Dějiny věd a techniky 2015, 4

ČLÁNKY / PAPERS
Šafařík, 40 the son of the prominent Slavist Pavel Josef Šafařík, at one of
the banquets: “We received no greetings from the old educated West, only our
Slavic brethern remembered us. This fact and the way they remembered us,
however, compensate for the disinterest of others... Having three universities,
two of which are Polish only, and their own academy of science, the Polish
nation occupies an honorable place in the field of sciences. Thus, gentlemen,
I am toasting the Russian and Polish naturalists and the Slavs in general, and
also the lasting mutual relations with them.” 41
The Prague convention in 1880, although not attended by the Poles, evoked
an enthusiastic response on their side. The Czech scholars were invited to
participate in the 3 rd Convention of the Polish Physicians and Naturalists in
Cracow in 1881, with the goal of strengthening relations of the Slavic nations
in the Austrian monarchy. 42 The invitation was published in Czech professional
journals and in the Journal of the Czech Physicians even in the Polish language, 43
most likely to demonstrate the negligence of language barriers between the
Czechs and the Poles and to symbolize the closeness of the two nations: “The
time has come to unite more closely not only politically, but also culturally with
the closest consanguine nation”, declared the Czech Physicians. 44 Eventually the
convention in Cracow was attended by about 20 45 distinguished Czech physicians
and natural scientists who “received a royal welcome”, 46 read six papers in Czech,
chaired several sessions, and participated in scientific exhibitions and excursions.
40
Vojtěch Šafařík (1829–1902), Czech chemist and astronomer, one of the founders
of the linguistically Czech chemistry.
41
Quotation see Sjezd českých lékařů, op. cit. 1880, p. 366–367.
42
New opportunities of extensive cooperation between the Czech and Polish scientific
communities had opened up in 1875, when the 2 nd Convention of the Polish Physicians
and Naturalists in Lemberg accepted changes in the statutes which enabled future
participation of other Slavic nationalities in the Polish conventions. See Jaroslav
OBERMAJER. Česko-polské lékařské styky v rámci prvních sjezdů českých a polských
lékařů a přírodozpytců v letech 1881–1901 [Czech-Polish medical contacts
in the frame of the first Conventions of the Czech and Polish Physicians and
Naturalists in the years 1881–1901]. Časopis lékařů českých, 110, 1971, p. 375–379.
43
Sjezd lékařů polských [The convention of the Polish physicians]. Časopis lékařů
českých, 20, 1881, p. 93; Zprávy. Schůze spolková dne 21. února [News. The meeting
of the association on February 21]. Časopis lékařů českých, 20, 1881, p. 141–142.
44
Sjezd lékařů, op. cit., 1881, p. 93.
45
Some sources state 17, some 20 Czech participants.
46
Words from Chodounský’s toast at the 2 nd Convention of the Czech Physicians and
Naturalists, see Oznamovatel druhého sjezdu, op. cit. 1882, p. 43.
Turning “Province” to a “Centre”?
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