A History of Bohemian LiteratureLützow, Francis, hrabe
History
A History of Bohemian Literature
Lützow, Francis, hrabe
Czech literature -- History and criticism
It has already been mentioned that Dobrovský had no enthusiasm for
the Bohemian language, to the development of which he so largely
contributed. His early recollections carried him back to the time
when it was little more than an idiom used by the peasantry in the
outlying country districts of Bohemia. When, in the present century,
the movement in favour of the national language acquired greater
strength, Dobrovský never sympathised with it. When the publication
of the _Časopis Musea Království Českého_ ("Journal of the Museum of
the Kingdom of Bohemia") in Bohemian, as well as in German, was first
discussed, Dobrovský expressed the wish that the new journal should
appear in German only. It must, in justice to Dobrovský, be added
that in the last years of his life he wrote a few Bohemian essays
for the journal. They are, indeed, with a collection of letters, the
only writings in the national language which he has left. Dobrovský's
critical nature and his thorough philological training induced him to
deny from the time of its discovery the genuineness of the "MS. of
Grüneberg",[143] an opinion that is now shared by almost all Bohemian
scholars. Dobrovský expressed himself strongly on the subject He wrote:
"It (_i.e._ the MS.) is a knavery which they (the "discoverers")
committed from hatred of the Germans, and from exaggerated patriotism,
for the purpose of deceiving themselves and others."
Dobrovský died in 1829, at a time when the question whether the
Bohemian language should live or not was already decided in the
affirmative sense. He had during the last years of his life become very
unpopular among the Bohemian patriots, but events have proved that his
critical faculties sometimes guided him better than enthusiasm did
others. As a philologist of the Slav languages Dobrovský was in advance
of his time. Etymological monstrosities, such as Kollar sometimes
committed in his _Staroitalia Slavjanská_, would have been impossible
to Dobrovský.
Very different from the calm scholarly nature of Dobrovský was the
temperament of the four enthusiastic patriots to whom, with, of course,
the co-operation of minor writers, the revival of Bohemian literature
is due. I refer to Jungmann, Kollar, Safařik, and Palacký.
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