On the other hand, it cannot be denied, that the
accumulation of consonants, in which the Bohemian surpasses by far,
not the Polish, but the southern and eastern languages, and its
peculiar preference of the vowels _e_ and _i_ over the fuller sounding
_a, o, u_, do not add to the euphony of the language; although it
seems singular to bring forward such a reproach against a people so
distinguished for their musical talent.
The history of the Bohemian literature may be divided into five
periods.
The _first_ comprises the whole interval from our first knowledge of
the Czekhes to the influence of Huss; or from A.D. 550 to A.D. 1400.
The _second_ period comprises a full century, from Huss to the general
diffusion of the art of printing.
The _third_ period, the golden age of the Bohemian literature,
comprises about the same interval, and extends to the battle at the
White Mountain, A.D. 1620.
The _fourth_ period, extends from the battle at the White Mountain to
the revival of literature in 1774-1780.
The _fifth_ period, covers the interval from 1780 to the present time.
FIRST PERIOD.
_From the first settlement of the Czekhes, A.D_. 550, _to John Huss,
A.D_. 1400.
Of the language of the Czekhes as it existed when they first settled
in Bohemia, nothing is left, except the names they gave to the rivers,
mountains, and towns, and those of their first chiefs.
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