HUSS IN HISTORY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19328, 15 May 1926, Page 7 (Supplement)

HUSS IN HISTORY.

He who would understand the Bohemia of to-day must go hack to the time when the nation was split into two camps, Hussite and Catholic. That moans a journey into the fifteenth century's earliest days, for it was in 1415 that John Huss parted with Rome and was burnt at the stake in Constance. How this great cleavage came about is told by Jan Herben in his book "John Huss and His Followers" (Geoffrey Bles, London). With careful steps Mr. Harben traces the rise of the virile Bohemian reformer, in many ways a nobler man than Luther, the development of his doctrines, the growth of the "brotherhood" his enthusiasm created, and the influence of his life and purpose upon the Czech nation of to-day. In 1920 two million Czechs broke away from the Papal Church in a body,, a movement in which the perpetuated influence of Huss was manifest. When the five-hundredth anniversary of his death was celebrated m 1915 a great wave of religious and patriotic fervour swept through Bohemia. "Mister Jan Hus," as ho is still in the mouths of the Czechs, remains Bohemia's one hero, the inspirer of warriors and statesmen, the teacher of pastors and the idol of the common people. book, written by a fervent Czech for English readers, adds to its author's reputation, already considerable, as a continental scholar. __________________