of Pole and Russian as brothers in the cause of Slavonic unity. The heroic achievement of John Hus has been well characterized in the words of his countryman and biographer, Count Lützow: “If neglecting for a moment the minutiæ of mediæval theological controversy, we consider as a martyr that man who willingly sacrifices his individual life for what he firmly believes to be the good of humanity at large, who ‘takes the world’s life on him and his own lays down,’ then assuredly there is no truer martyr in the world’s annals than John Hus.”
The Hussite Wars, which followed the tragedy of Constance, are one of the most remarkable episodes in history and especially deserving of attention at the present time. The Bohemian nation, alone and unaided, held all Europe at bay for close upon twenty years, and routed army after army which the Germans sent against them. There have been moments in history—it is necessary to emphasize this to-day—when the German spirit has led the van of Europe. But on the occasion of the Hussite Wars, as in the present European tragedy, Germany unquestionably stood for reaction and for the imposition of an alien “Kultur.” To-day the legions of Bohemia are forced unwillingly, by a foul and unnatural system, to fight the battles of their deadliest enemies. But surely we are entitled to believe that the spirit of John Žižka, the heroic blind general of the Czechs, is fighting on our side to-day, and to hope that the nation
