The important thing in modern literature is the light which it throws upon the personalities of the authors themselves, both as individuals and as representatives of their people. No one in modern literature can produce a memorable work without making clear the innermost workings of his own soul and thoughts and feelings. When we look from this point of view at such men as Shevchenko and Franko, we realize that we are dealing with real spiritual and intellectual leaders with a real faith in democracy and that these men have a message not only for their people and age but for the entire world. We are often inclined to believe that a literature which is little known can have little of value in it. The permanent worth and the greatness of an author are not immediately visible in the sale of his works and in the number of translations that are made of them. Accident plays a large rôle and often an unlucky but great author must wait years for recognition while another who is fortunate but less great will receive almost immediate and quick-passing praise as a genius. We need only think of the large number of last year’s best-sellers that have gone into a speedy oblivion and of the world’s masterpieces which continue a slow but steady sale for decades as the real virtues slowly but surely attract a multitude of devoted readers. Human nature is remarkably constant from age to age and country to country but there develops through the centuries a specific character of each nation and culture. Manners and customs may change. Costumes may be discarded and varied. Economic conditions may be outgrown or swept away by revolution. Something remains and that something is the very kernel of the national character which perseveres and expresses itself in literature. This kernel may be obscured by superficial details. Its qualities and virtues may be hidden by external trappings. It may seem to take strange and unusual forms. It may seem to be inconsistent with much that tradition and religion and education have built around it but it still remains and the sympathetic reader who can look below the surface of the outward form can realize its meaning and its significance for humanity. This is especially true with Ukrainian literature. Its modern period started with the _Eneida_ of Kotlyarevsky in 1798 and it has under severe difficulties carried on from then until the present. Yet it has never wavered in its two outstanding qualities, a keen sense of realism and above all a confidence and belief in democracy in every form and this is its chief characteristic. There is hardly a literature which is more devoted to the cause of the common man and presents him more sympathetically in his struggles, his difficulties and his achievements and if there may be said to be anywhere a literature of the common man, it is the Ukrainian literature. CHAPTER ONE THE BACKGROUND OF UKRAINIAN CULTURE