A History of Bohemian Literature

by hrabe Francis Lützow

Fear not those, the Lord hath said,
Who would your body harm.
For love of your fellow-creatures
He has ordered you to die;
Therefore strengthen manfully your hearts.

Christ will recompense your sorrows,
Hundredfold repay you,
Who for Him doth lose his life
Will win eternal bliss;
Happy he who dies for the truth.

* * * * *

Therefore manfully cry out:
'At them! rush at them!'
Wield bravely your arms;
Pray to your Lord God;
Strike and kill! spare none!"

The eventful life of Zižka belongs to Bohemian history, but it may yet not be out of place to mention here that his life and career have constantly been systematically misrepresented by writers hostile to his faith; and particularly outside of Bohemia scarcely any other writings referring to Zižka were known. He thus passed down from one generation of writers to another as a ferocious and bloodthirsty robber and fanatic. The real Zižka was, as repeatedly mentioned, the leader of the moderate Taborites, and the contemporary writers mention several cases when Zižka reproved the barbarity of his soldiers. It is none the less impossible to acquit him altogether from the accusation of cruelty, but it is certain that his conduct in this respect was far more humane than that of his adversaries, the so-called crusaders, who several times invaded Bohemia and openly proclaimed their intention "to let no heretic live." The account of the death of Zižka, according to which he died blaspheming, and ordered that his body should be flayed, his skin used as a drum, and his body thrown to the wild beasts—first mentioned by Ænæas Sylvius, and since repeated by countless writers—is also totally devoid of truth. It may be of interest to quote the account of Zižka's death given by one of the contemporary chroniclers.[56] It runs thus: "Here (at Přibislav) brother Zižka was seized by a deadly attack of the plague. He gave his last charge to his faithful Bohemians, (saying,) that, fearing their beloved God, they should firmly and faithfully defend God's law in view of His reward in eternity. And then brother Zižka recommended his soul to God, and died on the Wednesday before the day of St. Gallus" (October 11, 1424). Even had we no historical evidence to the point, this tranquil death would appear a fitting end for the great Bohemian general. He who had so often fought what he firmly considered God's battle, assuredly did not dread entering into God's peace.

It has already been stated that besides the two great divisions of the Hussites, minor religious sects sprung up in Bohemia in consequence of the general religious exaltation which prevailed in the country, particularly in the earlier part of the fifteenth century. These sects went far beyond the teaching of the Calixtines, and even of the Taborites. They were frequently influenced by chiliastic ideas, which not unnaturally lead to socialism. Of such fanatics the one who attracted most attention was the priest Martin Huska, also known under the name of "Loquis." He obtained a considerable following among the people of Bohemia, who called him "the Lion of Daniel" and "the Angel of God's Legion." His influence soon became prejudicial to the strict military discipline which Zižka maintained at Tabor. He was arrested by order of that general, and, after he had repeatedly broken his promise to discontinue his preaching, was burnt on August 21, 1421. It is stated that Huska was the author of numerous theological treatises, but none of them have been preserved. The little we know of his opinions is derived from the writings of Přibram, who frequently quotes his works.

I shall next refer to one of the most independent and original of Bohemian writers, Peter Chelčicky. Though only recently well known in Bohemia, and still almost unknown elsewhere, Chelčicky is well worthy of a far more extensive study than limited space will here permit me to devote to him. Though a contemporary of the theologians whom I have mentioned in this chapter, and on terms of acquaintance with some of them, Chelčicky everywhere impresses us as an independent thinker. As Professor Jagič has recently written in his Russian preface to the Petersburg edition of the Net of Faith, it is difficult to calculate how great would have been the influence of Chelčicky's works had they been written in English, German, or French instead of in Bohemian. Chelčicky may be described as a socialist, but his socialism was rather that of the primitive Church or of Count Tolstoy—to whom Chelčicky has often been compared—than that of the modern disturbers of public order. Horror of bloodshed and of all violence is indeed one of the distinctive tenets of Chelčicky, and absolute obedience to all, even the most unjust authorities, is enjoined by him. Chelčicky's ideal is the communism of the primitive Church such as he imagined it. The source of all evil is the "donation of Constantine."[57] When the Church was then for the first time enriched, an angel, Chelčicky tells us, spoke the words: "To-day has poison been infused into the Church of Christ." This mystical conception of the primitive Church is the foundation of most of Chelčicky's tenets. As the primitive Christians had no part in the government of the Roman empire, therefore no true Christian can hold any office of state. He may, indeed must obey, but he should not command. In the primitive Church, according to Chelčicky, all were equal. Therefore the "bands," that is, the temporal and ecclesiastical grades and ranks among men, are hateful "to the meek and poor Lord Jesus." In his intense hatred of all temporal and spiritual authority, Chelčicky sometimes appears to expound very modern ideas, but we must always remember that we are reading the words of a writer of the fifteenth century and of a fervent Christian.

Very characteristic of Chelčicky is his hatred of bloodshed. While the magisters of the Calixtine Church had, after a prolonged discussion, decided that war in self-defence was permissible, and even a duty for those who held the true doctrine, Chelčicky maintained the absolute sinfulness of war under whatever circumstances. In his Reply to Rokycan he writes: "Has Christ repealed His command—'Thou shall not kill'? If Christ has not revoked that order, then it must still be obeyed both at Prague and at Tabor." Chelčicky was, therefore, entirely out of sympathy with his countrymen during the momentous period (from 1420 to 1434) when their great victories attracted the attention of all Europe. It is a natural consequence that even at a period of general national enthusiasm, Chelčicky—similar in this respect to the socialists of all times—shows an almost complete absence of pride in his distinctive nationality.

A result of Chelčicky's intense hatred of all social privileges and distinctions was his repeated quaint jibes against the nobility and the clergy, and his pronounced affection for the humble life of the peasantry, another of the many traits in Chelčicky in which he appears similar to Tolstoy. Though the uncontested fact that he was able to spend a considerable time at Prague at his own expense proves that Chelčicky was not entirely without means, and it is probable that he was a small landowner, yet he always speaks of himself as a peasant. Thus, in his Reply to Rokycan he writes: "If, therefore, I, the peasant, strike out blindly with my club, your reverence must not be scandalised."

Chelčicky has nowhere attempted to expound his views on the constitution of Church and State systematically. In the Sít Víry ("Net of Faith "), undoubtedly his masterpiece, we find the nearest approach to such an attempt. The sum of his teaching—as I have written elsewhere—constitutes an attempt to establish a theory of religious nihilism, substituting for all secular and ecclesiastical authority the ill-defined "will of God."