384

A HISTORY OF BOHEMIAN

LITERATURE

no means opulent, subscribed a sufficient suna to enable His life here also was a him to proceed to Prague. wretched one. He was in constant financial distress. While occupied with learned works of the highest importance, he was obliged to gain his living by writing in popular journals, and he had at one time even to " accept the humiliating and invidious office of a censor." Writing on Slav subjects is not at the present day a very It was yet less so at the time of lucrative occupation. Safafik, when interest in these matters was still more limited. Safafik's health began to fail in consequence of constant anxiety, but he continued his studies on the history and language of his country and race undauntedly. A speaker at the meeting of Bohemian scholars that in 1895 celebrated the centenary of Safafik's birth, " rightly described him as a martyr of science." While the Austrian Government continued to regard Safafik's researches with indifference, the attention of the Prussian authorities was attracted to his profound knowledge of Slavic philology and archaeology, sciences that were then Safafik was offered a professorship in their infancy. both by the University of Breslau and that of Berhn, but the Austrian Government, not wishing that he should expatriate himself, now appointed him professor of Slavic philology at the University of Prague. He, however, gave up this appointment a year later, when he became librarian of that university. In 1848 Safafik made a brief appearance in the political arena. He was a member of the Slav congress that met at Prague in that year, and a speech in favour of the solidarity of the Slav nations which The failure he delivered there caused great sensation. of the congress and the German reaction,^ which lasted ' See my article on the ' ' Bohemian Question," Nineteenth Century, December