■ 
 
 ■H 
 
HISTORICAL NOTICE, 
 
 SfC. 
 

 nW 
 
 194* 
 
CONDENSED 
 
 HISTORICAL NOTICE 
 
 or THE 
 
 LANGUAGES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SLAVIC NATIONS. 
 
 BY 
 
 J. S. C. DE RADIUS, 
 w 
 
 A NATIVE OF SOUTHERN RUSSIA. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, 
 
 BY 
 
 WILSON AND OGILVY, 57, SKINNER STREET. 
 1853. 
 
P&57 
 .F?3 
 
 19 wi«s ¥*. 
 
fist of JMramtars. 
 
 The following Ladies and Gentlemen have been 'pleased 
 to retain Copies after 'perusal: — 
 
 COPIES. 
 
 Her Grace the Duchess of St. Albans 1 
 
 Her Grace the Duchess of Hamilton 1 
 
 Her Grace the Duchess of Somerset 1 
 
 The Most Noble the Marchioness of Kildare 1 
 
 The Most Noble the Marchioness of Water ford 1 
 
 The Countess Delawarr 1 
 
 The Countess of Lichfield 1 
 
 The Countess of Hardwicke 1 
 
 The Countess of Seafield 1 
 
 The Dowager Countess of Falmouth 1 
 
 The Countess of Zetland 1 
 
 The Countess Manvers 1 
 
 The Baroness Bassett 1 
 
 Lady Emily Henry 1 
 
 Lady A. Gordon Hallyburton 1 
 
 Mrs. Colonel Hall, South Audley Street 1 
 
 Mrs. G. Carr Glyn 1 
 
LfST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 COPIES. 
 
 His Grace the Archbishop of Armagh 1 
 
 His Grace the Archbishop of York 1 
 
 Field-Marshal the Marquis of Anglesey, K.0 1 
 
 The Most Noble the Marquis of Bristol 1 
 
 The Earl of Carlisle 1 
 
 The Earl of Bradford 1 
 
 The Earl of Ellesmere 1 
 
 The Earl Craven 1 
 
 The Earl of Effingham 1 
 
 The Earl of Longford 1 
 
 The Earl of Haddington 1 
 
 The Earl Cowper 1 
 
 The Earl of Donoughmore 1 
 
 Lieut.- General the Earl of Beauchamp 1 
 
 Lord Farnham 1 
 
 Lord Brougham 1 
 
 Lord Londesborough 1 
 
 Lord De Mauley , 1 
 
 Lord Calthorpe 1 
 
 The Lord Bishop of London 1 
 
 The Lord Bishop of Chichester 1 
 
 The Lord Bishop of Carlisle 1 
 
 The Lord Bishop of Exeter 1 
 
 The Lord Bishop of Norwich 1 
 
 The Lord Bishop of St. David's 1 
 
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 COPIES. 
 
 Vice-Chancellor Sir W. P. Wood 1 
 
 Sir Robert Abercromby, Bart. 1 
 
 Sir R. Shafto Adair, Bart 1 
 
 Sir G-. T. Staunton 1 
 
 The Right Hon. J. C. Hemes, M.P 1 
 
 The Right Hon. C. Shaw Lefevre, M.P 1 
 
 Sir Thomas I), Acland, Bart. M.P 1 
 
 Sir James Clark, Bart. M.D 1 
 
 Lieut. -General Sir A. Maclaine 1 
 
 Lieut. -General Sir Charles Napier 1 
 
 Colonel the Hon. A. Upton 1 
 
 Colonel Sir D. Macdougall 1 
 
 Sir R. I. Murchison 1 
 
 Sir Benjamin Hey wood, Bart 1 
 
 Admiral Meynell 1 
 
 Colonel B. Elphinst one 1 
 
 The Rev. R. Twiss, LL.D 1 
 
 William J. Evelyn, Esq. M.P 1 
 
 Henry Drummond, Esq. M.P 1 
 
 W. B. Beaumont, Esq. M.P 1 
 
 D. Stewart Ker, Esq. M.P 1 
 
 H. G. LiddeU, Esq. M.P 1 
 
 Joseph Ferguson, Esq. M.P 1 
 
 F. C. Hastings Russell, Esq. M.P 1 
 

PREFACE. 
 
 With the view to initiate the reader into the 
 general plan of this unpretending volume, it 
 becomes necessary to mention that throughout 
 the whole, one purpose has been kept in view, 
 namely: — to give a condensed historical account 
 of the Slavonic languages, excluding all matter 
 not bearing upon the subject. 
 
 The struggles, combats, and various events, 
 which at one time or another have attracted 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 the attention of other countries to the Slavic 
 nations, appertain to a different branch of 
 History, and have here been noticed only, 
 when they exercised a certain influence on the 
 Slavic languages. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction 1 
 
 Russian Branch 6 
 
 Illyrico-Servian Branch 7 
 
 Czeko-Slovakian Branch 9 
 
 Polish Branch 9 
 
 Sorabian-Vendish Branch 10 
 
 Notice of the Old Church Slavic Language 14 
 
 The Russian Language 18 
 
 Notice of the Illyrico-Servian Language 38 
 
 Notice of the Bulgarian Language 41 
 
 Notice of the Czekish or Bohemian Language 43 
 
 Notice of the Language of the Slovaks 53 
 
 Notice of the Polish Language 55 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Considering that nearly seventy millions of the 
 inhabitants of the globe speak the same lan- 
 guage, or at least dialects derived from a com- 
 mon source, it becomes a matter of surprise, as 
 well as of regret, that their early history should 
 be involved in an obscureness which the most 
 diligent researches have not been able to eluci- 
 date. The analogy between the language of the 
 Slavic nations and the Sanscrit, seems to indi- 
 cate their origin from India ; but to ascertain 
 the time when they first entered Europe, is now 
 no longer possible. This event, in all proba- 
 bility, took place seven or eight centuries before 
 the Christian era, on account of the over- 
 population of the regions of the Ganges. He- 
 rodotus mentions a people near the Ister, whose 
 
Z SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 name resembles that of a tribe now in Russia. 
 Several other classical and a few oriental writers 
 also allude to the Slavic nations occasionally ; 
 the first distinct intelligence, however, is not 
 older than the middle of the sixth century. At 
 this period they are to be seen traversing the 
 Danube in large numbers, and settling on both 
 banks of that river. Trom that time,, also, they 
 frequently appear in the accounts of the Byzan- 
 tine historians under different appellations, 
 mostly involved in the wars of the two Roman 
 Empires, sometimes as allies, sometimes as con- 
 querors; more frequently yet, notwithstanding 
 their renowned courage, as vassals, but chiefly 
 as emigrants thrust out of their own countries 
 by the warlike Teutonic tribes. Prom the very 
 nature of this information, it is impossible to 
 expect any satisfactory knowledge. There are 
 primitive traces of their fondness for music, and 
 an early cultivation of the language; still all 
 this information is the more imperfect as it is 
 collected from foreign authors, their earliest his- 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 6 
 
 torians not beginning to write before the second 
 half of the eleventh centurv. At this time the 
 Slavic nations were already in possession of the 
 whole extent of this vast territory which they 
 now occupy. 
 
 In the south, the Adriatic, the range of the 
 Balkan, and the Euxine, are their frontiers ; the 
 coasts of the Icy Ocean in the north. Their 
 still greater extent in an eastern and western 
 direction, reaches from Kamtschatka and the 
 Russian Islands of the Pacific, where many of 
 their vestiges exist among scattered tribes, as 
 far as the Baltic, and along the banks of the 
 rivers Elbe, Muhr, and Raab, again to the 
 Adriatic. 
 
 This immense extent greatly adds to the 
 difficulties of a general survey of the dif- 
 ferent affinities and connections of nations 
 broken up into so many parts ; but a review of 
 the language is the present object and purpose, 
 and not the history of the people; other re- 
 marks, therefore, will be introduced here only 
 
4 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 so much as seem to be requisite for the illus- 
 tration of the subject. 
 
 The remotest data for the history of the 
 civilization of the Slavic race are to be 
 found in their mythology : — and here the oriental 
 origin again appears. The belief in a good 
 and evil principle is met with among most 
 of the tribes ; and even at the present time, 
 in some of the Slavic dialects, every thing 
 good, beautiful, and praiseworthy, is to them 
 synonymous with the purity of the white 
 colour. The custom among some, of females 
 burning themselves with the corpses of their 
 husbands, seems also to have been brought from 
 India. There are other features belonging to 
 them exclusively, which remind of the poeti- 
 cal imagination of the Greeks, such as their 
 attributing life to the inanimate objects of na- 
 ture—rocks, brooks, and trees; and of peopling 
 with supernatural beings the woods and moun- 
 tains which surrounded them. The Eusalki of 
 the Eussians — nymphs, naiads, and satyrs — are 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 5 
 
 still to be found in many tales and songs of 
 several tribes. 
 
 There are no very ancient remains of their 
 language, except those words or phrases scat- 
 tered through the works of foreign historians, — 
 and these mostly perverted by a want of know- 
 ing the language themselves. Besides these, 
 the names of places, of festivals, still exist, as 
 well as some songs of the Russians, Bohemians, 
 Servians, and several Slavic tribes, evidently 
 belonging to the Pagan period ; but having 
 been preserved only by tradition,, their diction 
 has been changed in the same proportion as the 
 language of ordinary life. It is, however, pro- 
 bable that at least one Slavic idiom was culti- 
 vated in very ancient times, from the circum- 
 stance that Cyril's translation of the Bible, 
 written in the middle of the ninth century, bears 
 the character of almost perfection ; and thus this 
 language must have been the means of expres- 
 sion for more cultivated persons several centuries 
 prior. 
 
6 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 Before taking notice of the different branches, 
 it becomes necessary to direct the attention to 
 the whole great source from which, in the most 
 ancient times, the various branches appear to 
 have ramified. A vast chaos, indeed, reigns in 
 the classification of the Slavic nations : — with the 
 view, therefore, to obviate this confusion, two 
 divisions, according to certain affinities and dif- 
 ferences, have been established, namely, the 
 Eastern and Western, although the origin from 
 the south is common to all. 
 
 EASTERN STEM. 
 
 RUSSIAN BRANCH. 
 
 1. The Russians of Slavic origin form the 
 bulk of the population of the European part of 
 Russia. All the middle provinces of this im- 
 mense empire are occupied almost exclusively 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 7 
 
 by a nation of purely Slavic extraction; and 
 even those scattered through Asiatic Eussia are 
 of the same race. To ascertain their exact 
 number is exceedingly difficult. The statistical 
 tables give the number of the Eussians proper at 
 about 40,000,000 ; but it must be remarked, 
 that these statistical assertions have met with 
 contradiction. 
 
 2. The Eussniacks, or Euthenians, are found 
 in Malo-Eussia, the south of Poland, Galicia, 
 Eed-Eussia, the Bukovina, and also in the north- 
 eastern part of Hungary, scattered over Walla- 
 chia and Moldavia. The Kozacks, especially 
 the Zaporogueans, belong chiefly to this race, 
 while the Kozacks of the Don are more mixed 
 with pure Eussians. 
 
 ILLYUICO-SEEVIAN BEANCH. 
 
 The Illyrico-Servians, frequently called Eaitzi, 
 comprise the following subdivisions : — 
 
 1. The Servians, between the rivers Timock, 
 
8 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 Drina, Save, the Danube, and the Balkan 
 mountains. 
 
 2. The Bosnians, between Dalmatia, the 
 Balkan, and the rivers Drina, Yerbas, and Save. 
 
 3. The Montenegrins, or Slavic inhabitants 
 of the Turkish province Albania, among the 
 mountains of Montenegro. 
 
 4. The Slavonians, or inhabitants of the Aus- 
 trian kingdom of Slavonia and the Duchy of 
 Syrmia, between Hungary in the north, and the 
 south of Bosnia. 
 
 5. The Dalmatians, between Croatia and 
 Albania, likewise belonging to the Austrian 
 empire. 
 
 6. The Austrian kingdom of Croatia, divided 
 with respect to the language into two parts ; 
 one having affinity with the Servians and Dal- 
 matians, the other with the Slovenzi of Car- 
 niola and Carinthia. 
 
 7. The Slovenzi, or Yindes, comprise the 
 Slavic inhabitants of the Duchy of Styria, Ca- 
 rinthia, and Carniola. 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 THE BULGARIAN BRANCH. 
 
 The Bulgarians occupy Turkish provinces 
 between the Danube, the Euxine, the Balkan, 
 and Servia; this remnant of a once powerful 
 nation amounts to about three millions. 
 
 WESTERN STEM. 
 
 CZEKO-SLOVAKIAN BRANCH. 
 
 1. Bohemians and Moravians. Both belong 
 to the Austrian empire. 
 
 2. The Slovaks, inhabiting almost all the 
 northern part of Hungary, speak different dia- 
 lects. 
 
 POLISH BRANCH. 
 
 This comprises the inhabitants of the present 
 
10 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 kingdom of Poland, of the since 1772 called 
 Russian-Polish provinces, the Duchy of Posen, 
 Galicia, and Ludomeria. In the Russian pro- 
 vinces, formerly called White, Black, and Red 
 Russia, and conquered by the Poles in remoter 
 times, the peasantry are Russians and Ruthe- 
 nians ; in Lithuania, Lettones, an entirely dif- 
 ferent race, amongst whom, in some parts, a 
 language exists, of which many words bear 
 strong resemblance to the ancient Greek. 
 
 SORABIAN-VENDISH BRANCH. 
 
 These are remnants of the old Sorabse and 
 several other Slavic races in Lusatia and some 
 parts of Brandenburg. 
 
 Besides the races enumerated, Slavic tribes 
 are scattered through Germany, Transylvania, 
 and Wallachia, — nay, through the whole of 
 Turkey; but to ascertain their number is a 
 matter of impossibility, and in every respect of 
 little consequence. May it suffice to remind 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 11 
 
 the reader of the two great divisions which 
 mark the distinction in the Slavic language. 
 
 The almost endless dialects in use among the 
 numerous races, must become without interest 
 to the reader unacquainted with them; all 
 which appears to merit notice is consequently 
 the general character and genius of the lan- 
 guage. 
 
 The analogy between the Slavic aud the 
 Sanscrit consists, indeed, only in the similar 
 sound of many words ; but the construction of 
 the former is purely European. The Polish 
 language is remarkably rich in every kind of 
 flexion, not less so in these variations is the 
 Kussian. From this it may be concluded of 
 what precision, compactness, and energy, a lan- 
 guage is capable, which has so little need of cir- 
 cumlocution. It is true that in most of the 
 Slavic dialects, with the exception of the Ser- 
 vian, the consonants predominate; but consi- 
 dering that in a language the consonants are the 
 indication of ideas, and the vowels subservient 
 
12 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 to the consonants, the harshness of some of the 
 Slavic dialects will appear less than generally 
 represented. 
 
 The euphony of single syllables is only par- 
 tial; but the harmony of a whole language 
 depends on the euphonic sounds of periods, 
 words, syllables, and single letters. What lan- 
 guage possesses these four elements in equal 
 proportion ? Too many vowels sound just as 
 unpleasantly as too many consonants ; an inter- 
 change of both alone can produce real harmony. 
 The pure and distinct vocalization, which does 
 not leave it to the choice of the speaker to pro- 
 nounce certain vowels or to pass them over, as 
 is the case in German, French, and English, 
 gives to the Slavic languages the advantage of 
 a regular quantity of their syllables. The 
 roughness of the Slavic idioms, of which fo- 
 reigners have complained so frequently, is ex- 
 clusively to be ascribed to inexperienced or 
 tasteless writers, or to ridiculous mistakes of 
 those unacquainted with the language. No 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 13 
 
 wonder, therefore, if the richness, precision, and 
 general perfectibility of the Slavic languages is 
 completely marred by existing decided preju- 
 dices. 
 
 Erom these introductory remarks the atten- 
 tion of the reader is directed to the historical 
 part of the languages in use among the princi- 
 pal Slavic nations. 
 
PART I. 
 
 NOTICE OF THE OLD CHURCH SLAVIC LANGUAGE. 
 
 It can hardly be doubted that, in very ancient 
 times, the whole Slavic race spoke one language ; 
 and if early it has been broken up into several 
 dialects, such was the natural result of the wide 
 extension of the different races ; but where the 
 old Slavic was originally spoken, and which of 
 the still living dialects ha^ been immediately 
 developed out of it, is a question which has 
 caused many animated discussions. Formerly 
 the general view was, that the ecclesiastical 
 Slavonic must be considered as the root of all 
 the living dialects; this, however, has been 
 contradicted, and the Church Slavonic proved 
 to be an older branch of the original Slavic. 
 The circumstance that the language of the Slavic 
 Bible was, in Russia until the reign of Peter the 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 1 5 
 
 Great, exclusively the language of books, con- 
 firmed the natives for a long time in the belief 
 that the Old Eussian and the Church Slavic 
 were one and the same language, and that the 
 modern Eussian was immediately derived from 
 the latter. Be this as it may, the Old Slavic 
 has long since become the common property of 
 all the Slavic nations ; and after having ceased 
 for centuries to be a language of ordinary life, 
 it has obviously lost that kind of pliancy and 
 facility which only a living language, employed 
 to express all the daily wants, can acquire. 
 But, on the other hand, it has gained in so- 
 lemnity and dignity. Imposing by its very 
 sound, it seems to have become almost unfit for 
 any trivial use, and only to be devoted to 
 serious subjects. The domains of the Old Slavic, 
 which seemed at first very great, were soon, by 
 the jealousy of the Eomish Church, limited to 
 Eussia and Servia ; and in other parts the Sla- 
 vonic worship was, after some struggle, sup- 
 planted by the Latin. 
 
16 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 According to inquiries instituted into the Old 
 Slavic literature, the history of the Old Slavic 
 Church language may be divided into three 
 periods. 
 
 The first, from the ninth to the thirteenth 
 century ; the second, from the latter to the 
 sixteenth century ; and the third, from the six- 
 teenth century to the present time, — the last 
 period comprising the modern Slavonic of the 
 Church books in Eussia and Poland. 
 
 The most ancient documents of the Old Sla- 
 vonic language are not older than the eleventh 
 century. Besides such, are several inscriptions 
 on stones, crosses, and ornaments of equal anti- 
 quity. 
 
 The number of monuments of the Old Slavic 
 increases considerably in the second period; 
 amongst which Nestor's Annals, in the Old 
 Slavic language, form the basis of Slavic his- 
 tory, and are not without importance for the 
 whole history of the middle ages. 
 
 The third period begins with the sixteenth 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 17 
 
 century. In the course of time, and after pass- 
 ing through the hands of many ignorant copy- 
 ists, the books relating to the Old Slavic Church 
 language had in some parts become almost 
 unintelligible ; the necessity of a revision was 
 therefore strongly felt, and instituted in 151SJ, 
 at the request of the Czar Basilius Ivanovitch. 
 
 In modern times considerable attention has 
 been devoted to the examination of the old 
 Slavic language, and its relations to its affined 
 dialects. 
 
PART II. 
 EASTERN STEM. 
 
 THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 
 
 The name of Russia and the Russians is not 
 older than the ninth or tenth century. The 
 northern part of that vast empire, however, was 
 long before inhabited by Slavic nations, who 
 seem to have been divided into small states, 
 under chiefs chosen by themselves, and most of 
 them tributary to more powerful neighbours. 
 About the middle of the ninth century civil dis- 
 sensions arose among the Slavi of Novogrod, 
 menaced at the same time by the conquering 
 Varegians, a Scandinavian tribe, they therefore, 
 *n 862, chose Rurick, the chief of the Varegians, 
 for their own head. Rurick founded thus the 
 first Slavo-Russian state, and his followers set- 
 tled down among the Slavic inhabitants of the 
 country, imparting to them their warlike spirit. 
 It is only since that time that the Slavi appear 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 19 
 
 as conquerors; and their empire, as well as their 
 power and external influence, rapidly extended. 
 
 Jaroslav, the son of Yladimir the Great, at 
 the beginning of the eleventh century, on his 
 death-bed divided his empire among his sons. 
 Owing to dissensions which followed, the Mon- 
 gols broke into the country, and easily subdued 
 the Russians, and succeeded, in 1237, to make 
 them tributary for 200 years. 
 
 In the middle of the fifteenth century, Ivan 
 Vasilievitch III. delivered his country from the 
 Asiatic invaders, conquered his Russian rivals, 
 and united Novgorod with his own princedom 
 of Moscow. Prom that period the power and 
 welfare of Russia have increased without inter- 
 ruption, and rapidly, to the present time. The 
 literary cultivation of its inhabitants has like- 
 wise advanced. 
 
 The history of Russian literature has five dis- 
 tinct periods. The first comprises an interval 
 of more than nine centuries, from the date of 
 the first knowledge of the Russian Slavi, to the 
 
20 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 coming of age of Peter the Great, in 1689. 
 This long period would easily admit of subdivi- 
 sions ; but it is so very sterile, that a few words 
 will suffice to give a general survey. 
 
 The second period extends from the coming 
 of age of Peter the Great to the accession of 
 Elizabeth his daughter, in 1741. 
 
 The third period may be considered to begin 
 with Lomonosoff to Karamzin. 
 
 The fourth embraces the interval from Ka- 
 ramzin to the accession of the Emperor Nicholas, 
 in 1825. 
 
 The fifth, from the Emperor Nicholas to the 
 present time. 
 
 Before proceeding, a few words relating to 
 the characteristic features of the Russian lan- 
 guage appear to be necessary. 
 
 The principal dialects are : — 
 
 1. The Russian proper, the true literary lan- 
 guage of the whole Russian nation : and here it 
 must be mentioned, that on the banks of the 
 Wolga, on the Oka, and on the Moskwa, the 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 21 
 
 same pure Eussian is heard in the drawing-room 
 and from the pulpit, as well as in the most 
 humble spheres. 
 
 2. The Malo-Russian, the language of the 
 south of Russia. The principal difference be- 
 tween this dialect and the Russian proper con- 
 sists partly in the pronunciation of several let- 
 ters, partly in many forms of expression, resem- 
 bling the Old Slavonic. The influence of the 
 Polish is still perceptible in the language. This 
 dialect is especially rich in national songs, of 
 which many are of peculiar beauty, touching 
 naivete, and a poetical truth surpassing all arti- 
 ficial decoration. The comic, for which it is 
 admirably adapted, a foreigner is less able to 
 appreciate, since indeed all excellence of a comic 
 description can be felt only by those who are 
 familiar with all those minute local and histori- 
 cal circumstances, the allusions to which augment 
 the ludicrous. 
 
 3. The White-Russian is the dialect spoken 
 in Lithuania, and especially Volhynia. All the 
 
22 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 historical documents of Lithuania are written in 
 this dialect. The first Russian translation of 
 the Bible was written in it. 
 
 Considering the Eussian language as a whole, 
 its immense copiousness must strike the atten- 
 tion. Having been in early times subjected to 
 the influence of the Scandinavian, Mongolian, 
 Tartar, and Polish languages, it is in this respect 
 to be compared with the English, in which the 
 ancient British, the Latin, the Saxon, the 
 Danish, and the French are amalgamated. But 
 the great pre-eminence of the Eussian appears 
 in the use which it made of its adaptations. 
 Another excellence is the great freedom of con- 
 struction which it allows, without becoming 
 unintelligible or even ambiguous. Its adapted- 
 ness for poetry is undeniable; of which the 
 incomparable national songs afford numerous 
 evidence. As to its euphony, what has been 
 said before of the Slavic languages in general, 
 may be applied particularly to the Eussian. 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 23 
 
 First Period. 
 
 The influence of the Yaregians appears to 
 have been inconsiderable, their idiom being soon 
 absorbed by that of the natives. Rurick's grand- 
 sons had already Slavic names. The principal 
 event in those remote times, and one which 
 manifested its consequences in respect to civili- 
 zation there, was the introduction of Christianity 
 towards the end of the tenth century. Vladimir 
 the Great, the first Christian monarch, founded 
 the first schools ; Greek artists were called from 
 Constantinople to embellish the newly erected 
 churches at Kief. Vladimir and his Knights are 
 the Russian Charlemagne and his Peers, King 
 Arthur and his Round Table. These deeds 
 and exploits serve even now to give to the 
 earlier age of Russian history a tinge of that 
 romantic charm, of which the history of the 
 middle ages in general is so void. 
 
 On the whole, the Russians enjoyed at that 
 early period as much mental cultivation as any 
 
24 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 of the other of the northern parts of Europe. 
 Jarvslav, the son of Vladimir the Great, was 
 not less active than his father had been in 
 advancing the cause of Christianity, and all that 
 stands in connection with it. The theological 
 productions of this epoch are of less value than 
 the historical, although the field was diligently 
 cultivated. Most of the productions which be- 
 long indeed more to the history of the Slavonic 
 than of the Russian literature, perished in the 
 devastations and conflagrations of the Mongols. 
 Prom 1298 to 1462, the Russian princes, as 
 mentioned, were vassals of the Mongol Tartars. 
 In the course of these two centuries, nearly 
 every trace of cultivation perished. The Mon- 
 gols set fire to the cities, sought out and pur- 
 posely destroyed all monuments of national 
 culture. The convents alone found a sort of 
 protection ; hence science became more than ever 
 the exclusive possession of monks. 
 
 The re-establishment of Russian independence 
 in the middle of the fifteenth century had a 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 25 
 
 reviving influence. Some of the Russian princes 
 invited artists and physicians from Greece, Italy, 
 and Germany into their country, and rewarded 
 them liberally. Ivan IV. ordered schools to 
 be founded in all the cities of his empire; under 
 his reign the first printing-office was established 
 in Moscow, in 1564. The princes of the house 
 of Romanoff showed themselves not less active. 
 Alexis and Fedor, the father and brother of 
 Peter the Great, appear as his worthy prede- 
 cessors. During this whole latter period, the 
 Polish language and literature exerted a decided 
 influence on the Russian. The first germs of 
 dramatic art were likewise carried from Poland 
 to Russia. In Kief, the theological students 
 performed ecclesiastical dramas, and travelled 
 about during the holidays to exhibit their 
 skill. Their renown penetrated from the con- 
 vents to the court, where they performed before 
 Czar Fedor. His minister Matveyef invited 
 the first stage players to Russia, and at his 
 instigation the first secular drama, a translation 
 
 D 
 
26 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 of Moliere's " Medecin malgre lui/' was played 
 before the gratified princesses and their delighted 
 maids of honour. The sister of the two Czars, 
 the Czarina Sophia, composed several tragedies 
 and comedies herself, which were acted before 
 her by her ladies. 
 
 The department of history was very produc- 
 tive. Not only were the Annals of Nestor con- 
 tinued with zeal, but a series of other annals, 
 biographies of princes, and chronographies, were 
 produced. The weakest part of the literature of 
 this later portion of the period is the theolo- 
 gical branch. 
 
 The light of the Eeformation, at that time 
 spreading its rays over all Europe, did not 
 penetrate into the Russian church, which, how- 
 ever, has always distinguished itself by a spirit 
 of Christian meekness 
 
 Second Period. 
 The history of the genuine Eussian literature 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 27 
 
 begins only with the adoption of the usual lan- 
 guage for all civil writing and public business. 
 Before Peter the Great was able to establish 
 a Russian printing-office in his own empire, in 
 order not to lose time he gave a privilege for 
 fifteen years to a Dutch printer for Eussian 
 works. About the year 1704, the Czar in- 
 vented himself some alterations in the Slavic 
 letters, so as to make them more similar to the 
 Latin, and the first Eussian newspaper was 
 printed with them at St. Petersburgh in 1705 ; 
 these letters are in use at the present time : in 
 all theological writings, however, the ancient 
 form of letters is preserved, and therein consists 
 the difference between the civil and church 
 alphabet. 
 
 The energy with which Peter the Great pro- 
 ceeded, caused Eussia to overleap a whole cen- 
 tury ; the Eussian nation, susceptible of deep 
 impressions, willing to be guided by a hand 
 acknowledged as that of a superior. The only 
 impediment in those innovations was an inex- 
 
28 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 perienced, apprehensive, and jealous priesthood. 
 Whether the rapidity of the Czar's improve- 
 ments was a real benefit, is not the place to 
 examine here ; yet, with regard to the language, 
 although it possesses all the elements of com- 
 pleteness, it must be admitted that the, in some 
 instances, vehement innovations, prevented its 
 gradual development, by which it would have 
 preserved its original peculiarity, — that wonderful 
 blending of the east and the west, of Asiatic 
 suppleness and European energy, of which the 
 national songs give such affecting, and often 
 powerful specimens. 
 
 Books were ordered to be translated from the 
 German, the English, the French, and the 
 Dutch; the haste, however, with which this 
 was performed, and the greater attention to the 
 matter than to the form, had the natural conse- 
 quence that most of these translations were 
 inferior productions, executed without the least 
 regard to the Russian language itself. Beauties 
 of style, and even mere purity of language, 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 29 
 
 oelong in a certain measure to the luxuries of 
 literature ; the Czar thought only of utility. 
 
 In historical contributions this period is not 
 without interest ; but as not the slightest atten- 
 tion was paid to style, and, moreover, those who 
 wrote did not know from what principles to 
 begin, the language remained entirely unculti- 
 vated. Meanwhile the national songs held 
 faithfully to the old Kussian irregular, but 
 highly musical numbers, so much charming the 
 ear. 
 
 Third Period. 
 
 From this period the standard of Eussian 
 literature, as it appears at present, must be 
 dated. It was the Emperor Peter's hand that 
 unfurled it ; it was Lomonosoff who fixed it on 
 Eussian ground ; whilst the fortunate caprices 
 and vanities of Elizabeth and Catherine made 
 rally round it more admirers and followers than 
 otherwise would ever have been the case. In 
 1758, the University of Moscow was founded, 
 
80 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 and other similar institutions were established 
 by Catherine's unbounded liberality. 
 
 It was in an obscure family that Lomonosoff, 
 the creator of Russian prose, was born in 1711. 
 Fortunate circumstances made him find patrons 
 and means to follow an ardent desire for mental 
 cultivation, and subsequently to visit foreign 
 countries, where he improved the knowledge 
 acquired at home. At his return he was 
 honourably employed by the Government, and 
 died in 1765, although in the enjoyment of 
 general esteem, but not with that degree of 
 reputation awarded to him by a more judicious 
 posterity. He first ventured to draw a distinct 
 line between the old Slavic and tiie Russian 
 languages, and laid down fixed rules for the 
 general compass of the language. None of his 
 productions are without merit, but he possessed 
 more sagacity and innate talent than genius. 
 
 The first Russian theatre was instituted in 
 Jarvslav, in 1746. The foundation of a national 
 stage at Moscow, in 1759, served much to 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 31 
 
 awaken the dramatic talent of the Russians, — a 
 faculty in which they are perhaps incomparable. 
 The partiality which caused the Russians ever 
 to pay attention to their national history, de- 
 serves the highest commendation ; as for theo- 
 logical and biblical literature, scarcely any thing 
 interesting meets the observation. 
 
 Fourth Period. 
 
 The number of Russian writers during this 
 period increased considerably, owing to the zeal 
 shown by the Emperor Alexander, during the 
 first years of his reign, for the mental cultivation 
 and enlightenment of his subjects. Besides the 
 universities, eight in number, of which the 
 Emperor Alexander founded five, an Institution 
 for the study of oriental languages was established 
 at St. Petersburgh in 1823, and in 1829 a 
 similar one at Odessa, a city which has by its 
 position more natural advantges for the learning 
 of Asiatic languages than any other. Although 
 the object of the oriental schools in Russia was 
 
32 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 originally to educate translators for diplomatic 
 missions, they proved very useful in general, 
 foreigners having availed themselves of opportu- 
 nities for studies which their own countries could 
 not offer. 
 
 The field of Russian literature extended itself 
 during the course of the Emperor Alexander's 
 reign, or rather from 1800 to 1822, with most 
 remarkable rapidity. In the year 1787, the 
 number of books in the old Slavonic and Russian 
 dialects did not exceed 4000 ; before 1820 
 twice that number was counted; the year 1820 
 alone produced 3400 works, 800 of them trans- 
 lations from the Trench, 483 from the German, 
 and more than 100 from the English. But at 
 this time literature in Russia appears to have 
 reached its height, in respect to productiveness, 
 but retrograded also with still greater rapidity. 
 Three hundred and fifty living authors were 
 enumerated in 1822, mostly belonging to the 
 nobility, their literary activity being chiefly con- 
 fined to words of fiction. 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 33 
 
 Nicholas Karamzin, from the commencement 
 of whose influence this period of Russian litera- 
 ture is dated, was born in 1765. In spite of 
 an early development of his literary predilection 
 he entered the military service, which was then 
 considered as the most honourable in Russia. 
 After two years spent in travelling through 
 Europe, he opened his literary career with the 
 publication of a periodical called the " Moscow 
 Journal/' which exercised a decidedly favourable 
 influence on Russian literature ; a certain senti- 
 mentality pervades these productions, which 
 evidently bear the stamp of the author's 
 youth. He showed more maturity and energy 
 in his second periodical, the " European Mes- 
 senger." But his principal reputation rests upon 
 his history of the Russian empire. In the com- 
 position of this work Karamzin was much 
 favoured ; all the archives were opened to him, 
 all documents delivered into his hands, and 
 when it was completed, rewards and testimo- 
 nials were heaped upon the author with impe- 
 rial munificence. The beauties of Karamzin's 
 
34 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 style are so entirely idiomatic, that no one who 
 is not perfectly acquainted with the language is 
 able to appreciate them. Over the barbarism of 
 ancient times, he dexterously throws a veil of 
 embellishment, and lends a spirit of chivalry and 
 romantic charm to historical persons and deeds, 
 where all the circumstances of place and time 
 appear in absolute contradiction; so far that 
 the reader thinks to peruse a novel. In spite 
 of those deviations and unhistorical colour- 
 ings, Karamzin's History of Russia will remain 
 a standard work in Slavic literature, partly on 
 account of the copiousness of its sources, partly 
 in consideration of the amazing diligence therein 
 displayed. In respect to Karamzin's innova- 
 tions, he considered the French and English 
 mode of construction as better adapted to the 
 Eussian language, than the imitation of the 
 classical structure. He adopted with ease and 
 gracefulness the peculiarities of the modern 
 languages; but a portion of his imitators, misin- 
 terpreting Karamzin, introduced Gallicisms. 
 This caused an opposition to be formed, insist- 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 35 
 
 ing upon preserving the influence of the Church 
 Slavonic upon the Eussian language, and result- 
 ing in two parties dividing, in some measure, 
 the field of Eussian literature. To foreigners, 
 the travels of the Eussians by sea and land must 
 become more interesting and instructive than 
 any other part of their literature. The regions 
 of Malo-Eussia, the Caucasus and Taurida, of 
 which previously little was known, were explored 
 by Eussians, and described in valuable volumes. 
 An account of China was translated in 1827 
 into the English. The works of the head of 
 the Eussian Ecclesiastical Mission at Pekin, 
 published in 1828 to 1832, are of great im- 
 portance for the knowledge of China, Thibet, and 
 the country of the Mongols. The national 
 feeling of the Eussians has led them, during the 
 period of their literary history, to examine the 
 nature of their language ; and all the researches 
 which could throw additional light upon the 
 past have been favoured and advanced by per- 
 sons of distinction and influence. 
 
86 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 Fifth Period. 
 
 This period opens with a tragical catastrophe, 
 by which several literati of fame and distinction 
 fell victims to their imprudence. It was evi- 
 dent that the Russian muse was no longer 
 satisfied with the limits hitherto observed ; she 
 was no longer the shepherdess who inspired so 
 many with sweet yet tame verses ; she had by 
 pernicious influences gradually become meta- 
 morphosed, and efforts therefore were necessary 
 to arrest eccentricities, and to make Eussian 
 literature what it had been before. The spirit 
 of historical researches, as well as the interest 
 for the study of the Slavic languages, was 
 already awakened in the preceding period. 
 Everything was done to favour it, and to nou- 
 rish that zeal which tries to penetrate the past 
 in order to search for those links which connect 
 it with the present. 
 
 In reference to the critical researches through 
 all branches of history, the present may be ap- 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 37 
 
 propriately called the historical period. The 
 examination of manuscripts and historical docu- 
 ments was not confined to the libraries of the 
 Empire; researches were instituted in Paris, 
 Germany, Denmark, Bulgaria, and among the 
 Russian tribes of Northern Hungary, by persons 
 sent thither; and a general interest was thus 
 awakened among the higher classes of society. 
 
 The treatment of modern history in Russia 
 has its difficulties, which easily may be compre- 
 hended; and in no department has Russian 
 literature remained more behind than in the 
 treatment of foreign, and especially European, 
 history. The series of publications relating to 
 it consist almost exclusively of defective trans- 
 lations, or feeble imitations. In respect to the 
 history of several Asiatic nations, other countries 
 almost entirely depend on Russian writers. 
 
 The literature of travels to foreign lands is at 
 the present period not rich ; travels in the inte- 
 rior even are not very easy. Two collections of 
 old travels, one to foreign countries, another 
 
38 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 comprising the accounts of foreigners who tra- 
 velled in Eussia in olden times, have, however, 
 recently been published. 
 
 The department of belles-lettres generally 
 distinctly characterises the genius of a nation. 
 The tendencies which in Eussia prevail in the 
 other branches, viz. a revival of interest for all 
 that is native, Slavic, or relating to the past ; 
 the reaction from a period of predilection for all 
 that was foreign, is very clearly perceptible in 
 this portion. After this remark it cannot sur- 
 prise that towards the close of the last, and 
 especially at the beginning of the present period, 
 the historical novel was cultivated with parti- 
 cular fondness, and almost exclusively devoted 
 to Eussian history. As to poetry, Eussian 
 critics consider the short-lived productiveness in 
 this department as being apparently on the de- 
 cline ; solitary voices are heard, and these voices 
 seem to be exhausted almost as soon they are 
 heard. The more exuberant, however, appears 
 the dramatic department, where the reverential 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 89 
 
 attachment of Russians to their monarch is 
 exhibited in the very titles chosen by several 
 dramatic authors. 
 
 In the different branches of natural science, 
 the progress in Russia has recently been im- 
 mense. In regard to periodical literature, the 
 number of journals is obviously limited. That 
 which most favourably speaks of the merits and 
 exploits of the nation, is always considered as 
 the best. The recent events in Europe have 
 of course, more than ever before, provoked 
 measures to exclude the influence of foreign 
 literature, although the merits of foreigners in 
 relation to Russian history, &c, and their 
 labours in relation to the language, must be 
 acknowledged as most distinguished. 
 
 NOTICE OF THE ILLYRI CO -SERVIAN LANGUAGE. 
 
 The literature of the western Slavo- Servians 
 has hitherto been altogether treated as a distinct 
 branch, separated from that of their brethren 
 of the oriental church. Their language, however, 
 being essentially the same, and a difference 
 
40 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 merely existing in the letters, the separation is 
 not sufficiently established. 
 
 The Servian language is spoken by about five 
 millions. The southern sky, and the beauties 
 of natural scenery, so favourable in general 
 to the development of poetical genius, appear 
 also to have exerted a happy influence on this 
 language. While it yields to none of the 
 other Slavic dialects in richness, clearness, and 
 precision, it far surpasses all of them in euphony, 
 being decidedly the most melodious of the Slavic 
 languages, rich in vowels, and abounding in 
 soft and powerful accents. The ancient Illyricum 
 comprised all the countries situated between the 
 Adriatic and the Black Sea, and along the 
 Danube. Towards the middle of the seventh 
 century, this vast country appears occupied by 
 a Slavic people, of one and the same race. An 
 impenetrable night rests on the early history of 
 these regions, originally divided into six king- 
 doms ; and although some light has been thrown 
 on this general topic, the investigations have 
 been of little consequence for the history of the 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 41 
 
 language. As early as the seventh century, a 
 part of these nations embraced Christianity, 
 which, among the remainder, found a ready 
 reception in the eighth and ninth centuries. The 
 partial revival of Servian literature in 1758 
 produced a considerable number of works, among 
 them not a few, notwithstanding the mixed and 
 unsettled idiom in which they are written, attest 
 the general capacities of the nation. This de- 
 partment would have become more accessible to 
 foreigners, did the great variety of letters and 
 forms of writing not discourage to penetrate into 
 a structure where so much confusion is encoun- 
 tered at the first step. 
 
 This notice concerning the language of the 
 Illyrico-Servian branch must be considered as 
 very superficial, inasmuch as the dialects and 
 literature of some of the nations, mentioned at 
 the beginning of the subdivision, are exceed- 
 ingly attractive, and in some instances quite 
 original and distinct. Details, however, would 
 scarcely interest the general reader. 
 
 E 
 
42 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 NOTICE OF THE LANGUAGE OE THE BULGARIANS. 
 
 According to certain opinions, Bulgaria, and 
 the adjacent regions of Macedonia, are the real 
 home of the old Slavic language. No other 
 dialect, however, has been so much affected as 
 the Bulgarian, by the course of time and foreign 
 influence ; Bulgaria having been for centuries 
 the great thoroughfare of other nations. The 
 history of this country is a series of continued 
 warfare with the Servians, Greeks, and Hunga- 
 rians on one hand ; and, on the other, with the 
 Turks, who subdued them, and put an end to 
 the existence of a Bulgarian kingdom in 1392. 
 The feeble germs of cultivation diffused there 
 by two or three of their princes, perished during 
 the Turkish invasion. There is no trace of a 
 literature, and the only point of view from which 
 the language, uncultivated as it is, can excite a 
 general interest, consists in the national songs, 
 in which this dialect is said to be exceedingly 
 rich. 
 
PART III. 
 WESTERN STEM. 
 
 NOTICE OF THE CZEKISH OK BOHEMIAN BRANCH* 
 
 Of all the Slavic languages, the Bohemian 
 dialect and literature is the only one which, to 
 the Protestant reader, must be of more than 
 general interest; — not so much by its own 
 character, in which it differs little from the other 
 Slavic languages, but from those remarkable 
 circumstances which more or less affected almost 
 every part of Europe. The names of Huss 
 and Jerome of Prague, and the events which 
 rendered their names conspicuous, are familiar. 
 The Bohemians having become ready to maintain 
 their convictions not less with the pen than 
 with the sword, the theological literature of the 
 fifteenth, sixteenth, and the first twenty years of 
 the seventeenth century, is of an extent with 
 

 44 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 which that of no other Slavic language can be com- 
 pared. Most of these productions bear decidedly 
 the stamp of the period, dictated by the polemical 
 spirit of the age, and for the most part directed 
 by one party against another ; but on the other 
 hand, while the theological literature of all the 
 other Slavic nations is almost exclusively limited 
 to sermons and devotional books, among the 
 Bohemians alone researches and interpretations 
 are met with, of theological matters of a higher 
 sphere. 
 
 There are few branches of science or art in 
 which the Bohemians have not to boast of some 
 eminent name. The talent, however, for which 
 this nation is the most distinguished, is that of 
 music. A fondness for music, and a natural gift 
 to execute it, are indeed common to all Slavic 
 nations ; but the talent of the Bohemian is of a 
 superior order. He unites the spirit of harmony, 
 characteristic of the Germans, with the gift of 
 melody belonging to the Italians ; and there is 
 hardly anything which strikes the English and 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 45 
 
 American traveller more than the prevalence 
 of musical genius in that beautiful region. The 
 Bohemian language is spoken not only by the 
 Bohemians and the Moravians, but by nearly 
 two millions of Slovaks, those venerable remains 
 of the ancient Slavic settlements between the 
 Carpathian mountains and the rivers Theiss 
 and Danube; yet the latter have a dialect, or 
 rather dialects, essentially different from the 
 language in Bohemia and Moravia. 
 
 According to old chronicles, there were even 
 some regular schools erected in early times, — one 
 near Prague, and another, later, in Prague itself, 
 where Latin was taught : thus the Latin and 
 German languages had an early influence on 
 the formation of the Bohemian. Ir yields neither 
 in copiousness nor in pliability, neither in clearness 
 nor in precision, to any other Slavic language, 
 In respect to sound, however, the reproach of 
 harshness and want of euphony has been made 
 with justice, although it appears that this is 
 more a production of modern times than an 
 
46 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 ingredient of the original language; for the 
 ancient Bohemian, in legends and national songs, 
 sounds by far more melodious. After this re- 
 mark it seems singular that in a country where 
 such an extent of musical talent prevails, a lan- 
 guage should be spoken of so much harshness. 
 
 Five periods are assigned to the history of 
 the Bohemian literature. 
 
 The first comprises the whole interval from 
 the first knowledge of the Czeks to the influence 
 of Huss, or from 550 to 1400. 
 
 The second period from Huss to the general 
 diffusion of the art of printing. 
 
 The third extends to the battle at the White 
 Mountain, 1620. 
 
 The fourth from this battle to 1774 and 1780. 
 
 The fifth period embraces the interval from 
 1780 to the present time. 
 
 First Period. 
 Of the language of the Czeks, as it existed 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 47 
 
 when they first settled in Bohemia, nothing is 
 left, except the names of the rivers, mountains, 
 towns, and those of their first chiefs. All this 
 induces to conclude that the language was then 
 the same as at the present time. The first 
 certain written documents are not older than 
 the introduction of Christianity. 
 
 During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the 
 influence of German customs and habits showed 
 itself more and more, and the nobility began to 
 use in preference the German language. In 
 calling, therefore, the Bohemian lyric poetry of 
 the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the echo 
 of the German, would be to convey the idea that 
 the same spirit inspired the Bohemians and the 
 Germans. During the fourteenth century the 
 influence of the latter increased so considerably 
 that the jealousy of the nation was much excited. 
 German fashions in dress and manners prevailed 
 at the court, and the king kept a German body- 
 guard. Under Charles I., or the Emperor 
 Charles IV., as he is termed, Bohemia reached 
 
48 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 the highest point of splendour ; he limited the 
 privileges of the Germans, and thus reconciled 
 the minds of the Bohemians. 
 
 Second Period. 
 
 At the commencement of the fifteenth century, 
 the University of Prague had reached the sum- 
 mit of its prosperity. No department of science 
 was neglected, theology, however, excited the 
 most animated interest ; the attention in spiritual 
 matters being no longer confined, but pervading 
 all classes. Immediately after Wickliffe's death 
 an intercourse had been established between 
 England and Bohemia, by the marriage of a 
 Bohemian princess, Ann, to Richard the Second 
 of England. A young Bohemian nobleman, who 
 had finished his studies in Prague, repaired to 
 Oxford, and on his return placed into the hands 
 of John Huss, at that time Professor of Theology 
 at Prague, a copy of all Wickliffe's writings. 
 The pretensions of Rome had been for some 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 49 
 
 time looked upon in Bohemia with disapprobation, 
 no wonder, then, if the opinions and expressions 
 of the Reformers found a ready echo in the breasts 
 of their hearers, so far that in the year 1414, in 
 consequence of his convictions, Huss was sum- 
 moned to appear before the Council of Constance; 
 but although he exculpated himself completely, 
 the Council persisted in condemning him to be 
 burned alive, on the 6th of July, 1415. His 
 friend Jerome shared the same fate on the 30 th 
 of May, ]416. 
 
 Keeping only in view the fate of the- language, 
 the reader is referred to the historical accounts 
 of this melancholy period ; and to those events 
 allusion has merely been made, inasmuch as 
 they had a certain influence on the Bohemian 
 language and literature. 
 
 Although religion filled the minds during this 
 period more than in any other, it did not ab- 
 sorb all the interest ; besides, in the midst of 
 those struggles which mark the epoch, arts and 
 science necessarily remained neglected. 
 
50 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 The Bohemian language, although improving 
 with the fifteenth century, had however not yet 
 supplanted the Latin. In respect to the date 
 of the introduction of printing, the first regular 
 establishment in Prague is not older that 1487. 
 
 Third Period. 
 
 It is chiefly for the sake of clearness if this 
 period is separated from the former; in its 
 character it was entirely the same. What the 
 Bohemians, in respect to the language, had 
 acquired in the one, they possessed in the other ; 
 what was known to few, now became diffused 
 amongst many ; but the objects, the stamp of 
 both centuries, were similar. The extent of the 
 Bohemian national literature increased during 
 the sixteenth century so rapidly, and the oppor- 
 tunities for cultivation became so numerous, 
 that the difficulty of giving a condensed or dis- 
 tinct review is much augmented. 
 
 During the reign of Rudolph, great attention 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 51 
 
 was paid to the Bohemian language ; but still it 
 existed only side by side with the Latin. The 
 field, however, which appears to have been cul- 
 tivated with the most diligence, was that of 
 theology, — and fortunately with an equal degree 
 of talent. 
 
 The battle at the White Mountain near Prague, 
 in 1620, so disastrous to the Protestants, de- 
 cided the destiny of Bohemia, as well as the fate 
 of the language, the latter having since never 
 been used in public business. 
 
 Fourth Period. 
 
 Of this period there is but little to say. A 
 dull pressure lay upon the nation, as if paralysed. 
 Innumerable monks came from all parts, who 
 condemned and burned every Bohemian book, 
 those which they did not destroy were deposited 
 in separate chambers in the convents, provided 
 with iron gratings, bolts, and chains. There were, 
 however, some exceptions among these zealots, — 
 
5£ SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 persons, who, independent of religious prejudices, 
 continued to labour for the preservation of the 
 mother tongue. 
 
 The greater part of what was written during 
 this period proceeded from the Slovaks in Hun- 
 gary, a nation related to the Bohemians in 
 race and language, who after the reformation 
 had adopted the Bohemian dialect as their literary 
 language, especially under the protection of 
 Maria Theresa. 
 
 Fifth Period. 
 
 At that time, 1774, the neglect of the Bohe- 
 mian language is very evident, and it required 
 the entire energy and influence of several per- 
 sons of distinction to revive it ; and owing to 
 diligence and literary productiveness, the long 
 interval of a dull and death-like silence soon 
 disappeared, and the aimed at revival was pro- 
 duced. 
 
 The zeal which at the present time appears to 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 58 
 
 have been manifested to follow out the traces of 
 the language and history of the Slavic races, in 
 the remotest past, has no where been exhibited 
 with more ardour and disinterestedness than in 
 Bohemia; but whether such efforts will have 
 any ultimate result, and may prevent the Bohe- 
 mian language from gradually yielding to the 
 German, the future alone will demonstrate. 
 The torrent of time, in its resistless course 
 frequently overwhelming nations, disperses their 
 vestiges in scattered fragments, as feeble memo- 
 rials for an inquiring posterity that they once 
 existed. 
 
 NOTICE OF THE LANGUAGE OE THE SLOVAKS. 
 
 The north-western part of Hungary is inha- 
 bited by the Slovaks, who appear to be the 
 direct descendants of the original Slavic settlers 
 in Europe. Byzantine historians mention no- 
 madic tribes, whose name incontestably indicates 
 the Slavi, as having troubled the Byzantine 
 
54 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 Empire in early times. But they soon disap- 
 peared from history, and it is not before the 
 ninth century, when they were already Chris- 
 tians, that they are again mentioned. Part of 
 Panonia was inhabited by the Slovaks, whence 
 they were pressed back into the mountains by 
 the Magyars, who in 894 conquered Panonia. 
 Although the Slovaks submitted to their fate, 
 and lived thenceforth on good terms with their 
 conquerors, yet, even after nearly a thousand 
 years have passed, they still speak their original 
 language ; the latter, however, is the only rem- 
 nant of their national existence. 
 
 The Slovakish language, exposed, through 
 the geographical situation of the nation, to the 
 influence of various other Slavic idioms, is more 
 broken up into different dialects than perhaps 
 any other living tongue. 
 
 To enumerate the features which distinguish 
 the Slovakish dialects would oblige to enter 
 into uninteresting details. The only thing which 
 belongs to the Slovaks exclusively is a variety 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 55 
 
 of diphthongs, where all the other Slavic dia- 
 lects have simple vowels. 
 
 The Slovakish language has never been a 
 literary language, having been so far oppressed 
 that even historical songs, familiar nearly a 
 hundred years ago, have perished. It is a sin- 
 gular fact, that whilst every where else the friends 
 of Protestantism have attempted to raise the 
 dialect generally in use, in opposition to a privi- 
 leged idiom of the priesthood, among the 
 Slovaks, this resuscitation has been attempted 
 by the Romanists, meeting with strong opposi- 
 tion from the Protestants. Many among the 
 Slovaks have received a German education, and 
 having therefore the German language at com- 
 mand, those who write use it in preference. 
 
 NOTICE OF THE POLISH LANGUAGE AND 
 LITEKATUEE. 
 
 After the Vandals and Goths had finally left 
 the regions of the Baltic and Lower Vistula, 
 
56 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 they were occupied towards the fourth century 
 by the Lithuanians, who_, according to so m 
 historians, are Slavic, according to others Scythic 
 tribes. The various nations which inhabited this 
 country were, it appears, comprised under the 
 name Sarmatse. In the sixth or seventh cen- 
 tury, the Lekhes, coming from the Carpathian 
 neighbourhood, settled on the banks of the 
 Vistula and Yarta ; the latter, divided into 
 several tribes, were called Polyanie, inhabitants 
 of the plain ; the specific name of Poles does not 
 appear until the close of the tenth century. 
 Prom 965, all the Polish princes, and the greater 
 part of the nation, became Christians ; but neither 
 from those early times, nor from the four or 
 five centuries after the introduction of Christia- 
 nity, does there remain any monument whatever 
 of the Polish language, — nay, with the exception 
 of a few fragments without value, the most 
 ancient document of that language is not older 
 than the sixteenth century. Until that time 
 the Latin exclusively predominated in Poland ; 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 57 
 
 hence arose a neglect of the vernacular, and 
 hence the private influence of the German, still 
 visible in the Polish language. But although 
 this operated unfavourably upon the language, 
 foreign influence was in other respects not inju- 
 rious to the literary development. Benedictine 
 monks founded in the beginning of the eleventh 
 century the first Polish schools, and numerous 
 convents and other orders offered an asylum, 
 when in 1241 the Mongols broke into the 
 country, and also during the civil wars caused 
 by the dissensions of the reigning family. 
 
 The history of the Polish language is gene- 
 rally divided into five periods : — 
 
 The first extends from the introduction of 
 Christianity to Casimir the Great, 1333. 
 
 The second from 1333 to 1506, or the reign 
 of Sigismond I. 
 
 The third closes with the foundation of the 
 schools by the Jesuits, 1622. 
 
 The fourth comprises the time of the pre- 
 
58 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 ponderance of the Jesuits, and ends with the 
 revival of literature in 1760. 
 
 The fifth period comprehends the interval 
 from 1760 to the revolution in 1830. 
 
 The Polish literature of the present day 
 bearing a different stamp from that of former 
 times, a sixth period could be added, extending 
 from 1830 to the most recent period. 
 
 Before entering, however, upon a historical 
 account of those divisions, a few remarks con- 
 cerning the history and character of the language 
 itself may find a place here. The extent of 
 country in which the Polish is predominant, is 
 much smaller than would naturally be concluded 
 from the great circuit of territory, which, at the 
 time of its power and independence, was com- 
 prised under the Kingdom of Poland. The six- 
 teenth century must be excepted, when Poland, 
 by the success of its arms, became for a short 
 time the most powerful state in the north. The 
 Teutonic Knights, the conquerors of Prussia, 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 59 
 
 were then compelled to acknowledge its pro- 
 tection, when not only Livonia and Courland, 
 but even the ancient Smolensk and the vene- 
 rable Kief, the royal seat of Vladimir, and the 
 Russian provinces adjacent to Galicia, were 
 subjugated by Poland. Besides the language 
 of the country, the Malo-Russian and White- 
 Russian dialects are spoken in several provinces. 
 The inhabitants of the cities and the nobility of 
 Galicia, belonging to Austria, the inhabitants 
 of Cracow, and the Duchy of Posen in Prussia, 
 and of other Prussian and Austrian provinces, 
 speak the Polish language. Tims it is spoken 
 by about ten millions, with slight varia- 
 tions. 
 
 The ancient Polish seems to have been 
 nearly related to the dialects of the Czeks and 
 Sorabians. Although very little is known in 
 respect to the circumstances and progress of the 
 formation of the language into its present state, 
 it is evident that it has been developed from the 
 
60 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 conflict of its natural elements with the Latin 
 and German. 
 
 Of all the Slavic dialects, the Polish presents 
 to the foreigner the most difficulties ; partly on 
 account of the great variety of shades in the 
 pronunciation of the vowels, and from the com- 
 bination of consonants in such a manner that 
 only a Slavic tongue can conquer them, and 
 cause the apparent harshness to disappear; 
 partly on account of its refined and artificial 
 structure. In this latter it differs materially 
 from the Russian language, which, although 
 equally rich, is remarkable for its simplicity and 
 perspicuity. 
 
 First Period. 
 
 The early part of the history of the Polish 
 literature is divided into two periods, although 
 it seems singular to pretend to give an account 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 61 
 
 of a literature which did not yet exist ; it does 
 not indeed properly begin before the close of the 
 second period. Of the language itself nothing 
 is left but the names of places and persons, and 
 some Polish words scattered through the Latin 
 documents of the time, often hardly intelligible. 
 There exists an ancient war- song, but even this 
 is, in its present form, not older than the four- 
 teenth century. All that remains from this 
 period is in Latin. 
 
 In Poland, longer than in any other country, 
 education was entirely in the hands of the 
 ecclesiastics ; for several hundred years the 
 natives were excluded from all clerical dignities 
 and privileges, and the numerous monasteries 
 were filled with foreign monks, even as late as 
 the fifteenth century. These narrow-minded or 
 cunning men were in the habit of destroying 
 whatever they could find written in the Polish 
 language, and, as instructors, had a facility to fill 
 the heads of the young nobility with unnatural 
 
62 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 prejudices against the language of their own 
 country. 
 
 Second Period. 
 
 Casimir is one of those princes who acquired 
 the name of the Great, not by victories and 
 conquests, but through the benefits bestowed 
 upon his subjects. His father, Vladislaus 
 Lokietek, had resumed the royal title, and was 
 the first who permanently united Great and 
 Little Poland. Under Casimir, the present 
 Austrian kingdom of Galicia was added by 
 inheritance, and Lithuania became a Polish 
 fief in 1386, but only completely incorporated 
 in 1569. 
 
 As to the influence of Casimir the Great 
 upon the cultivation of his subjects, it was 
 more mediate than immediate. "Whilst his 
 contemporary and neighbour, Charles IV., of 
 Bohemia, promoted the cultivation of the Ian- 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 63 
 
 guage spoken within his dominion, Casimir 
 paid no attention whatever to the vernacular of 
 his country. 
 
 The history of the Polish language properly 
 commences only with the close, or at the utmost 
 with the middle, of the present period, when in 
 the year 1488 the first printing-office was 
 erected at Cracow. Of the more ancient times 
 only weak and scattered traces are left ; the 
 manuscripts remaining are fragments, documents 
 relating to suits of law, translations of statutes in 
 Latin, the ten commandments in verse, &c. 
 The orthography of the language must have 
 caused a great deal of trouble, some writers 
 using alternately the Latin, Bohemian, and the 
 German method of forming and combining 
 letters. 
 
 Third Period. 
 . In northern climates the bright days of 
 
64 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 summer follow in almost immediate succession 
 a long and gloomy winter, without allowing to 
 the lover of nature the enjoyment of observing, 
 during the transient interval of spring, the 
 gradual development of the beauty of the earth. 
 Thus the flowers of Polish literature burst forth 
 with a rapidity unequalled in literary history. 
 The university of Cracow had been reinstituted 
 under Jagello in 1400, and organized after that 
 of Prague. Although the most flourishing 
 period of this institution was the sixteenth 
 century, yet it presented during the fifteenth to 
 the Polish nobility a good opportunity of 
 studying the classics; and it is doubtless 
 through this familiarity with the ancient writers 
 that the celerity of literary development, 
 alluded to, must be principally accounted for. 
 It was, moreover, now when Christian Europe 
 began to make decided effort? for more expan- 
 sion of thought. The wild flame of false 
 religious zeal, which in Poland also, under the 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 65 
 
 sons and immediate successors of Jagello, had 
 spread, was extinguished before the milder 
 wisdom of Sigismund I. The activity of the 
 Inquisition was restrained, but the new doctrines 
 found a more decided support in Sigismund 
 Augustus ; Poland became under his admini- 
 stration the seat of a toleration then unequalled 
 in the world. 
 
 The Bohemian language acquired during this 
 period a great influence upon the Polish, as well 
 as Protestantism on the literature of Poland, 
 although its doctrines have occupied there the 
 minds less than those of any other nation 
 amongst whom they have been received. 
 
 The Polish language acquired during the 
 sixteenth century such a degree of refinement 
 that even on the revival of literature and taste 
 in modern times, nothing was necessary to add 
 for its improvement. The practical use which 
 was made of the language for a variety of 
 subjects, contributed still more to its cultivation; 
 
66 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 but the point in which it acquired less perfection 
 was that of orthography, owing to the mnnner 
 in which several consonants are combined. 
 This system of letters forms the connecting link 
 between the Polish and the languages of 
 western Europe. 
 
 So early as under Casimir, the son of Jagello, 
 the Polish language began to be employed at 
 the Court ; but a language which issued from 
 the latter was necessarily also dependent on the 
 changes of the Court; thus Stephen Bathory, 
 prince of Transylvania, who was elected after 
 Henry of Yalois had deserted the country, was, 
 as a foreigner, in the habit of interspersing his 
 conversation and writings with Latin words. 
 It is hardly admissible that this habit of the 
 king could have any influence on a language 
 already so well cultivated, although the general 
 fashion of mixing Latin words and phrases with 
 the Polish is ascribed to it. 
 
 The cultivation of the language of the country, 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 67 
 
 and the study of the Latin, have indeed ever 
 proceeded with equal steps in Poland. For 
 ordinary conversation, even, they were used 
 alternately. So, for instance, Sigismund I., 
 when separated from his first queen, Barbara, 
 maintained with her a correspondence in Latin ; 
 and his second queen, Bona Sforza, habitually 
 employed that language in their most familiar 
 intercourse. 
 
 The facility of rhyme in a language so rich in 
 rhymes, seduced several to use verse as a vehicle 
 for the most trivial thoughts, or for subjects the 
 very nature of which is opposed to poetry. 
 Eloquence, so nearly related to poetry, and 
 which, nevertheless, perhaps on that account 
 should be distinguished from it by the most de- 
 finite limits, is a gift for the cultivation of 
 which the Poles possess all the necessary quali- 
 ties. 
 
 Tt is to be remarked that the Polish theological 
 literature of this period evinced less of a pole- 
 
68 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 mical spirit than might have been expected in 
 an age when that of the neighbouring countries 
 abounded in controversial books, replete with 
 unchristian bitterness. The wise moderation 
 of the two Sigismunds and of Stephen Bathory, 
 seems to have pacified the minds, and to have 
 kept them within appropriate limits, in that 
 respect. 
 
 History, especially national history, was con- 
 sidered as one of the subjects most worthy of 
 attention, — it is the great school upon the ap- 
 plication of lessons which it gives, the fate of 
 nations depends. In this department, however, 
 the Latin was preferred ; and so with regard to 
 works on science. 
 
 Fourth Period. 
 
 The noble race of the Jagellons being extinct 
 on the death of Sigismund Augustus in 1572, 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 69 
 
 Poland became an elective monarchy; the 
 nation being understood to consist legally of the 
 nobility only. Stephen Bathory's energy kept 
 the discordant elements together, and at home 
 he took care to improve the administration of 
 justice, while his victorious arms, for a short 
 time, raised Poland to the summit of its glory ; 
 but under his successor began that anarchy which 
 is considered as the principal cause of Poland's 
 final calamitous fate. To fundamental evils, 
 combined with other disastrous events, the 
 building, weakened in its foundation, could 
 make no resistance, and its walls gave way when 
 they were suddenly shaken by powerful enemies 
 from without. 
 
 The perversion of taste which at the begin- 
 ning of the seventeenth century predominated in 
 Italy, created also in the literature of Poland a 
 new period. To the remarkable activity of mind 
 in the preceding period there followed a sort of 
 lethargy. The fashion first introduced at the 
 
70 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 close of the preceding period of interspersing 
 the Polish language with Latin words and 
 phrases, became during the present more and 
 more predominant ; and was at length carried 
 so far as to give to Polish words a false Latin 
 sound. French, German, and Italian forms of 
 expression soon obtained the same right ; but 
 what affected the language most, was that even 
 the natural structure had to make place to an 
 imitation of foreign idioms. Thus its great 
 pliancy, one of its principal excellencies, became 
 a source of its corruption. 
 
 Poland, moreover, at a time when the minds 
 of the rest of Europe were tolerably pacified in 
 a religious respect, became the scene of theo- 
 logical controversies full of acrimony, and sub- 
 sequently even of persecution. The general 
 mental lethargy which began to reign in Poland 
 during this period, can hardly be ascribed to 
 any other influence than to the promoters of 
 the bitterness of feeling just alluded to. Lite- 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 71 
 
 rature and the fine arts, however, found a friend 
 and protector in a gifted and accomplished king, 
 and in several distinguished noblemen. But 
 the period of pedantry and perversion of taste 
 had already lasted more than a hundred and 
 thirty years ; very difficult, therefore, it became 
 to eradicate abuses and deformities. 
 
 Fifth Period. 
 
 The Polish language at the beginning of this 
 period was in a melancholy state; stripped of 
 its natural perspicuity, simplicity, and strength, 
 deformed by tastelessness, it had grown childish. 
 It was fortunate that just at the time when 
 several of the most influential Polish noblemen 
 began to feel an intense interest in their neglected 
 language, a number of gifted minds appeared, 
 who showed so much activity that the field of 
 
72 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES* 
 
 Polish literature soon flourished again. Various 
 measures were taken; but the new patrons could 
 not wait. The French literature of the day, 
 with its levity and splendour, seemed to be more 
 in harmony with the spirit of the Court. In 
 this way may be explained in part the superficial 
 and light tone which prevails in all the Polish 
 works of this age, during a period when vehe- 
 ment passions and furious contests already tore 
 the country in pieces. But even the most 
 violent party struggles seemed to be favourable 
 to literature. The minds were in a state of 
 excitement, which gave power to produce the 
 most extraordinary things ; a reaction, however, 
 very naturally followed. After twenty years of 
 mental struggles and combats, succeeded a calm, 
 an intellectual blank, of more than twelve years. 
 It was as if with the dissolution of the kingdom 
 the nation had sunk into a state of intellectual 
 apathy. The interval from 1795 to 1807, in 
 comparison with the years which preceded and 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 73 
 
 have followed, was remarkably sterile ; transla- 
 tions augmented with undue proportion, and 
 the purity of the language suffered conside- 
 rably. 
 
 The French language, independently of the 
 events of modern times, had already acted 
 powerfully on the Polish at the close of the pre- 
 ceding period ; for more than half a century it 
 reigned with unlimited precedence over all the 
 literary world, — but its most absolute dominion 
 was in Poland. In the manners of the nobility, 
 French gracefulness and ease were, in a peculiar 
 and interesting manner, blended with the he- 
 roism of the knight and the luxuriousness and 
 ostentation of the Asiatic. French refinement 
 covered the rudeness and revelry characteristic 
 of the middle ages ; and a journey to France 
 was among the requisite conditions of an accom- 
 plished education. 
 
 The Polish writers — all of them belonging to 
 the higher class — to whom, from their youth, 
 
74 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 the French was equally familiar with their own 
 language, unconsciously disfigured the latter 
 by Gallicisms; since French forms of expres- 
 sion seemed to be the best adapted for the ex- 
 pression of French thoughts, although the rich 
 and pliant Polish language was decidedly op- 
 posed to such anomalies. 
 
 The Polish language, the purity of which at 
 the beginning of the present period was an ob- 
 ject of particular attention, has been, in the 
 present century, a subject of numerous inqui- 
 ries, some of which have thrown considerable 
 light upon the Slavic languages and history in 
 general. 
 
 There is no branch in which the Poles mani- 
 fested a greater want of original power than the 
 dramatic. Here the influence of the French 
 school was most decided, and indeed exclusive. 
 Pains were taken by the most distinguished 
 persons of the nation to establish a national 
 stage, to which they looked, not in the light of 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 75 
 
 amusement, but as a school for purifying and 
 elevating the national language. 
 
 With respect to novels, tales in prose, and 
 similar productions, the literature of Poland has 
 been much less overwhelmed than that of the 
 Bussians* 
 
 For the study of polite literature and the 
 Slavic languages during this period Warsaw was 
 the principal seat ; for other branches, the Uni- 
 versity of Wilna. 
 
 In consequence of the Grand Duke Constan- 
 tine's predilection for mathematics, an undue 
 share of attention, after the erection of the king- 
 dom under his administration, was paid to the 
 exact or empirical sciences, — undue, because 
 other branches were necessarily neglected. 
 
 It is a singular fact, that although down to 
 the year 1818, when tours in foreign countries 
 were prevented, as one of the favourite means 
 of education among the Polish nobility, their 
 literature exhibits hardly any books of travels. 
 
76 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 Sixth Period. 
 
 If the literature of a country could ever be 
 regarded completely — if it was not in intimate 
 connection with the position of its country — 
 this period would have commenced about fifteen 
 years previous to 1830. But while these fifteen 
 years may be considered in some measure as the 
 time of the fermentation of that spirit which 
 broke out in 1830 ; this latter year, with the 
 attempts made to annihilate the higher seats of 
 learning, forms an epoch not only in Polish his- 
 tory in general, but especially in its literature. 
 The war, which called into exercise all the 
 mental faculties of the nation, suspended con- 
 sequently all literary activity ; but even during 
 the more quiet period which immediately suc- 
 ceeded, the dejected spirits of the nation are 
 risible in the results of their intellectual pur- 
 suits. The Universities of Warsaw and Wilna 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 77 
 
 were broken up, and the valuable libraries of 
 these institutions carried to St. Petersburgh. 
 After some years a new University was founded 
 at Kief. In a consistent manner the language 
 and the peculiarities of the country were every- 
 where checked, and attempts made to replace 
 them by Russian customs and the Eussian lan- 
 guage. There was indeed a suspense of mental 
 life in Poland. 
 
 A striking contrast, however, is observable in 
 the spirit with which the numerous emigrants, 
 especially in Prance, endeavoured to reanimate 
 the dying embers. A deep enthusiasm pervades 
 some of their efforts ; others are apparently dic- 
 tated by mental excitement, or enveloped in a 
 certain mystical atmosphere, which renders a com- 
 mentary necessary in order to understand them. 
 Meanwhile the department of belles-lettres in 
 Poland itself, seems to have taken the same na- 
 tional direction which characterizes the Eussian 
 and Bohemian tendencies in modem times, 
 
78 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 many of the productions, within this category, 
 being intended for the boudoir, or calculated to 
 satisfy the immediate wants of the reading 
 class. 
 
 In conclusion, a few lines containing general 
 remarks may not be out of place. 
 
 Translations, of whatever description, must lose 
 the original peculiarities and principal charms, 
 but more so with regard to poetical productions. 
 The animating power of national poetry appears 
 to be gone. The genius of poetry, however, 
 although dormant, is still living ; and nowhere, 
 perhaps, is it more preserved than amongst some 
 of the Slavic races; their pathetic or sen- 
 timental songs, handed down from generation 
 to generation, are exclusively original, and differ 
 in that respect from the Teutonic or Gallic ro- 
 
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 79 
 
 mance. The feeling expressed in the Slavic songs 
 is the effusion of natural heartfelt sensation, in 
 all its different shades of affection ; never eccen- 
 tric, but always natural, undisguised. 
 
 For a more extensive view and full compre- 
 hension of Slavic national poetry, the inquirer 
 must divest himself of his habitual ideas ; he 
 must adopt foreign conception and prejudice ; 
 he will have to transport himself into a foreign 
 clime, where the east and the west, the north 
 and the south, blend in strange and striking 
 amalgamation. The suppleness of Asia and the 
 energy of Europe, the passive fatalism of the 
 Turk and the active religion of the Christian, 
 the revengeful spirit of the oppressed and the 
 child-like resignation of him who submits, — all 
 these seeming contradictions find an expressive 
 organ in Slavic poetry, 
 
 Surveying the fate of some of the Slavonic 
 nations, whose names are scarcely mentioned in 
 modern history; examining their ruins, dilapi- 
 
80 SLAVONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 dated monuments, and other remaining vestiges, 
 — all indicating a once high degree of civiliza- 
 tion and even refinement, — impressions must be 
 produced which not so soon vanish. The les- 
 sons conveyed by such contemplations are of a 
 profound character, exhibiting in strong colours 
 u grandeur past and splendour lost I" 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Wilson akd Ooilvt, 57, Skinner Street, Snowhill, London. 
 

 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 D0DEbS3S311 
 
 ■ 
 
 ImB&fitm 
 
 \Um