The NAME SLAVS (Slověne) has been differently interpreted as being derived from “slavný” (glorious) or “slovo” (word, speech, sermon). It is assumed that the Slavs called themselves so, because they could understand each other, while they called their neighbors, the Germans, whose speech was unintelligible to them “Němtsy” (ně-umtsy), i. e. people who were unable to speak intelligently. Another theory is that the appellation Slověne was first adopted by a Slav tribe living in the vicinity of Saloniki, which had been converted to Christianity by the Sts. Cyrill and Methodius, and, having at the same time learned the use of writing, wished to be known as a more educated people, in contradistinction from other, still illiterate, tribes. Their language has been preserved in the Orthodox church liturgy and is called the Old Slavonic. As Christianity, and with it the use of writing, gradually spread among the other Slav tribes, the distinctive name Slověne was also adopted by them, and finally became synonymous of the whole race.

Originally the whole territory East of the river Elbe, part of Western Saxony, Bohemia, Moravia, Hungary and Illyria were inhabited by Slavs. From their settlements on the Elbe the Slavs were gradually driven East by the Germans, in Hungary they were driven from the plains into the mountains, i. e. the Carpathians, Tatra, the Alps and the Carso. In the Balkan peninsula they were hemmed in by the Greeks and later by the Turks. In Russia they were several times overrun by Asiatic races. They stubbornly held their ground as guardians of Europe against Asiatic domination, particularly so their Eastern and Southern groups. These constant struggles have somewhat retarded their intellectual and economic development, but their latent strength will surely bring them to the position they should rightfully occupy in the world’s history.

According to their present dwellings the Slavs can be divided into three groups:

I. NORTHWESTERN, comprising the Bohemians (Czechs), Slovaks, Lusatian Serbs (Wends), Poles and Kashubes.

II. EASTERN, comprising Russians, i. e. Great Russians, Little Russians (Ruthenians, Ugro-Russians) and White Russians.

III. SOUTHERN, comprising the Slovenes, Serbo-Croatians and Bulgarians.

THE NUMERICAL STRENGTH of the Slav nations is variously estimated between 140 and 150 millions, distributed approximately as follows:

Czechs and Slovaks10,000,000
Lusatian Serbs180,000
Poles and Kashubes20,125,000
Russians and White Russians66,300,000
Little Russians30,000,000
Serbo-Croatians9,210,000
Slovenes1,450,000
Bulgarians4,850,000

THE MUTUAL RESEMBLANCE of the Slavonic languages is very great, especially in syntax and grammatical structure. If a Bohemian, for example, learns Russian thoroughly, he can understand and translate the remaining Slavonic languages with a considerable degree of accuracy.