Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/837

CZECH LITERATURE. masses—Sturm, Berlička, Steyer, and Koniaš—are full of barbarisms, monstrous forms and words. In 1774 Maria Theresa enforced by a decree the use of German in the intermediate schools as the language of instruction.

Fourth Period—Renaissance (1774 to the present day).—The forcible suppression of the native tongue in the common schools of Bohemia produced results entirely opposite to those which were expected, and met a vigorous protest. Count Kinsky published in German a plea for the Czech language under the title Erinnerung über einen hochwichtigen Gegenstand (1774), which was followed in 1775 by Balbin's Dissertatio Apologetica Linguæ Slovenicæ, published by Pelzel. Pelzel himself (1734-1801) was one of a number of young scholars who devoted themselves to the study of their native tongue and the history of their country. Thus appeared Fr. Thomsa's Böhmische Sprachlehre (1782) and K. I. Thám's Kurzgefasste böhmische Sprachlehre (1785), which laid the foundations for the study of the language. Pelzel's own contributions were: Typus Declinationum Linguæ Bohemicæ Novo Methodo Dispositarum (1793); Grundsätze der böhmischen Grammatik (1795) ; and especially his historical works, of which the New Bohemian Chronicle was chief. These latter works awakened interest in their own history among the Czechs. A chair of Czech language was established at Prague in 1793 (Pelzel). The greatest name of this period of Czech literature is that of (1753-1829) (q.v.), the ‘patriarch of Slavic philology.’ In his works on grammar and literary history he gathered enormous lexical materials, and the historical and comparative method brought him to the discovery of the richness of the ancient classical language, to which his main interests were devoted. It is true that he made a Collection of Czech Proberbs in 1804, but all his works were written in German. Such men as Prochazka, Rulik, Puchmayer, Jan Nejedlý, V. Nejedlý, Hněvkovsky, and others wrote pamphlets for the instruction of the people, compiled dictionaries and grammars, translated the classics of European literature, published periodicals, composed plays for the theatre, and even poetry in the sentimental style of the idyls of Gessner. These attempts met with very serious obstacles, owing to the imperfect state of the language, which was practically the old language of the classical period, and which naturally lacked terms for new ideas and concepts that had come into vogue during the third period. The language was brought to its final state of perfection in the works of (q.v.) (1773-1847), the most illustrious name of the early renascence. His translation of Paradise Lost (1811), an almost incredible tour de force, widened the horizon of poetical speech; his Czech Dictionary contained the vocabulary of the language; while his History of Czech Literature presented a complete survey of all the literary remains. He was particularly happy in coining new words, and whenever this expedient was found insufficient he borrowed from other Slavic languages, especially Russian and Polish. The four other names that are most closely linked with that of Jungmann as leaders of the renascence of Bohemia are Kollar, Šafařík Palacký, and Hanka. (q.v.) (1793-1852), poet and scholar, is famous for his Daughter of Slava (1824), one of the poetic masterpieces of the Czech language, and his numerous prose works, among which that On the Literary Reciprocity Between the Families and Dialects of the Slavic Nation (1831) advocated literary (q.v.). Šafařik (1795-1861) was one of the greatest philologists the Slavic countries have produced. Among his works, his Slavic Antiquities (1837) and editions of many literary monuments have all been of importance. Palacký (1798-1876) is an historian, whose History of Bohemia (5 vols., 1836-67) is an ideal combination of critical judgment, profound erudition, and striking style. Along with them may be mentioned Hanka (1791-1861), who discovered the manuscripts of Grüneberg and Königinhof, and published a number of other important remains of Czech antiquities. The greatest poet of the period is František Ladislav Čelakovsky (1799-1852), whose Echoes of Russian and Czech songs, and the long poem The Rose of a Hundred Leaves, together with the poetic works of Kollar, were most responsible for the reawakening of the poetic spirit of the nation. Other names of importance are those of the lyric poets Jablonský and Vinařický, the epic writers Wocel, Marek, Hollý, and Erben, and dramatists like Klicpera and Tyl. Poetry seems to have absorbed all the best energies of the nation at that time, and the novel, which holds the chief place of honor in the literature of all other nations, did not reach any high level of development. Most works of fiction dealt with themes from Bohemian history. The most noted novelists are Chocholoušek, Tyl, and especially Božena Němcova (1820-62), whose themes are simple country life. The masterpiece of the latter, Babička (Grandmother), has been translated into English.

The reorganization of the Austrian Empire on a constitutional basis in 1860-61, which allowed the people of Bohemia scope in the development of political life, and the furtherance of national aspirations, marks the beginning of the modern period in Czech literature. The foundation of a new national theatre at Prague and the establishment of a Czech university by the side of the old university (1882) gave a great stimulus to literary activity. Little by little the narrow ‘national’ current gave way to cosmopolitanism, with Mácha as the leading representative of Byronism. The recognized head of the young generation is ViteslavVítězslav [sic] Hálek (1835-74). The greatest living poet is Vrchlický (born 1853), whose A Year in the South; Pilgrimages to Eldorado; and the historical dramas Brothers and Drahomira, as well as translations from European classics, are specially noteworthy. Equal in popularity is the poet and novelist SvatopulkSvatopluk [sic] Čech, whose best-known work is Arabesky. Zeyer, Heyduk, Arbes, Vlček, and the ladies Eliška Krásnohorská (born 1847) and Karolína Světlá (born 1830) are the most popular novelists of the present day. Great activity has also been exhibited in the departments of science, philology, and literary history, the most important names being those of Jireček, Šembera, Gebauer, and Patera.

. In Bohemian: J. Jungmann, Historie literatury české (Prague, 1825); K. Sabina. Dějepis literatury českoslovanské (Prague, 1863-66); J. Jireček, Rukovět k dějinám literatury české (Prague, 1874); A. Šembera, Dějiny řeči a literatury české (4th ed.,