A History of Bohemian LiteratureLützow, Francis, hrabe
History
A History of Bohemian Literature
Lützow, Francis, hrabe
Czech literature -- History and criticism
Though he can scarcely be considered as a humanist, John of Lobkovic
should be mentioned in connection with his brother Bohnslav. Differing
in most things from his brother, with whom, in consequence of questions
of succession, he was for some time on bad terms, he used the Bohemian
language for his two works which we possess. He wrote a curious
work entitled _Knowledge and Instruction for my son Jaroslav, as
to what he should do and what omit_. The book, written in 1504,
was afterwards printed under the less unwieldy title of the _True_
_Bohemian Mentor_. It enjoyed great popularity in Bohemia, and a copy
of this book was a frequent gift of fathers to their sons.
As a proof of the noble spirit in which the book is written, I shall
quote a portion of the chapter entitled "On subject people (_i.e._
serfs), and how you should behave towards them." John of Lobkovic
writes: "Be gracious to your subjects, if you wish that the Lord God
should be gracious to you. For if you forgive them their offences, then
will the Lord God forgive you your offences. For we say in the Lord's
Prayer, 'Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass
against us.' Thus we ourselves, when we sing the Lord's prayer, submit
to this, saying, 'Forgive us as we forgive.' And thus if we do not
forgive their offences to those who have offended us, our own sins will
not be forgiven to us by God.
"Hear cheerfully every one, rich or poor, on his request, and either
help him to justice or order those whose business it is to do so. By
this you will obtain the love of the people and their prayers to God
for your long life and happiness in everything.
"If some poor man of yours (subject or serf) has committed some not
very great offence against you, forgive him once and twice; even if
he offends a third time, be merciful. Only if it is a serious matter,
justly meriting the penalty of death, then act towards him as is
fit.... Give just judgment on your subjects and every one on whom you
sit in judgment, for that is God's command.
"When sitting in judgment, pay no regard to the person if he be rich or
poor, or to favour or disfavour, or to presents, which blind the judge
and disgrace justice. Deliver judgment impartially to every one, this
one or that."
Lobkovic's advice as to the treatment of serfs is very interesting, as
having been written only a few years after the Diet of Bohemia had in
1487 established serfdom, which was contrary to the original customs
of Bohemia. It is certain that the rule of the Bohemian nobles over
the peasantry belonging to the same race was very mild, and that the
condition of the peasantry became far worse when, after the battle
of the White Mountain, the landowner was almost always a foreigner,
generally a German. John of Lobkovic is also to be mentioned as a
traveller. In 1493 he undertook a journey to Palestine by way of
Venice, Dalmatia, and Greece, of which he has left us a description
entitled _A Pilgrimage to the Grave of God_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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