ABSTRACT
In October 1881 a group of Czech-Bohemian politicians, professors, scholars, artists and many students gathered in Prague to honour Bernard Bolzano on the centenary of his birth. The principal speaker, Dr Durdik, summed up his long speech about the ‘metaphysician, theologian, mathematician, preacher and writer’ as follows:
He was a German but also a whole man . . . and this raised him above all racial hatred. In the best sense of that word he was a citizen of the world. . . . From this vantage point he looked upon the relation between the two nationalities of Bohemia much like Goethe. From this vantage point this man demanded justice for the Bohemians as long as 70 years ago with such energy that even now we cannot express it more eloquently. For justice lay at the core of everything he strove for in his political life. . . . Introduce institutions as you like, but always act with justice [applause]. He clearly stated his view about the two peoples that inhabit our country, seeking the ideal solution for them in harmony and concord. . . . Even today there are occasional individuals who seek to prove that our language and our brains are not suitable for higher learning. It is a bitter burden, but we shall not be provoked. . . . Therefore in this year 1881 it is all the more desirable that Bolzano’s opinions about the relation between the two peoples of Bohemia be restored. . . . His example and his writings will always speak to us. Take them to hand and read. . . . Honour the memory of this man and in him the spirit of humanity, of nobility, of light and peace! [Enthusiastic applause that does not want to end].1
