Historical View of the Languages and Literature of the Slavic Nations Part 15

[Footnote 28: At Venice; see the preceding note. Dobrovsky calls it a splendid edition, and thinks the reason why the Bohemians had it printed at Venice was, that it could not have been executed so well in Bohemia. _Gesch. der bohm. Sprache_, p. 343.]

[Footnote 29: The Picardites, or Picards, who are also called Adamites, existed as early as 1491, when Zhizhka crushed them, without annihilating them entirely; the Utraquists detested them because they denied the doctrine of transubstantiation, although they agreed with them in their general principles. They were frequently confounded with the Taborites, among whom at last the remnants of them became lost.

The Grubenheimer were the remnants of the Waldenses, who fled to Bohemia in the middle of the 14th century; where, under persecution and ridicule, they used to hide themselves in caves and pits, _Gruben_; hence their name. Under the s.h.i.+eld of the Reformation they thought themselves safe; but met only with new oppressors and persecutors. There were numerous other sects, and still more different names of one and the same sect. A sect of the Taborites, for instance, founded by Nicholas Wlasenicky, were alternately called _Micula.s.senci_ (i.e. Nicolaites, the Bohemian form for Nicholas being Micula.s.s), or _Wlasenitzi_, from his name; _Pecynows.h.i.+_, from the place of their meetings; and _Plachtiwi_, i.e. the crying, from their manner. See Dobrovsky's _Gesch. der bohm. Sprache_, p. 234. It may be the place here to remark, that the Calixlins or Utraquists, although at first decidedly against the infallibility of the pope, nevertheless in forming the compact of Basle, submitted in the main to the doctrine of Rome, with these four conditions; viz. the free distribution of the Bible to the people; the administration of the sacrament in both kinds; reform of the clergy after the pattern of the Apostles; and punishment for "mortal sins" in proportion to their enormity.]

[Footnote 30: His full name was George Hruby Gelenshky. This patriotic and active individual translated and published a whole series of valuable books; among which we mention only Petrarch's Letters, Cicero's Laelius and Paradoxa, several works of Jovian, etc. Nicholas Konacz followed in the same path. He translated the Bohemian History of aeneas Sylvius, two dialogues of Lucian, and wrote, edited, and printed other meritorious and elaborate works.]

[Footnote 31: This venerable man was ten years president or bishop (Zprawce) of the United Brethren; and his whole life appears to have been devoted to religious purposes. He prepared the hymn-book in use among all the congregations of the Brethren; wrote an interpretation of the Apocalypse, 1501; of the Psalms, 1505; a treatise on Hope, 1503; on Oaths, etc. His writings, most of which are replete with erudition, are enumerated in Dobrovsky's _Gesch. der bohm. Sprache_, pp. 238, 239, 372, 378, 379.]

[Footnote 32: See page 189.]

[Footnote 33: The five last named were banished in 1621.]

[Footnote 34: Simon Lomnicky of Budecz, was court poet; and in addition to the poetical crown, his talents procured him a patent of n.o.bility. He wrote twenty-eight volumes, most of which are printed.

For more general information respecting his works, and those of the other writers here mentioned, we must refer our readers to Jungmann's _Historie Literatury Czeske_, Prague, 1825, and Schaffarik's often cited work.]

[Footnote 35: See the two works named in the preceding note.]

[Footnote 36: Balbin was professor of rhetoric at Prague. His works are of importance for the literary history of Bohemia: _Epitome rer.

Bohem_. Prague 1677. _Miscellanea hist rer. Bohem_. Prague 1680-88.

After his death Unger edited in 1777-80 his _Bohemia docta_, and Pelzel in 1775 his _Dissertatio apologetica pro lingua Slavonica, praecipue Bohemica_. See below under the fifth period of Bohemian literature, near the beginning.]

[Footnote 37: One of Comenius's works: _Labirynt swieta a rag srdce_, i.e. the World's Labyrinth and the Heart's Paradise, reminds us strongly of Bunyan's celebrated Pilgrim's Progress. It was first published at Prague, 1631, in 4to; and after several editions in other places, it was last printed at the same city in 1809, 12mo. His Latin works were printed at Amsterdam in 1657, under the t.i.tle _Opera didactica_.]

[Footnote 38: See above p. 154.]

[Footnote 39: See above, p. 197.]

[Footnote 40: J. Negedly translated the Iliad, and also Young's Night Thoughts under the name of _Kwileni_, Lamentations. He and his brother Adalbert are also favourably known as lyric poets. A series of new translations of the Cla.s.sics in their original measures has recently been prepared; in which a Bohemian version of the Iliad by J.

Wlckowski (Prague 1842), forms the first volume.]

[Footnote 41: In the year 1795; the fifth and last volume appeared in 1804. Bowring has given several specimens of this collection in the For. Quart. Review, Vol. II. p. 145.]

[Footnote 42: For. Quart. Review, Vol. II. p. 167.]

[Footnote 43: The celebrated ma.n.u.script of Koniginhof; see above, pp.

157, 158.]

[Footnote 44: Dobrovsky's princ.i.p.al works are the following: _Script.

rer. Bohem_. (with Pelzel) Prague 1784. _Bohm. und Mahr. Literatur_, Prague 1779-84. _Lit. Magazin fur Bohmen und Mahren_, 1786-87. _Lit.

Nachricten von einer Reise nach Scheweden und Russland_, Prague 1796.

_Geschichte der bohm. Sprache und Lit_. Prague 1792; new edition much altered, ib. 1818. _Slavin_, Prague 1808; new improved edition by W.

Hanka, Prague 1834. _Slovanka_, Prague 1814-15. _Lehrgebaude der bohm.

Sprache_, Prague 1809, 1819. _Etymologican_, Prague 1813.

_Deutsch-bohm. Worterb_. 1802-21. _Inst.i.tutiones Linguae Slav_. Vienna 1822. _Kyrill und Method_, Prague 1823. Also a great number of smaller treatises, essays, reviews, either printed separately or in periodicals.]

[Footnote 45: A collection of poems by this author recently appeared under the t.i.tle _Pownenky no cestach Zivota, od Waclawa Stulce_, Prague 1845, which has been translated into German: _Errinnerungsblumen auf dem Lebenswege_, aus den Neuczechischen, von J. Wenzig, Prague 1846.]

[Footnote 46: _Grundzuge der Bohmischen Alterthumskunde_, Prague 1845.

Jordan's History of Bohemia is also written in German.]

[Footnote 47: _Victorina Kornelia ze Wshehrd, Knitry dewatery prawiech o siediech i o dskoch zeme Ceke_, Prague 1841, edited by W. Hanka. It is the work mentioned above, p.180, n.25.]

[Footnote 48: For several beautiful specimens of this poet, see Bowring's Essay on Bohemian Literature, in the Foreign Quart. Rev.

Vol. II.]

[Footnote 49: See p. 86 above.]

[Footnote 50: Schaffarik's princ.i.p.al works are: A Collection of Bohemian Poems, published at Leutschau 1814; also another of Slovakian Popular Poetry, printed at Pesth 1833. Along with Palacky he published: _Ansangsgrunde der Bohmischen Dichtkunst_, Pressburg 1818.

His _Geschichte der Slav. Sprache und Literatur_ appeared at Ofen 1826; and two years later at the same place a work _Ueber die Abkunst der Slaven_, 1828; also _Serbische Lesekorner_, 1833. The t.i.tle of his great work on Slavic Antiquities is _Slovanske Starozitnosti_, Prague 1837. A German translation appeared under the t.i.tle, _Schaffarik's Slavische Alterthumer_, aus dem Bohm. von Aehrenfeld, herausgeg. v.

Wutke, Leipzig 1844. See a notice of this work in For. Quart. Rev.

Vol. XXVI. No. 51.]

[Footnote 51: Palacky's Bohemian works, besides the various productions of his youth, and many valuable articles in the Journal of the Museum both in German and Bohemian, are the following: _Aelteste Doc.u.mente der Bohmischen Sprache_, Prague 1840. _Literarische Reise nach Italien in 1837_, with Schaffarik, Prague 1838. _Geschichte von Bohmen_, Th. I. Prague 1836; in Bohemian, _Dejing narodu Czeskeho_, I.

Prague 1848.]

[Footnote 52: For more complete information in respect to Bohemian literature, a knowledge of one of the Slavic idioms or of the German language is absolutely required; we know of nothing written on this subject in the English language, except the article of Bowring already cited. This gives an able survey of the poetical part of the literature, but does not profess to cover the whole ground.--The grammatical and lexical part of the Bohemian literature is uncommonly rich, and exhibits no small ma.s.s of talent. We confine ourselves to citing the t.i.tles of those written in German or Latin. No helps in English or French for learning the Bohemian language, so far as we know, ever existed.--GRAMMARS. _Kurze, Unterweisung beyder Sprachen, teutsch und bomisch_, Pilsen 1531, and several later editions.

Klatowsky _Bomisch-deutche Gesprache_, Prague 1540, and several later editions. B. Optat _Anleitung zur bohm. Orthogr._ etc, 1533, Prague 1588 and 1643. Beneshowsky _Gram. Bohem._ Prague 1577. Benedict a Nudhozer _Gram. Bohem._ Prague 1603. Drachowsky _Gramm. Bohem._ Olmutz 1660. Constantin's _Lima linguae Bohem._ Prague 1667. _Principia linguae Bohem._ 1670-80; new edition 1783. Jandit _Gramm. ling. Bohem._ Prague 1704, seven new editions to 1753. Dolezal _Gramm. Slavico-bohem._ Pressburg 1746. Pohl _Bohmische Sprachkunst_, Vienna 1756, five editions to 1783. Tham _Bohm. Sprachlehre_, Prague 1785; also his _Bohm.

Grammatik_, 1798-1804. Pelzel _Grandsatze der bohm. Sprache_, Prague 1797-98. Negedly _Bohm. Grammatik_, Prague 1804, fourth edition 1830.

Dobrovsky's _Lehrgebdude der bohm. Sprache_, Prague 1809, second edition 1819. Koneczny _Anleitung zur Erlernung der Bohm. Sprache,_ Prague 1846.--DICTIONARIES. Of these we mention only such as would aid persons who wish to learn the language so far as to read Bohemian books; referring the reader for an enumeration of the others to Schaffarik's _Gesch._ p. 301. Weleslawin _Sylva quadrilinguis_, Prague 1598.

_Gazophylacium bohem. lat. graec. germ._ Prague 1671. Rohn _Bohmisch-lat.

deutscher Nomenclator_, Prague 1764-68. Tham _Bohmisch-deutsches National-lexicon_ Prague 1805-7. Also his _Deutsch-bohmisches und Bohmisch-deutsches Taschenworterbuch_, Prague 1818.

Tomsa _Bohm. deutsch-lat. Worterbuch,_ Prague 1791. Palkowicz _Bohmisch-deutsch-lateinisches Worterbuch_, Pressburg 1821. Koneczny _Bohmish-Deutsches und Deutsch-Bohm. Taschenworterbuch_, Prague 1846.

The same, _Handbuch der Bohmischen Sprache,_ Prague 1847.]

[Footnote 54: We have seen in the history of the Old Slavic language, that on account of the great similarity of the old Slavic and the Slovakish dialects, both in respect to form and grammatical structure and in the meaning of words, it has been maintained by several philologists, that the language of Cyril's translation of the Bible was in the translator's time the Moravian _Slovakian_ dialect. See above, p. 27.]

[Footnote 55: See above, p. 143.]

[Footnote 56: _Geschichte der slavischen Sprache_, etc. p. 377. G.

Palcowicz, who bought this ma.n.u.script, has inserted a large number of Slovakish provincialisms in his Bohemian dictionary.]

[Footnote 57: See the same work, p. 381.]

[Footnote 58: More modern Slovakish popular songs are to be found in Czelakowsky's collection, _Slowanske narodni pisne_, Prague 1822, 1827; also in _Pisnie swietske lidu slowenskeho w Uhrich_, Pesth 1823, edited by Schaffarik. The little work _Slavische Volkslieder_, by Wenzig, Halle 1830, contains sixteen Slovakish songs, mostly taken from Czelakowsky's work, in a German translation. A large collection of Slovakish popular poetry was made in 1834 by the distinguished poet J. Kollar. It is said to contain 2300 pieces.]

[Footnote 53: See Schlozer's edition of Nestor, Vol. II. p. 76, 97.

_Jazyk_ signifies in Slavic, _lingua_, tongue.]

[Footnote 59: See _Geschichte der sl. Spr_. p. 383.]

[Footnote 60: Pages 199, 205.]

[Footnote 61: The same individual who caused the Dalmatian Bible to be printed; see p. 131 above.]

[Footnote 62: These two individuals of the same baptismal and family names, George Palkowicz, both following the same pursuits, and both not without desert in respect to their countrymen, but nevertheless serving opposite interests according to their different views, must not be confounded. Professor Palkowicz prepared a new edition of the Bohemian Bible for the Slovaks; see p. 205 above. Canon Palkowicz translated the Scriptures into the Slovakian dialect. Professor P.

published a Bohemian dictionary, see pp. 205, 212; Canon P. the fourth volume of Bernolak's Slovakian lexicon, as said in the text above.]

[Footnote 63: See pp. 199, 205.]