L a n g u a ge *
Literature.
G o th ic o r German o f the fiiUng na tio n , which w ill gradually exclude*
the. o th e rs; thetSkrTOnitt ofttth'e - Poles*; part o f'ttie Hungarians, jhe>'
Dalmatians, &c.-ahd alfo t f e ancient fpeech>ufed iti Ifeheraia *atid Mb™
raviarihittd feftly th e 'H u n g a rian ; proper, whicht ha^ •b^ife^nfideSred as a
Branch *of th e Finnic* T h e I tt ta k r o f p p ttf e ; prevails ih •ttkfvftatesttf
Italy- t t a f ;are ffibj e tt to A u ftria : -and t h e 'T yfolfefe, S ec. ! life a mixture
•.off Italian"1 « P M i S i M Afebrm|g
Was fiCriherlyiprev'aleht, W^toadyrtoCiltioii^d ; hut th is' fafhion'is .perhaps'
impaired b y 'rec e n t events, :and-the ufe \>f th e p o litte dG e ttn a n ofi
SaxCtky w o u ld n o t o n ly be".more appropriate* but-m ight tend to diffufe
a -hatidiM th f e and native literature.- R'iefbeck obferves thajb'fe'Swkbia,'
Bavaria,-and Auftria, th e G e rm an isSvferyimpure.
'Exclufive b f th e Italian ;provihcei4, the literary hiftory o f th e A uftrian
dominions cannot afcend to a remoteqieriod• T h a t o f Auftria proper,
in 'p a rticu la r,' is J little ttte r e f tln g ;a n d e^en"the Chrd'hiClSs* a h a -l i f e s ttf '
.faints3are * comparatively rechnt. If' ttfeJf emperor M axim ilian^ g rin d -
f e tte r o f Charles V , be the au th o r o f iriiecceHtric’poenv alfudmgltctftte
-dVfentsttf his owri< life, and u fu a lly ’affcribed to ttitn , though m a u y !a<fiign’
it to his -chaplain, he may be tonfidfcred as the f e th e r o f Awftfiaft -lfterh-’
tu re , as weiFa® 'o f Auftrian gteatnefs. But tbe^fttedeffibn a b h o rs : is»
interrupted ; and many o f thole who flour-ifhed a t Vienna«were ‘a l i ^ S i
W o l f g a n g s L a dM is biltf a dreaming antiquaryƒ:' • and in -th e fame eeny
t u r y CafpinSak has ridiculed tM e tb a c h , the profeffsb'fofMivihity, wh©
h av in g begun a courfe o f lectures on Ifaiah, had not in tw en ty -o n e
years finiftied th e firftfchapter^ T h e like perverfity .o f tafte: continues
■to modern times; and Rlefbeck has dep'fSed in warm colours;the meta-
•phyftcal abfurdities o f the -Auftrian1 prbfefforsy an d ' the alije tt tOne* o f
. flavery and flattefy which pervades even -the little ' fblid literature that
i s known.4 For at Vienna th e emperor is cCnfidere'd tts* the fucceftor
..of A u g u ftts, as abfolute monarch o f G|rffi&ny While in the oih'Crbp‘r"©Cf
-fences-.of th a t w id e ' region', he is .m o re juftly regarded as a nominal
head, though highly refpedtable as king o f H u n g a ry -and Bohemia. In
■ *-' Nor is it diluted in Boliemia, which .may t>e regarded as the extreme weftern limit offiae Sla-
immC'tangve ; iox-iUdc. fedple extend to.the moutn o f tfie Elb c:;4 i; ' ' '■ "''j-
A ,J raW « , voL i. 283.
the medical branch, V an Swieten, Storck, 'and others have acquired de-
-ferved celebrity : but.ttou.gli Vienna fwarm with pretended literati,, or.
men who can talk and.yrite,non.fetth ih> Latio^therp. are a'few who have
acquired a Ihadow o f reputation, fuch as Hell, , Martini, Denis and
JBonrfcerfels ; y e t-ttek firft .was a ^ ile fia k , and > Denis from Bavaria. In
• antiquities occur rhe$najnes*of Frselistt,' and. onp or> t,wo o tte r nqmif-
matic writers, who compbfe vaft volumes upon .fmfdbfubjetts.
Jk-BQhemia-hndsHuim^afy have jn or an ci en t.cl aim ^d-ql 1 it er at ore n r Cofmas
»of Praguepa«venei&ble hiftoriasU,,'flourished fe p h t th e year, i^J§> q 'a n d
.H u n g a ry has amcotesnporar y fatterr,.of;hilloayiin the- .anonymous \,hch-
;tary rof: king.; Bela,fei efc tt&rettcouBagemekti^iyepittswrittrsijbyj th e
-oelebfatettMattias;jGorvih;US ’J'ittfe.ftimulafecfi natiVe: literature, forlBon-
•finius Was, an^t^liantoi.'N^r- is there a n y Hungarian, \7riter;Jpaittcularly
ipelebratedijarnongf the modern Lat in.claffi.es;i j o f j p a t t y e , language
jyep. known,.« by any, tyork. commanding, kelebri$y., . Bafbn du Borp, &
najjve o f T r^afylvapia, has w ritten t piany-,ahl.fe-JworJk;s ininaturai ttif to r y ;
.b u fttp ufed |h c Latin*. g.ntlT'FEp|ip|t> l^ng^ages, ; epauiry,. tttp ,. the
caufes whi^|i hayeiretardpd.tho'progrefs o f letters a'nd philofopify* in-the
■Auftrian.^dOminionS', Would kftfui-.than the- bare ^numeration.;
|g f a few n a fn e s : th e y would h e ttp u n d .to ; arife, paijtlypfrom tt-ei cpaEfe-
■ste^Je^fjheLGgijmap dialgdf^- and th e a^pote.,of. the S]a?vdiic-,and H u n -
^ r j a n from-sitt&fciearned languagefpf- E n ttp ?
.yvars o f ambition, wjft.ch fejnetiines .endanger the .Very. ;exiftc?jce |^ |;th e -
dftate ; in d y e t gffafefc meafere education s^ -tte /h o -
bilkyy or f a t t e r .indeett ffpm tbeir.'ignorance,. for. many cpnfummate;
.qfficers have been m e n o f , letters?:.' bjitnahove. all, this-'defett p iu t t be
:afcribcdtjO:-that me taphyfte al. bigflffiy»-' wlftch, perverts- th e ir ratipnalt
sPfjwers, an d blights ty § ry < bud ;ofi]gCPius m d ,fe lid ,knowledge, . T h e :
hooks .-prohibited 1 a t Vien h a p ro b a b ly : exceed i ip ' h um b e f t to l e : o f the-
In d ex Ex p u rg ato riu s; and though ;:the" goV.ernment have .no doubt • a;
rig h t to watch over'thOfe o f a -p ciiricalttndenGyfyet this jfialeufy needsi
n o t be extended to works of.there, fcience, .written by. heretids^ On. the
.other hand, fome blame muft doubtlefs.,extepd ,tq authors, who IpSpo—
duce in to feientific pE o d h ^ k n itittc iP p o lftic a l- dog^i^ta,:'dnd viftdnary'
s Katona, Hift. Q it. Hung. Proleg..