seems to have served as an example to Venceslas Hanka, a Czech poet of some talent, who, with his forged versifications of the old Czech manuscripts of Králové Dvůr, added his quota to the literary revival. Jungman, one of the principal Czech writers at the beginning of the nineteenth century, translated Milton's "Paradise Lost," thus enriching his native tongue. K. H. Mácha, the first modern Czech poet, was a true child of Byron. We could quote many other examples showing how the great men of England of those times contributed to the Czech regeneration at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Later on these intellectual ties between the two countries became stronger. The development of Czech literature brought an appreciation of the great English writers, and English poets, novelists, essayists, philosophers, and statesmen are nowhere read with such approval and admiration as in Bohemia. During the years preceding the war, interest in English writings was most marked: novels as well as poetry, philosophical and historical works were translated, the political and constitutional history of England was studied, and the great economic strength of the British Empire and, in particular, the civilisation of Great Britain were generally admired. Libraries for the study of England were founded, as well as societies and clubs for the study of English and American literature
