The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-11-07
A PATRIOTIC PEOPLE.
Fondness of the Armenlans for Their Ma
tlonal Literature.

Fondness OF the Armenians for Their Ma
tlonal Literature.
The fondness of Armenians for their
national literature must appear, to those
foreigners who have any knowledge Of
it, like the intense love mother mani
tests for her deformed child at whom
strangers glance and shudder. Ancient
Armenian literature is a collection of
dry, dusty annals enshrining deeds of
daring, glorious achievements that would
have made Dryasdust himself second
Homer had he undertaken to describe
them; and yet in Armenia they are
more matter-of-fact annals, the poetry
of which it needed all the asceticism of
Oriental Christianity to suppress. The
literature of modern times is more di-
versiied, but less original. 1t is still
in the translation period, the classic
works of other literatures being rem
dered accessible to Armenian readers
who live outside the pale of civilization
in Aberbeidjan and at the foot of Mount
Ararat.
Noble efforts, however, are being made
by all classes to contribute to its devel-
opment. Russian Armenians, for in
stance, support two daily newspapers,
one weekly, and three monthly reviews
and translations from French and En-
glish works are being continually pub
lished. The censure, however - that
blight of literature and clog of all intel
lectual progress-is also at work, and to
considerable purpose. The difficulties
J. sOI, 10 -
contend in Russia are enormous; whole
pages are cut out of the reviews, long
paragraphs suppressed in the daily news
papers, all of which have to be examined
and approved in writing by these liter
airy policemen before they can be pub
lished.
Armenian publications printed else
where are carefully revised and expur-
gated before being put in the hands of
their readers in Russia. The Shah of
Persia, whose partiality for his Armen-
ian subjects is as we'll known as their
exemplary loyalty to their sovereign,
lately paid visit to the Catholics of
the Armenians at Etchmiadzin, but the
Russian authorities strictly forbade the
Armenian papers to give detailed &C
count of the visit or to allude to it other
wise than in the measured words used
by the official journal in its few casual
remarks on this event.
Another instance-and the last that |
shall bring FORWARDED the earnest de-
termination Of the Russian authorities
to cut down every growth Of national
life is as incredible in appearance as it
is imprudent in fact. In the hope of
enlarging the intellectual horizon of the
common people, and arousing in them
an enlightened interest in questions of
history, literature, science, series of
cheap little primers were issued in Ar
menian, containing each the story of the
life of some hero, or the account of some
memorable event in the worlds history,
in simple words, perfectly free from all
Objectionable tendencies-so free, in
deed, that the censure, SO chary of its
lmprimatur to Armenian publications,
approved the little pamphlets, which
were printed.
Very soon, however, the government
declared that, although each little book
was in itself quite harmless, yet the
fact that the series contained the lives
of such persons as Joan of Arc, William
Tell, ETC., related in way that charmed
the minds of the people, coupled with
the circumstance that these primers
were bought up in a very short time,
was sufficiently clear indication of a
state of feeling which the Government
could not tolerate And the further is
sue of these little books, some of which
were literal translations of sketches
written and published by Russian peda-
gogues for Russian children, was forth
with prohibited-Fortnightly Review.