"Slovak, Slovinetz, Slovianin," all these words, which are used up to 

 this day, mean: A man who talks, one who speaks intelligibly, one whose 

 "words" I can catch. Slovo means word, catch-word, intelligible, or articu- 

 late speech. Therefore a man whose word I understand is for me a "Slovak," 

 a "Slovian, a man of the "plain speech." I can get along with him and I don't 

 care for other distinctions. This is the philosophy of the Slavs or the first 

 scientific attempts to raise a standard of nationality. 



On the other hand all the people whose speech the Slavs could not un- 

 derstand they called Niemetz — dumb man — one whose speech is not intellig- 

 ible to me. 



This is a very simple classification and it requires very little exercise of 

 our brain powers. 



By the name of Niemetz, the Russians and Galicians designate up to this 

 day the Germans. 



Precisely as the Germans in their turn called all peoples related to them 

 Deutsch, that is distinctly speaking or speaking so you can catch it. 



THE BIBLE IN SLAVIC. 



To show how the dialects of the Slavs are related, it will be useful here 

 to say that the language in which the service of the Greek Church is conducted 

 among the different peoples of the Slav sub-division is the dialect of the 

 Slavs of Pannonia among whom two brothers, Cyril and Metho'dius, trans- 

 lated the Holy Scriptures in the IX. Century (862-885). They came from 

 Thessalonica and were the apostles of the Moravians and Bohemians ; in 966 

 Micislav, duke of the Poles, was baptized. 



The fact of the translation of the Bible by these men is no doubt a 

 greater victory and one of more importance to call to life the individuality of 

 the Slavs, than many a conquest made by the sword. 



Now in the Slav peoples of the Greek Church from the Mediterranean 

 to the Pacific Ocean, the Divine service is still held in the dialect into which 

 these two brothers translated the Scriptures one thousand years ago. 



To the year 862, when these brothers began their work, we must refer 

 an event which gave birth to the Ruthenian nation, known here as Galicians. 



A Galician calls himself Russin and his language Russki. A Russian 

 calls himself also a Russki. These two nations had one common origin. 



THE AGE OF VIKINGS. 



And now here we will recall some interesting events which England and 

 the duchy of Russ, from which these Galicians spring, had in common. 



You will remember that the first Danes or Northmen who came to Eng- 

 land made their first incursions in 789. About that time the Northmen came 

 to the north of France and imposed their power in Normandy. These incur- 

 sions of the Northmen continued all through the IX Century and we know 

 that the wave of these Scandinavian vikings, whom some historians call pir- 

 ates, broke against England, France, Paris, Sicily, Naples and other lands. 



