A History of Bohemian LiteratureLützow, Francis, hrabe
History
A History of Bohemian Literature
Lützow, Francis, hrabe
Czech literature -- History and criticism
The queen receives the pilgrim graciously and invites him to remain
at her court. Shortly afterwards Solomon appears at the queen's court
with the intention of wedding her. He is accompanied by a large crowd
of courtiers, among whom are Socrates, Plato, Epictetus, Seneca, many
Christians and Jews. In their presence the queen receives numerous
deputations, all bringing petitions, beggars, philosophers, who are
represented by Theophrastus and Aristotle, judges, lawyers, and others.
At last the queen receives a deputation of women. They state that it
would be fair that they and men should alternately have dominion.
Some even say that they alone should rule, as their bodies are more
agile and their minds quicker than those of men. As men for so many
years have ruled women, it is, they say, time that women should take
superior rank. A few years ago, they add, a noble example of this was
given in the kingdom of England under the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
for she decreed that all men should give their right hand to women, a
worthy custom that still endured.
Solomon, who had hitherto listened attentively to the petitions and
to the queen's answers, now suddenly exclaims, "Vanity of vanities,
and everything is vanity." He then tears away the mask which the queen
wore, and she appears as a hideous hag. Yet shortly afterwards Solomon
is, by means of flattery, again won over to her side and conducted to
the street of married people, where he is unable to resist the female
attractions that offer themselves to him. Fearful calamities are
the consequence of Solomon's weakness, and the pilgrim despairingly
exclaims, "Oh, that I had never been born, never passed through the
gate of life! for after having surveyed all the vanities of the world,
nothing but darkness and horror are my part. O God, God! If thou art a
God, have mercy on wretched me!" The pilgrim, whom his companions have
meanwhile abandoned, now hears a voice from on high which exclaims,
"Return whence thou camest into the house of thy heart, and then close
the doors." The voice is that of Christ, who appears to the pilgrim
and instructs him in true religion; the teaching, needless to say, is
strictly in accordance with the doctrine of the Unity. The pilgrim is
then received into heaven, and the last chapter consists in a prayer to
Christ, ending with the Latin words, _Gloria in excelsis Deo et in
terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis_.
It is impossible to render justice to the _Labyrinth_ in a few pages,
and no book lends itself less to quotation. Komenský, who is generally
diffuse and addicted to repetition, has here given us an enormous
amount of thought and experience in a very small volume.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account