Unfortunately most of this was in the narrowly religious sphere. The Academy of Kiev was still predominantly interested in theological polemics. During the long struggle with Poland, the Western ideas which had penetrated the Academy were largely connected with religion. There was little or no attempt to study the achievements of the West in literature and art and other secular subjects. Those who sought secular learning were usually absorbed in the Roman Catholic Church and in Polish life. Those who maintained the old traditions were usually peasants who were themselves suspicious of all innovations and the masters treated more and more the speech of their Ukrainian peasants and serfs as an object of scorn and of amusement. Along with the decline in Ukrainian liberties, there came a steady reduction in the number of educated or even partially educated persons. As a people the Ukrainians were losing and losing rapidly all the marks and even the traditions of an educated class. Their interests were becoming those of serfs and peasants and they seemed destined to be swallowed up in the mass of the dominant races about them. Thus at the end of the eighteenth century, the vast majority of the Ukrainian people had ceased to figure in the world of culture. They still had their folk songs which told of the exploits of the Kozaks and their great Hetmans and leaders of the past. They spoke among themselves in the vernacular but whatever schools there were still taught the Church Slavonic language which was hoary with age and which was by now very different from the daily spoken speech. Ukraine had drifted into an intellectual backwater. It is small wonder that many young men trying to escape from this stagnation looked for a more active life and became lost to the cause of the people. The whole question was whether the forces of destruction would sweep the country before there came a new inspiration to lift the people intellectually and to rekindle a healthy life. Fortunately a solution was found. CHAPTER TWO HRIHORI SKOVORODA