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saries, namely, that he did not write in Latin, and what was worse that he knew only the rudiments of that language! But he was humble in spirit and frankly confessed, "I can give but meager and weak testimony concerning Latin."14 The editor of the Vile̍mov Edition of the Net of Faith (A.D. 1521) reminds us that "there are many who do not slight Chelc̄icky̍ just because he is a layman and not learned in the Latin tongue" ; on the contrary, he emphasizes that
though he was not a master of the seven arts, he certainly was a practicer of the eight beatitudes and of all the divine commandments, and was therefore a real Czech Doctor, versed in the law of the Lord without aberration from the truth.
It is entirely possible that Chelc̄icky̍ studied in his youth in some monastery where he may have acquired an elementary knowledge of Latin.15 Whatever his academic background may have been, his correspondence and writings reveal that he was by all standards a man thoroughly acquainted with the crisis of his time and with the thought of the leading spirits of the contemporary scene, as well as with the literary heritage and history of the Christian Church.
Southern Bohemia where Chelc̄ice is situated had been
