The first volume of Palacký’s history of Bohemia appeared in 1836. It deals with the first settlement of the Slavic race in Bohemia. Recent critics—even among the author’s countrymen—accuse Palacký of having idealized the primitive Čechs. It is indeed true that the optimist views of Rousseau and Herder are somewhat obvious in the book. The dark conception of a universal and eternal struggle for existence had not then replaced, the conception of an Arcadian and innocent primitive mankind. The preface of this volume deserves quotation, for it indicates the spirit in which Palacký undertook his vast historical work. He writes: ‘As regards the principles and intentions which have guided me while working at this history, I have hardly a word to say. I know of no others, except those that proceed naturally from the supreme principle of regard for historical truth and faith. That I write from the standpoint of a Bohemian is a fact for which I could only be blamed, if it rendered me unjust either to the Bohemians or to their opponents. I hope, however, that my sincere craving for truth, my respect for all laws, divine and human, my zeal for order and legality, my sympathy with the weal and woe of all mankind, will preserve me from the sin of partiality. With God’s help, these principles will continue to guide me in my task.’
I should here remark that the first volume of Palacký’s great work first appeared in German, and was subsequently translated into Bohemian. It was only after the revolutionary year 1848, when the dissensions between the Bohemians and the Germans—who had previously treated the Bohemians with somewhat contemptuous indulgence—became more intense,
