A History of Bohemian Literature

by hrabe Francis Lützow

Dr. Anton Rezek (born 1853) is one of the prominent historians of Bohemia, though political duties—he was for some time a member of the Austrian Cabinet—and latterly ill-health, have somewhat interfered with his historical studies. His works deal mainly with the history of Bohemia during the earlier part of the sixteenth century—a momentous period; for it was then, in 1526, that the permanent rule of the house of Habsburg over Bohemia began. Many of Rezek's works have been published in the Časopis Musea Českého, and some have appeared in German also.

Dr. Joseph Truhlář has devoted himself successfully to the interesting subject of humanism in Bohemia. The humanist movement, suspected both as coming from Rome and as having what were believed to be pagan tendencies, reached Bohemia late. Its principal adherent in that country was Bohuslav of Lobkovic, whose letters Dr. Truhlář has edited and published. He is also the author of the interesting work entitled Humanismus a Humaniste v Čechach za Krále Vladislava II.

Professor Sigismund Winter (born 1846) is the author of interesting works dealing with the internal condition of Bohemia in ancient times. His history of the University of Prague, his Život cirkevni, a study of the ecclesiastical condition of Bohemia in the Hussite period, and indeed all his writings, are indispensable to the student of Bohemian history.

Of younger Bohemian historians Dr. Wenceslas Flajšhans deserves mention. He has devoted much time and talent to the study of the life and works of Hus, of whom he has recently written an excellent biography. Dr. Flajšhans is also the author of a history of Bohemian literature, to which I here gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness. Mr. Jaroslav Vlček, who, together with Mr. Hladík, edits the review Lumir, has also begun a history of Bohemian literature that is of great interest.

The study of philology has recently been greatly developed in Bohemia. One of the greatest living Bohemian philologists is Professor Gebauer, to whose writings it is principally due that the genuineness of the MSS. of Zelená Hora and Králové Dvur is now generally considered doubtful. Professor Gebauer has now begun the publication of a historical grammar of the Bohemian language on a large scale. Only Part I. and Part III. (consisting of two volumes) have as yet appeared. Another of the principal opponents of the genuineness of the MSS. was Professor Tomas Masaryk (born 1850). Besides being a philologist, Dr. Masaryk is also a distinguished writer on philosophical subjects.

Of great value to Bohemian philology and early literature are the labours of Mr. Adolphus Patera, formerly head librarian of the Bohemian Museum at Prague. For many years Mr. Patera has employed his annual holidays in searching for early Bohemian MSS., many of which, though forgotten, still exist in the libraries of the towns and monasteries of Bohemia and Moravia. Mr. Patera has been indefatigable in deciphering these very ancient MSS., and has published the results of his work in the Časopsis Musea Království Českého. The very interesting but long-neglected study of Bohemian folklore has been greatly assisted by the labours of Mr. Patera's successor, Dr. Zibrt, librarian of the Bohemian Museum. He has published many of the results of his researches in the periodical Česky Lid ("The Bohemian People"). To render his studies accessible to a larger number of readers, Dr. Zibrt very wisely publishes a French edition of his periodical. Professor Mourek, who has mainly studied philological subjects, has enriched the literature of his country by very valuable Bohemian-English and Anglo-Bohemian dictionaries. The learned professor is a thorough master of the English language. Dr. Jaromir Čelakovský (born 1846), up to recently archivist of the city of Prague, a son of the poet Čelakovský, is the author of many valuable studies concerning the ancient judicial and constitutional institutions of Bohemia. Dr. Augustine Sedláček (born 1843) is the author of a monumental illustrated work entitled Hrady a zámky české ("Strongholds and Castles of Bohemia"), of which thirteen volumes have already appeared, and which is invaluable for the student of Bohemian history and archaeology. The prehistoric antiquity of Bohemia has recently been the subject of erudite works by Dr. Píč (Starožitnost země české, "The Antiquities of the Bohemian Land") and Dr. Niederle (Starožitnosti české, "The Antiquities of Bohemia").

Novelists are at present very numerous in Bohemia and, as already mentioned, the extension of the national language enables the authors of the present day to write in a fashion more lifelike than was that of their predecessors. Of the older novelists I will first mention Wenceslas Vlček (born 1839). Of his numerous novels Věnce vavrinovy ("The Wreath of Laurels") is, I think rightly, considered the best. Jacob Arbes (born 1840) is, like most Bohemian authors, a very fruitful writer. Of his many works his Romanetta, a collection of short and very striking tales, is perhaps the best. Alois Jirasek (born 1851) has, like so many Bohemian writers devoted himself to historical romances, which have a natural fascination for the inhabitants of a country with a great past. In justice to Mr. Jirasek it should be stated that in contrast from minor writers he has succeeded in portraying in a masterly manner the period of Hus and the Taborites. Of his historical novels, the scene of which is laid in this period, I may mention the three volumes which Jirasek has named Mezi proudy ("In the Midst of the Stream"), and the book entitled Proti Vsem ("Against All"), a "Page from the Bohemian Epic". A novel entitled Psohlavci, which treats of a later period, that in which, after the battle of the White Mountain, the Bohemian peasants were deprived of their last vestiges of liberty, is among Jirasek's most popular works. Jirasek has also appeared before the public as a dramatist, and his powerful tragedy, Jan Zǐžka, which has been often and brilliantly produced at the National Theatre of Prague, appeals to me more than any of his historical novels. The last scene of the fourth act, in which Zǐžka addresses the faithless city of Prague, has an almost unrivalled beauty. William Mrštik is the author of several clever novels. Of younger writers, Wenceslas Hladík (born 1868) deserves mention. He is the author of a considerable number of novels and dramas. Hladík has very skilfully represented the life and scenery of Prague in a somewhat impressionist manner. His countrymen have sometimes accused him of imitating too closely the modern "decadent" French novelists. To me his novels have often recalled the works of Mr. George Moore. Of Mr. Hladík's novels the best is, I think, the recently published Evžen Voldan, and of his plays I admire most Zavrat ("Vertigo"), in which the ancient subject of conjugal infidelity is treated in a brilliant and original manner. Francis Herites (born 1851) is a fruitful writer of novels and short sketches, and has contributed largely to many Bohemian reviews. Of his many works I will mention one of the older ones, entitled Z mého herbáře. It contains a short tale, Kokotice; which is one of the most touching expressions of Bohemian national feeling that I have ever read.

I will now refer to a group of writers whose fame—though many of them have also written in prose—is mainly founded on their poetry. The critics of the future will probably consider as the greatest Bohemian poet of the day Jaroslav Vrchlický, though some now prefer Svatopluk Čech to him. Jaroslav Vrchlický—the pseudonym of Mr. Emil Frida—was born at Loun in Bohemia in 1853. He began writing at an early age, and has continued doing so uninterruptedly up to the present day. Like Victor Hugo, to whom he has been compared, and who certainly has greatly influenced him, Vrchlický has produced an enormous number of works. His writings, which include lyric and epic poems, dramas, numerous translations, and a few works in prose, had in 1903 already reached a total of 185 volumes. The principal characteristic of Vrchlický's poetry is his mastership of the Bohemian language, which he can almost be said to have raised to a higher level. As the late Dr. Albert wrote, "He works on his language as Paganini or Ondřiček on their violins." This is particularly obvious in Vrchlický's numerous translations from the works of English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish writers. To mention but one example, his rendering of Browning's Toccata of Galuppi is masterly. I wish, however, to devote to Vrchlický's original work the short space that remains to me. The poet visited Italy early in life, and soon acquired a thorough knowledge of the language of that country. He also studied the literatures of France and Spain. A new current of thought was a result of these studies introduced into the Bohemian language, for the writers of an earlier period, brought up in the Bohemian schools, which were then almost entirely German, had been with scarcely an exception under the influence of German literature. Of Vrchlický's early works I will mention Z Hlubin ("From the Depths"), which appeared in 1875, Rok na jihu ("A Year in the South"), which contains reminiscences of the poet's Italian travels, and Bodlaci z Parnasu ("Thorns from Parnassus "), in which is included that truly beautiful poem, Krumlovská Legenda. Vrchlický is a master of the difficult art of the sonnet, and his Sonety samotare (i.e. of a recluse) and Nové sonety samotare are among his finest works. One of the poet's latest books, entitled Episody, contains some beautiful poems referring to the period of the Hussite wars. That period, as is natural, has inspired the greatest works of many of the greatest Bohemian writers. Vrchlický has also obtained fame as a dramatist His Noc na Karlštejne ("A Night at the Karlštejn"), the scene of which is laid in the time of Charles IV., has deservedly had great success, and figures frequently in the repertoire of the National Theatre of Prague. Vrchlický's Julian Apostata deals with its difficult though fascinating subject in a very striking manner. This brilliant play well bears comparison with Ibsen's book on the same subject, and Merežkovsky's Death of the Gods. Of Vrchlický's many other works his Trilogy on the Greek tale of Hippodamia deserves mention. It is quite impossible to give in a few words even a fairly sufficient appreciation of the work of Vrchlický.[166] Some of the finest writings of the poet have recently been translated into German.

Svatopluk Čech, born in 1846 at Ostředek in Bohemia, ranks with Vrchlický as one of the greatest of modern Bohemian poets. I consider it useless to enter into the invidious and foolish question, to which of the two great poets the primacy should be awarded. Svatopluk Čech is truly great as a writer of epic poems, and here he may be considered as unrivalled by modern writers, even in larger and better known countries than his own. His first epic poem, Adamite, deals with a strange, well-known episode in Bohemian history. The Smith of Lešetin (Lešetinský Kovář), portrays in an admirable manner the life of the Bohemian peasantry. But the masterpiece of Čech is, I think, the epic poem entitled Václav z Michalovic. The hero of the poem is a young Bohemian, a son of one of the nobles who were decapitated in Prague after the disaster of the White Mountain. Some parts of this poem, such as the prologue and the speech to the people of Prague, which Michalovic delivers in the Salvator Church, are of unrivalled beauty. Criticism can obviously be founded only on individual impressions; and I do not hesitate to state that no work of modern Bohemian literature has impressed me as strongly as Václav z Michalovic. Of Čech's other poetical works, his sad, pessimistic, and—alas—truthful Písně Otroka ("Songs of a Slave") should be mentioned. Svatopluk Čech has also published a considerable number of prose works. His Povidky, Arabesky a Humoresky, in four volumes, have had a great success.