LIFE IN BELGIUM SOME CORRECTIONS.

New Zealand Tablet, 5 November 1914, Page 45

LIFE IN BELGIUM SOME CORRECTIONS.

To the Editor.

Sir,—Reading the report of an address on ‘ Life in Belgium,’ delivered by Rev. D. Jamieson, M.A., given in the 1 ablet of October 8, I was very much struck by the speaker’s accurate remarks about the ways of that industrious little country, but I had to say to myself: ‘ls dit nu alzoo?’ and answer ‘’ten doet —or in other words; ‘ls this so, now?’ ‘No!’ . It is incorrect. to say that the Flemish language is the language of the uneducated at the present time. Thanks to the*energy of the leaders and members of the fFlaamsclie • Ceweyiny (‘the Flemish movement’) the Flemish people have succeeded in restoring the Flemish language to the place of honor it ought • to-’havc in a country .where the population is predominantly Flemish. French customs threatened to do away with the simplicity of that greater part of the population; and her zealous priests, always’ on the alert to 'avert evil, sounded the bugle for this glorious campaign, now about 20 years ago—and won the day. For (1) at the Louvain University lectures were to be delivered in’ Flemish also. (2) In their colleges, where the young levites study side by ; side ;fwith doctors, lawyers, etc., there . were introduced days for the Flemish, and days for the French language. ' (3) If prelates had to be addressed by the students they, of T late years, composed their addresses in? Flemish X and in French. - (4). The

King, realising the enormous strength . of * the ‘Flaminga-nteni' made it a law that all officials should be able v to speak, - write, and read Flemish that all lawsuits should be treated in both languages and that the officers of the army should give their commands in Flemish as well as in French. 1 ::i, .Now, may I ask, is Flemish still the language of the.uneducated ? Naturally, it will take some time before the Flemish will have displaced the French thoroughly, .but 1 it will do so gradually. It is to be regretted that so many of the wealthy classes still look down upon the Flemish language, which in my ears sounds sweeter than the French, and which, according to a great linguist (the Catholic priest, Guido Gezelle, R.l.F.),is.inore expressive and richer than the French tongue. Another little . remark. It is stated in the report that ‘ There is no literature in the language to make it worth a foreigner's while to learn it!’ Such bare statements surprise me, especially when they are proclaimed by one who is allowed to put the letters ‘M. A. ''after his name. ‘ Why do such bare statements surprise you?’ I am asked. Let me be short. The glorious history of Flanders and its three famous cities ‘ Brugge, Gent, Yperen’ (Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp) is by itself enough to make' anyone doubt the truth of this abovegiven sentence. Any nation has a literature, because it has a history, ’ and a nation which can show to the world ‘an Artevelde, a De Konick, a Breydel, a Leemo van Vlaandreu, a van Eyck, a Rubens, a Van Dyck,’ and tell to that world that these are a few of her great men, —a nation which can number amongst her many victories the ‘slag der Gulden Sporen’ —a nation which, to put it in' a few words, has a most interesting history, must consequently also have a most interesting literature, making it worth a foreigner’s while to learn it. I am not a Belgian, but I am not a foreigner to Belgian Flemish literature. Surely, ‘De gustibus non!’ Real beauty, however, demands world-wide admiration. That real beauty can be found in the Flemish literature. Great dramatic pieces are scarce in that literature; epic poems are rare also, but it overflows with lyrical poems. Give me the choicest pieces of Lamartine, Bossuet, Lacordaire, Victor- Hugo, Racine, Moliere, Alfred de Musset, etc., etc.; give _ me Shakespeare, Milton, Swinburne, Shelley, Keats; give me Goethe, Heine, Klopstock, etc., and I will rather take up a little volume of ,‘ my friend in lonely hours,’ the Flemish poet, Guido Gezelle (a Catholic priest, a master f, of Hebrew, Greek, a few Eastern languages, and of the most European tongues), for on every page of his books I find true poetry and no hollowness. For in lyrical poetry this simple but learned Flemish priest holds his place amongst the masters, and Homer and Virgil would not deny him the place I think him worthy of. „:yV-- : ■ . • Do you want more names of famous men Hugo Verriest, a Catholic priest, a celebrated critic, writer, ■and speaker; De 80, a Catholic priest, a sweet poet and .true. And who does not know that promising poet, Roden Cach, whose early death is still a cause of deep

sorrow to many a Flemish artist of the pen. I could give many more. Those are all writers -of - late years, and writers who have kept pace with all the reforms in literature of Europe at large, but who kept one essential part in their literature ras :a' holy and vital part namely, God, the Creator J: of heaven t and earth. All their poetry, consequently, is ♦but t one - great hymn centring round Him, Who made ‘ beauty.’ Older writers worth reading are ‘ Conscience’; he will be able to give any foreigner ja* better idea of Flandres and its people. Many of his books -have been translated into other languages, but none com© up to the Flemish original, and no wonder, for the Flemish language is a sonorous language,’ a rich language, an expressive language. ~ ’ - -■ -.. •; •- There are other poets whose works we had to know when at college, and I still remember that one of our professors used to say: ‘lt is only on account of these countries being so small, that their writers are not known! ’ "r . ' ■ • The people of the greater countries do not need to study the Flemish tongue or they do not care, consequently the writers are not known outside the country except in translations. But ‘ Ledeganck ’ and ‘de Koninck ’ are undoubtedly poets who deserve admiration, for their noble thoughts! To conclude: Ope of the greatest among the mystic writers, whose name ought to be known by the educated at least, was born, lived, and died in Belgium. The speaker’s remarks with regard to Belgian life are true. Her priests are great workers, because their education is one of which the Catholic Church may indeed be proud. Most of them, can speak : Flemish, French, German, English ; all can read these languages. I did not touch all subjects belonging to literature, for it would take too long to give a list of those, who in philosophy rank among the first and whose'works are up to date and scientific. Sorry, that quotations'would not be understood. — am, etc., Deldervo. October 15. ' * .