A History of Bohemian LiteratureLützow, Francis, hrabe
History
A History of Bohemian Literature
Lützow, Francis, hrabe
Czech literature -- History and criticism
"Others again may say: 'You attach too much importance to learning and
the learned.' Indeed some good men say that through learning discord
has entered into Churches, and that this might happen to the Unity
also. He would indeed attribute too much importance to learning and
knowledge who should fancy that without the 'seven arts' God's truth,
that is, the Gospel, cannot be preached, or that our salvation is
founded on this learning or knowledge. But he who would say this must
indeed be very silly."
"I, on my part, hold that those who work for the word of God require
for that purpose a special gift of God which is called eloquence, which
enables them to declaim, to teach, to admonish, to warn. The Lord
at first gave eloquence to His servants as a gift in so miraculous
a manner, that it was not necessary that they should learn. But
then wonders and miracles ceased. Henceforth, as the Spirit of God
recognised that eloquence is necessary to the Church, it is not harmful
to teach eloquence whenever and to whatever person it is possible (to
do so). Surely a man cannot wait till God miraculously throws down
eloquence to him from heaven! That would indeed be as if a peasant
neither sowed nor ploughed, but waited till manna rained down on him
from heaven."
"Do not our young men, I say, when they are taught to preach, learn
besides piety and knowledge of God's word, eloquence as well? It
is obvious to all that many of these young men, though they do not
know Latin, are more learned in their speech, and more eloquent than
some fairly learned Latinists. Still it is certain that if, besides
their other studies, they also learnt Latin and were acquainted with
dialectics and rhetoric, they would be much more intelligent, more
capable, readier for all work, and more useful."
Blahoslav here expresses the views of the more cultivated members of
the Unity, men to whom to so great an extent the literary development
of Bohemia is due. That it was necessary that Blahoslav should write
such a treatise proves, on the other hand, that the ideas of Chelčicky
and the "small party" still found adherents among the brethren.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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