PRAGUB 335 PRAGUE UNIVERSITY does it work. Is it a useful solution of the difficulties we face? Does it bring pleasure or pain? It is the answers to these questions that will determine the truth or falsity of the idea, not whether it can, in strict logic, be proved the truth. Hence James and his school are credited with having served philosophy by saving it from dry-as-dust platitudes and once more bringing it to bear upon our active life and thought. Since James' death the logic of pragmatism has been de- veloped by Professor John Dewey, for- merly of the University of Chicago, now of Columbia University. It has its champions abroad as well as in America, and has created a popular interest in philosophy. PRAGUE, the capital of Bohemia, and situated at the base and on the slope of the hills which skirt both sides of the isleted Moldau. It offers a highly pic- turesque appearance from the beauty of its site, and the numerous lofty towers (more than 70 in number) which rise above the many noble palaces, public buildings, and bridges of the city. The royal Burg, on the Hradschin, the an- cient residence of the Dukes of Bohemia, dates mainly now from the 16th and 17th centuries, and has 440 rooms. In the neighboring cathedral of St. Vitus (1344) are the splendid royal mausoleum (1589) and the shrine (1736) of St. John of Nepomuk containing IVz tons of silver. Of 47 other Catholic churches the chief are the domed Jesuit church of St. Nicholas, with its lavish decorations, and the Teyn Church (1407), the old Hussite Church, with the grave of Tycho Brahe,^ and its marble statues of the Slavonic martyrs, Cyril and Methodius. Of five bridges and two railway viaducts the most striking is the Karlsbriicke (1357-1503), 543 yards long, with gate- towers at either end, and statues of John of Nepomuk and other saints. Other noteworthy objects are the town hall (1381-1884), the Pulverturm (1475), and the Premonstratensian monastery of Strahow. Prague has, besides, numerous public gardens and walks in the suburbs, with several royal and noble parks open to the public in the vicinity of the city. The university, founded in 1348, had 10,000 students at the beginning of the 15th century. It possesses a library of 195,000 volumes, a fine observatory, museums of zoology and anatomy, a bo- tanical garden, etc. The manufactures include machinery, chemicals, leather, cotton, linen, gloves, beer, spirits, etc. Prague is the great center of the com- nierce of Bohemia, and the seat of an important transit trade. History. — Prague was founded by Ger- man settlers about 1100. In the 14th century its munificently endowed uni- versity brought foreigners to it from every part; but in 1424 Prague was con- quered and almost destroyed by the Hussites. In the Thirty Years' War it suffered severely, and in 1620 the battle was fought at the Weissenberg, near the city, in which the Elector-Palatine, Fred- erick v., was completely defeated, and compelled to renounce his assumed crown. Swedes and Imperialists succes- sively gained possession of the town dur- ing the war; and a century later it again fell into the hands of different victors, having been compelled in 1744 to capitulate to Frederick the Great, who here on May 6, 1757, defeated 60,000 Austrians under Prince Charles of Lorraine. From Napoleon's downfall, Prague has made rapid strides, and en- joyed prosperity and quiet, except in 1848, when the meeting of the Slavonic Congress within its walls called forth such strongly marked democratic demon- strations on the part of the supporters of Pan-Slavism that the Austrian Gov- ernment dissolved the conclave and bom- barded the town to restore quiet. In 1866 Prague was occupied bloodlessly by the Prussians, who here on Aug. 23, con- cluded a treaty vdth Austria. The Re- public of Czecho-Slovakia was proclaimed Oct. 28, 1918, and Prague became its capital. Pop. about 650,000. PRAGUE, UNIVERSITY OF. There are two universities in Prague, a Ger- man and a Czech university. The for- mer is the older of the two, it being the oldest of the German universities. Founded in 1348, with the four faculties of theology, law, medicine, and arts, it gained the attention of all Europe when, in 1403, John Huss became the rector. During the period of the Hussite wars the university took on a distinctly Czech character, the German students with- drawing and founding the University of Leipzig. When, however, the Catholics and Germans secured the upper hand in Bohemia, as they did in the Thirty Years' War, the university came under the control of the Jesuits and a decided re- action against the Czechs took place. With the grovd;h of the spirit of nation- ality in the nineteenth century the Czech influence again made itself felt, and fin- ally led to the founding of a separate University of Prague in 1882 with facul- ties of law, medicine and arts. As might be expected the new university rapidly outgrew the old one, as the population is predominately Czech. In 1919 at the opening of the World War the students in the Czech university numbered 7.051 while the German institution had 3,043.
