbolism in the derivating affixes, enrich the language with a great number of expressions, and make up for its scantiness of metaphony. Joseph Dobrovsky, the great Slavic linguist, divides the history of the Czech language and litera- ture into six periods, commencing respectively with the following epochs: 1, the immigration of the Czechs; 2, their conversion to Chris- tianity, A. D. 845; 3, King John of Luxem- burg, 1310; 4, John Huss, who introduced a precise orthography, 1410 ; 5, the extension of printing, and the accession of Ferdinand I. of Hapsburg, 1526; 6, the battle at the White Mountain, and the expulsion of the non-Catho- lics, 1620. The discovery in 1817 of a part of the Bukopis vralodleorsky (manuscript of K6- niginhof), by Hanka, in a church steeple, brought to light a collection of 14 lyric and epic poems, alleged to have been written be- tween the years 1290 and 1310, and supe- rior to most of the contemporary productions of other European nations. There are about 20 poetic and 50 prose works extant belonging to the epoch before Huss, such as Dalimil's chronicle in verse, of 1314; a song of 1346, on the battle of Crecy, where King John fell, and other liistpric legends ; Thomas Stitny's book for his children, 1376 ; Baron Duha's judicial constitution of Bohemia, 1402 ; a politico-di- dactic poem, by S. Flaska of Richenburg ; and various allegoric, dramatic, and elegiac compo- sitions, besides translations of foreign works. Charles I. of Bohemia, known as Charles IV., emperor of Germany, founded in 1347 the Benedictine monastery of Emails, in the Neu- stadt of Prague, for monks who had fled hither from Croatia and in 1348 the university of Prague. John Huss revised the translation of the Bible, wrote tracts and hexameter poetry, and gave a great impulse to the activity of the Czech mind. Notwithstanding the wholesale destruction of the Hussite writings, there yet remain, hidden in archives and libraries, many productions of the Calixtines, Taborites, Ho- rebites, Orphanites, and other Hussite sects, some of them by mechanics, peasants, and wo- men. Many of these works were carried off by the Swedes, and are now in the library of Stockholm. Mere rhyming, however, prevailed over poetic inspiration in most of the verse of those times. But the prose works of the 15th century, especially the state papers, are models of composition : concise, clear, and emphatic in style ; so much so, that the Czech language was about to become a general means of civ- ilization for all Slavs, and was even used in Lithuanian official documents. John Ziska, the leader of the Hussites (1419-'24), composed war songs, and a system of tactics for his troops. The work of Hayek de Hodetin, and especially that of Wenceslas Vlcek de Cenow, on Hussite strategy, are more important. The accounts of the travels of Albert Kostka de Postupitz to France (1464), of Leo de Ros- mital through Europe (1465), of the Bohe- miaa Brother Martin Kabatnik in Asia Minor and Egypt (1491), of John de Lobkovitz to Palestine (1493), &c. ; the spirited and elegant political work of Ctibor de Cimburg, the clas- sic production of the same sort by V. C. de Wszehod, "The Art of Governing," and the great encyclopcedia of the canon Paul Zidek, with many works on economy, popular medi- cine, &c., are monuments of the Czech intel- lect in the latter half of the 15th century. After 1490 the kings ceased to reside in Bo- hemia, and German Catholics began to pour into the country. Nevertheless, Czech litera- ture attained its golden age between 1526 and 1620, especially under Rudolph (II. as em- peror of Germany, 1576-1612), when the sci- ences and arts were zealously cultivated by all classes of society. Kepler (though a Ger- man) presided over the astronomic observatory at Prague, which then had two universities and 16 other literary institutions, including schools for females as well as males. The Czech tongue was now more developed even than the German, and was used in all transactions ; in point of style the works of this period are in- ferior to those of earlier times, but the political and legal literature is superior to the rest. The following works are worthy of mention : George Streyc's psalms; Lomnicky's poems; Charles de Zerotin's memoirs and letters; Wenceslas Hayek de Liboczan's romantic chronicle of Bo- hemia ; Barto's work on the religious troubles of 1524; Sixtus de Ottendorfs work on the diet of 1547 ; John Blahoslav's history of the Bohemian and Moravian brethren, perhaps wrongly ascribed to him ; a universal history, now at Stockholm, by an anonymous author, but rich, clear, and trustworthy; genealogies and biographies by Brzezan ; an excellent his- tory by Veleslavin ; the travels and fortunes of Ulric de Wlkanowa, Wenceslas Vratislas de