Bohemia’s contribution to literature
grave, the books that were thought all destroyed were taken out of their caches, Bibles appeared that hadpassed through fire, water, dough, and earth, the Labyrinth, the Praxis of Comenius came to light from places which even the fox-like ingenuity of the magistrates could never discover, and thousands returned to the faith and tongue of their fathers—there was a Great Resurrection. No wonder that Goethe marveled. It was indeed a miracle only God could have performed. Vain were the efforts of Joseph II, otherwise an enlightened and tolerant monarch, to Germanize the Bohemian people. Whipping of the children for speaking the Bohemian language only strengthened the repugnance to German. Literary activity seems to be stimulated by the persecution of the native tongue. Joseph Dobrovský, the greatest philologist of his time, wrote grammars and other treatises Bohemian language. Kramerius published Bohemian newspapers and popular stories. Joseph Jungman completed his life’s work The Dictionary of the Bohemian Language, and published translations of masterpieces of Milton (Paradise Lost) and Goethe. Jan Kollar, the greatest Slovak, wrote his pan-Slavic epos Slávy Dcera (The Daughter of Glory—or the Slav; note the play of words.) Kollar’s pan-Slavism was, however, nothing but a beautiful, poetic dream.
No one, however, did so much to arouse the patriotic feeling of the nation, no one filled the hearts of the patriots with so much enthusiasm, so much energy as František Palacký, the greatest historian of Bohemia, justly called “The Father of His Country.” The nation’s glorious past brought back to light by him, gave confidence to all in a still more glorious future. His Dějiny Národu Českého—The History of the Bohemian Nation, is a monumental work, the only reliable source of information on the history of Bohemia. The style is so masterful that it satisfies the scholar and is accessible and pleasing to the average man.
At this time poetry also began to flower. F. L. Čelakovský, and Karel Jaromír Erben drew upon the treasures of Bohemian folklore and gave us several collections of great literary value.
