The Library of Congress some time ago purchased approximately 700 books published in the modern Bulgarian language between 1806 and 1877. The significance of this acquisition can be appreciated when it is noted that there were at most only 1,800 books published in the Bulgarian language during this entire period. In fact, the first book in modern Bulgarian came out as recently as 1806, and the first successful press in what is present-day Bulgaria was established less than a century ago in Ruschuk.
By this purchase, the Library now has surpassed the Harvard collection, which hitherto had been the best in the United States.1 Certainly its collection can be regarded as one of the most complete in the entire Western World for the so-called "Renaissance" period of Bulgarian history. This collection is of immense value to all students of Bulgarian, Balkan, and Slavic history because it provides the major source for the study of the intellectual and cultural development of the Bulgarian nation prior to the explosive events of the 1870s. However, in order to grasp fully the value of this collection and the reasons why so relatively few books were published in Bulgarian, a brief sketch of the historical background of the country is necessary.
In April 1876 the massacres in Bulgaria dramatized, not only for the statesmen but also for the European public, the fact that another Balkan people desired independence from Ottoman rule. After 1683, Turkish power, which had been dominant in the Balkan Peninsula since the fifteenth century, began to wane perceptibly under the successive onslaughts of the great Christian powers, especially Austria and Russia.
In the nineteenth century the growth of nationalism among the Balkan people resulted in successful revolutions among the Greeks, Serbs, and Rumanians, in which, however, only the first gained complete independence before 1878. Despite the victories of the other Balkan peoples, the future at first did not seem so promising for the Bulgars, the last major Christian nation under Ottoman domination. In 1847 the well-known French writer and student of Slavic affairs, Cyprien Roberts, wrote that "among all the Greek-Slavs, the Bulgarians are the ones whom the Greeks fear the least and for whom they have the least respect . . . it is true that the Bulgarian nation cannot, for a long time to come, be regarded as ripe for independence." 2
The Bulgarian position was weak primarily because of its geographic location in relation to the Ottoman Empire. As the boundaries of the state were steadily reduced, not only on the European continent, but also in Asia Minor and Africa, the Turks, whose entire history had been associated with the growth and expansion of a vast, powerful empire, reacted violently. Every loss of territory and every uprising of a subject people caused them to take stern measures for their survival as an empire. Understandably, those who lived in close proximity to Constantinople, the Ottoman capital, felt the brunt of this policy. Thus the Bulgars found that, whereas the other Balkan peoples were able to secure independence or autonomy, the Sultans, who correctly saw Bulgaria as occupying the main avenues of defense in the Balkans, were resolute in their intention of preventing similar developments among the Bulgars.
Despite Turkish resolve, Bulgarian patriots throughout the century continued to organize resistance against Ottoman rule. In the preceding centuries the Orthodox Church had preserved the identity of the subject Christian peoples. Although in the nineteenth century the church and its leaders continued to play in important role in the history of the nation, the church was now compelled to yield its position of leadership to the young patriots, who based their program on secular rather than religious principles. In the end, political and religious activity were to be fused for the common purpose of achieving national autonomy in 1878. Full independence was won in 1908.
Even at the beginning of the nineteenth century it was clearly evident to the more enlightened Bulgars that their plans and hopes for future independence and statehood could not be realized without an awakened and educated citizenry. Already in 1762 the Bulgarian monk, Father Paisii, had written his now-famous "Slaveno-Bulgarian History" (Slaviano-bŭlgarska istoriia, Sofiia, 1949), which had as its purpose the resurrection from the past of the glories of the Bulgars and the awakening of his own contemporaries to the prospects for the future. Paisii's call did not go unheeded. The new generation accepted his advice and was prepared to fulfill his demand. In 1806 the first fruits were realized when Bishop Sofronii of Vratsa published his well-known Kyriakodromion or "Sunday Book" (Pogorelov 2), 3 the first book published in modern Bulgarian.
The appearance of this work was a landmark in Bulgarian history. It was appropriate that it should be religious in nature because the church had served the nation so well in the past, and was to be of continuing although not dominant importance in the future. One thousand copies of the work were printed and the Library of Congress now has one of two known to be in the United States, the other being at Harvard. [Since the publication of this article a third copy in the United States has been located at the New York Public Library]. A copy of the second edition (1856; Pogorelov 337) is also in the collection.
Sofronii, who was the priest Stoiko Vladislavov prior to his appointment as Bishop in 1794, had been an associate of Paisii. In fact, Paisii had charged him to copy his "history" and to circulate it throughout the Bulgarian lands. The patriotic fervor of Paisii's work, inspired largely by the lack of respect he found for the Bulgars among his fellow Orthodox, the Serbian, Greek, and Russian religious men at Mt. Athos, was not lost on Sofronii. Hence came his resolve to make his contribution to the cause of Bulgarian nationalism.
Kyriakodromion is a collection of 96 sermons for Sundays, the appropriate Holy Days, and for individual religious ceremonies such as marriages and christenings. The book was to serve in place of a Bible, which was available only in Old Church Bulgarian and was not understood by most of Sofronii's contemporaries. In his preface Sofronii stressed the need for a translation of the Scriptures into modern Bulgarian and thereby emphasized the problem confronting the Bulgarian nation. It should be noted that even Kyriakodromion was not completely in the vernacular but contained many Church Slavic expressions. The break, nevertheless, had been made with the past; henceforth modern Bulgarian was to follow its own distinctive course. No Bulgarian, however, achieved for his own language what Vuk Stefanović Karadžić accomplished for Serbo-Croatian.
Sofronii's work was not published in his native land, but across the Danube, in Rimnik, Wallachia. In actual fact, no books were to be published in Bulgaria proper for the next half-century. The Turks prohibited presses in Bulgaria, for obvious reasons; but, with the then-characteristic Turkish inefficiency and lack of consistency, they allowed Bulgarian books with the censors' approval to be printed in Constantinople, which became the major center for this purpose. From the historian's point of view it is interesting to note that Vienna was the next largest center, followed by Belgrade, Bucharest, and Budapest. 4
Understandably, the Bulgars have shown considerable interest in the so-called "pre-liberation" books. Limited copies and editions were published and their future historical and cultural value was not appreciated. Therefore they are now classified separately in Bulgaria and are regarded as "incunabula," not, of course, in the usual sense of the term, but because of their obvious scarcity. However, in 1852 Dr. I.V. Shopov published in Constantinople a bibliography of available Bulgarian books. Although the Library of Congress does not possess this, it does have a copy of J.K. Jireček's bibliography of works published between 1806 and 1870, Knigopis na novob"lgarska-ta knizhnina External (Vienna, 1872) , which has 550 listings (Pogorelov 1,273). In 1893 A. Teodorov-Balan printed a more complete bibliography, which he revised in 1909. These efforts were notable and important. However, they were completely superseded in 1923, when Prof. Valerii Pogorelov published his Opis na starite pechatani Bulgarski knigi (1902–1877). Pogorelov's work is regarded almost as a union list of all Bulgarian books preserved in the major libraries in Bulgaria. In 1926 St. Stanimirov published a correction and addition to Pogorelov in his "Dobavki i opravki kum 'Opis na starite pechatani Bulgarski knigi (1802–1877),'" which appeared in Godisnik na narodnata biblioteka v Plovdiv 1926. On the basis of the Library's collection it appears now that there were 35 books not available to Pogorelov and Stanimirov. However, for the purpose of this study Pogorelov will be used as the guide, since Stanimirov, although he made many corrections, added only eight titles.
Pogorelov's work is 795 pages in length and contains 1,646 titles. For each item there is a complete citation with an indication where many of the volumes are located in Bulgaria. Although some citations contain only this information, for many of the others there are extensive extracts two or three pages in length. For over 90 percent of the books the description is far more complete than is normally found on a library card. In an appendix Pogorelov has a list of the works by authors with a brief title and place and date of publication, together with the corresponding number of the work in the bibliography. Similarly, there are about 300 anonymous listings cited in the same manner, but segregated topically under Bibles, religious books (Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant), the Bulgarian church question, literature, pedagogical works, laws and constitutions, and calendars. The Library has two copies of Pogorelov, one of which is completely annotated to indicate what items are now available in its collections. Anyone interested in this subject could obtain the same information, but in abbreviated form, from a microfilm copy of the appendix (pages 750–95).
An examination of Pogorelov reveals that the appearance of Kyriakodromion did not stimulate other works. In fact, for the next 26 years (1806–32), only 18 books are listed, of which the Library has six (Pogorelov 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 18). One book was published in each of seven years, two in four years and three in one year (1825). The places of publication were: 11 in Budapest, three in Bucharest, and one each in Brashov, Kishinev, London, and Rimnik. Of these, 12 were of a religious nature, three were grammars, one a calendar, and one dealt with peasant affairs. Thereafter the publication rate increased noticeably, so that between 1833 and 1839 35 books were printed. Subsequently, there was a remarkable expansion. In the 1840s 119 books, in the 1850s there were 284, in the 1860s there were 621; and between 1870 and 1877 there were 562, the Turkish war (1876–78) somewhat curtailing publications.
A study and comparison of the Pogorelov bibliography with the Library's collection of Bulgarian literature discloses that the latter is broadly representative of the books published. For comparison and analysis the books in the collection were divided into general topics although it was obvious that some could have been classified under several different categories. The following figures are revealing. By far the largest group is comprised of religious works (Bibles, theological dissertations, catechisms, tracts against the Catholics and Protestants, etc.). These number over 150 and clearly disclose the great importance which the church then exercised among the Bulgars. It is not surprising the second group of about 50 books consists of elementary grammars, primers, and readers. What little education was available in Bulgaria was exclusively of a religious nature; hence the basic need for textbooks to teach modern Bulgarian. The third group consists of general histories (European, world, etc.) and numbers about 35. This was closely followed by 30 books with a patriotic tinge (brief histories, propaganda tracts, etc.). About 25 works of fiction are also present. Twenty-five simple arithmetic books and a similar number of elementary world geography books are included. There are 26 foreign-language grammar-readers, 10 of which are Bulgarian-French and nine Bulgarian-Turkish. The others are Greek, Italian, Rumanian, and German. There are 33 translations from foreign languages into Bulgarian. French leads the way with 10, five are from Russian, four from Turkish-Arabic, and the others are from Italian, Greek, Polish, English, and German. These are about 20 calendars containing the kind of encyclopedic information which has been in vogue throughout the entire world. There also are a dozen music books, and a similar number of elementary science works. In addition, there are approximately a half-dozen books each on philosophy, medicine, manners, business techniques, and poetry. The remainder can be classified under various additional categories, or are simply miscellaneous publications.
A representative analysis of the books in the various groupings provides both an informative and illuminating study of the interests and cultural attainments of the Bulgars. Many of the books are even highly amusing and entertaining.
The issue in Bulgarian history in the nineteenth century was nationalism. Understandably this expressed itself in various forms. One of the most evident was through religion and the church. Throughout the period of Turkish supremacy, the church had served the nation well by preserving its identity. In 1767, however, the church as an autocephalous institution disappeared when the archbishopric of Ohrid was abolished by the Turks at the urging of the Greek patriarchate of Constantinople. Even without a formal church, Bulgarian Orthodoxy performed valuable services to the cause of nationalism. First, the Orthodox religion was made a living belief and thereby became more understandable and appealing. Hence the need for Bibles and catechisms in modern Bulgarian. Secondly, demands were made in print for the creation of a new autocephalous Bulgarian church, largely in order to help combat a potentially dangerous foe, namely Greek nationalism, which was shielding itself under the protective cloak of the Greek patriarch. Thirdly, once the church was established, it became the symbol of national unity which eventually brought about political autonomy and then independence.
The Library's collection reflects these problems well. Sofronii saw the need for a rejuvenated and revitalized Bulgarian Orthodoxy. In the preface to Kyriakodromion he wrote that many clergymen and laymen intended to read, but could not understand anything from the Bible because of the language difficulties. Consequently, he had written Kyriakodromion in "simple Bulgarian" in order that "every Bulgarian" might understand it. Then he went on to a spirited defense of the importance of religion in everyday life, arguing that for six days man worked for his body and that the seventh should be for his soul and God.
The response was remarkable. In the anonymous listings alone Pogorelov has 24 titles under the category "Holy Writings in the Bulgarian Language," which consist mainly of translations from the Bible. The Library has nine of these. Anonymous "books with a religious content (Eastern-Orthodox)," that is, prayer books, catechisms, etc., number 34, of which eight are in the Library. Those which can be attributed to a specific author exceed these in quantity.
In order to meet this demand for religious books, subscriptions were solicited to cover publication costs. Thus, for example, the Library has a copy of Chudesa prestyia Bgoroditsy (Budapest, 1817; Pogorelov 8), translated from the Greek into "the Bulgarian language for the use and instruction and salvation of the Christian race." Two merchants, Dimitrii Filippovich and Dimitrii Zuzur, were responsible for the book, but on pages 2 and 3 there is a list of 36 names of individuals from nine villages in Bulgaria with the amount of each person's contribution, collectively totaling 646 grosh (piasters). There were eight contributions of fifty grosh each, and the smallest was six. Expanded and corrected versions of this work appeared in 1846 (Pogorelov 132), 1851, and 1867 (Pogorelov 811). A survey of other books in the collection reveals that public subscriptions were not uncommon. Undoubtedly in many cases the individual responded because he wished to see his name in print.
The second problem, the conflict with the Greeks, was a more serious matter. It was not simply a clash of the Bulgarian Orthodox elements with the Greek or of Bulgarian nationalism with Greek. The Bulgarian merchant class, although by and large patriotic, was also realistic. The modern Greek language was the language of business and trade throughout the entire Balkans. Hence every successful businessman of necessity learned it. Consequently it was taught in schools, and for practical reasons there was opposition to measures directed against it or even against the Greeks as a nation. The Bulgarian ultra-patriots at home and abroad, however, refused to be dissuaded. A typical attack on the Greeks was made by Vasilii Aprilov, initially a Grecophile, in his Balgarskitie knizhnitsy, ili na koe slovensko pleme sobstenno prinadlezhi kirillovskata azbuka? (Odessa, 1841; Pogorelov 59). The occasion for his pamphlet was an article published by a Serb in the Odessa periodical, Viestnik, in which he claimed that the Serbs had adopted Christianity in 856 and that Cyril, one of the patron saints of the Orthodox, had composed his alphabet at the invitation and on behalf of the Serbian clergy in Salonika. After disposing of this argument, Aprilov turned his attention to the problem of the Greeks and Orthodoxy. Although some of his arguments were not tenable, he directed a spirited attack against the Greeks, the Byzantine Empire, and anything that smacked of Hellenic superiority.
By the 1860s the struggle was no longer passive, but active. The Bulgars were demanding a church autonomous of the Greek patriarchate. Thus the well-known Bulgarian revolutionary, G.S. Rakovskii, summed up Bulgarian feeling in his B'lgarskyi vieroispovieden vupros s fanarioti tie i goliemaia mechtaina ideia panelinizma (Bucharest, 1864; Pogorelov 682). This was printed with two columns on each page, one in Bulgarian and the other in Rumanian translation. His thesis was that the Bulgarian people, who for centuries had slumbered under the Turks, had recently fallen under the control of the Greek clergy, whose aim was the Hellenization of all the Balkan Orthodox. Not only would the Greek clergy benefit personally from this, but they would aid in stifling and suppressing entire nations. The last third of the book is filled with copies of letters, manifestoes, and documentary historical evidence on this problem.
The campaign of the Bulgarian politicians and religious men was crowned with success in 1870, when the Sultan consented to the establishment of the autocephalous Bulgarian Exarchate, much to the distress of the Greeks. The attitude of the Bulgars was reflected in a work by S. M. (apparently the author is still unknown), Bŭlgarska pravda i Grŭtskata kryvda (Constantinople, 1872; Pogorelov 1287). After expressing his gratitude to God and to Sultan Abdul Aziz, the author lists 15 reasons that the Greeks allegedly used to justify their opposition to the establishment of the Exarchate. He takes up each issue individually and refutes the arguments. He concludes his work by citing Cicero, "Graeca fides nuli fides," and by quoting the twelfth-century Russian chronicler Nestor, "the Greeks have been deceitful up to this day." To which S. M. added: "The Greeks are liars still today!"
Other important works dealing with this problem are: N. Mikhailovskii's Istorichesky izsliedovaniia za okhridskata i ipekska arkhiepiskopii (Constantinople, 1869; Pogorelov 1,020); Okruzhno pismo sviatago b"lgarskago synoda kum samostoiatelnyty pravoslavny tserkvy (Constantinople, 1871; Pogorelov 1,214); Vulnuvaniiata na fener i izverzheniiatat mu (Constantinople, 1872; Pogorelov 1,248); Izbiranieto na Bŭlgarskii ekzarkh (Constantinople, 1872; Pogorelov 1,271); and Okruzhno pismo na vselenskiit patriarkh i na Sviatiit Sobor kum pravoslavno-to Bŭlgarsko dukhovenstvo i narod (Constantinople, 1872; Pogorelov 1,310).
Although the conflict with the Greeks was the most serious, the Bulgars had a brief but lively encounter with the Catholic Uniate movement and a more prolonged bout with the American Protestant missionaries. At the end of the 1850s and the beginning of the 1860s the Catholics had succeeded in gaining some adherents among the Bulgars after disseminating a considerable number of religious works. With the aid of the Russians, the Bulgars were successful in destroying the movement. In 1858 K. Miladinov translated from Russian a work entitled Pravoslavny ts'rkoviy bratstva vo iugo-zapadiia-tia Russiia (Moscow, 1858; Pogorelov 397). In the preface it was stated that the work of the Uniate movement might cause someone to remark that this was not dangerous to the Orthodox. The purpose of the pamphlet was to disabuse anyone of these views. Therefore, a broad general historical survey of Catholic activity in this area from the Orthodox point of view was presented. Another translation from Russian was Razgovory mezhdu dvama khristiani, ot koito edin-at ispytva, a drugii-at e uvieren za pravoslavie-to na istochna-ta tsŭrkva (St. Petersburg, 1862; Pogorelov 580). With the question-and-answer method, the author analyzed the differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, using historical data as well as citations from the Bible to support his point of view.
Unknown to many Americans is the role which the American Protestant missionaries played in Bulgaria from the middle of the nineteenth century to the end of the first World War. Although Professors James F. Clarke and William Webster Hall have done very valuable research in this field, their works are largely unknown beyond the group of specialists keenly interested in the Balkans.5 In the category "Books with a Religious Content: Protestant," Pogorelov cites 68 titles, of which the Library has 37. Throughout their entire period of activity in Bulgaria the Protestants, it is true, gained at the most only a few thousand adherents; yet they disseminated a very large quantity of religious writings. Although the Protestants insisted that their aim was not the proselytization of the Bulgars, the orthodox leaders considered that their actions belied their declarations. To establish this point, the monastery of Rila published a work entitled Pravoslavnyi glas protiv protestant-skyit prozelit"iz'm v Bŭlgariia (Ruschuk, 1869; Pogorelov 1,071). In the preface astonishment was expressed at the Protestants for publishing two "inflammatory" pamphlets, Protestanstvo s cheloviechestvo i khristianstvo (Vienna, 1867; Pogorelov 866) and Istinni polkonnitsi ili dukhovno polkonenie (Constantinople, 1867; Pogorelov 864), which attacked the fundamental basis of the Orthodox church. The actions of the Protestants in various villages and cities, where they allegedly had succeeded in turning parents against children, brother against brother, and wife against husband, were cited. Moreover, they were charged with having instilled a feeling of "indifference" among the Bulgarian youth. Such activities could not be tolerated and were condemned. In conclusion, the Bulgars were told that with God's help they should beware of Protestant "traps."
The most serious problem confronting the Bulgarian nation was that of education. Hitherto what few schools existed were either primarily religious in background and orientation or concentrated on the study of Greek for utilitarian purposes. The need for secular schools and a literate citizenry was a problem that confronted all the Balkan states with the waning of Turkish authority. Sofronii had expressed the need for works in modern Bulgarian which in turn called for the production of a grammar which could be used as the basis for the training of future generations of Bulgarian students.
Arithmetic examples in Beron's Bukvar s razlichny poucheniia (Brashov, 1824), the first Bulgarian primer.
Bukvar s razlichny poucheniia. Library of Congress Rare Book & Special Collections Division.
In 1824 Petr Kh. Berovich, more familiarly known as Beron, published the first modern Bulgarian primer, Bukvar s razlichny poucheniia (Brashov, 1824; Pogorelov 12). Today Beron is regarded as the father of modern Bulgarian. Firmly convinced that Bulgarian should be written in the language of the people, and not in the archaic vocabulary of the church, he chose the dialect spoken in the eastern part of the country, which was subsequently to form the basis of the present literary language.
In the preface to his grammar Beron expressed his deep concern not only for the basic need of a grammar but for what he considered equally important, the adoption of new methods of instruction whereby "one teacher can teach easily one hundred children." Thus he became a staunch advocate of the Lancastrian (Bell and Lancaster) method employed so successfully in Western Europe. In fact, he spelled out the exact procedure to be used in employing the superior students as instructors, and he indicated the precise routine to be followed, beginning with the organization and then the rotation of the pupils.
Beron was a firm believer in the phonetic method. Hence, after listing the alphabet, he included tables of syllables which each pupil was to repeat over and over again. Then he added 12 pages of grammar, giving examples of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, singulars, plurals, conjugations, and declensions. The next section of nine pages included simple prayers.
Since he wanted his pupils to have a good knowledge of the world, Beron devoted 103 of a total of 140 pages to subjects of a general nature. The first, called "Good Advice," began with the well-known " Do unto others what you would have others do unto you." The second concerned "Intelligent Answers" selected from ancient history. Examples are: "Alexander, when he heard that Darius was preparing a large army, said: 'A wolf is not afraid of many sheep' "; "Plato asked someone: 'What good can I do you?' This one answered: 'If you know something bad about me, tell me about it'" ; and "Aristotle said: 'There is as much difference between the living and the dead as there is between an educated and uneducated person.'" The next section included 18 fables, followed by "Diverse Histories." These consisted of tales with a moral, and most are cited from ancient history. Next he presented facts about nature. Thus, salt, coffee, sugar, tobacco, cotton, flax, monkey, elephant, rhinoceros, reindeer, beaver, crocodile, hippopotamus, ostrich, crane, shark, whale, bee, ant, and, finally, man are all discussed and described with a paragraph or several pages devoted to each. Drawings of most of the animals are found at the end of the book. The last section covers simple arithmetic — addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, with appropriate examples and tables.
This primer was truly a "small encyclopedia." Its popularity is best confirmed by the fact that it went through five editions — 1841, 1847 (Pogorelov 134), 1850 (Pogorelov 176), 1856, and 1862. An entire generation of Bulgars grew up under Beron's influence. Their initial knowledge was meager, but it was well chosen. That it was successful is best attested by the prominence of such famous authors as G.S. Rakovskii and P. R. Slaveikov, who were taught by the primer.
Quite understandably, others immediately sought to improve upon Beron's work. Thus Neofit Rilski's Bolgarska grammatika (Kragujevac, 1835; Pogorelov 31) became the first grammar in the usual sense of the term. Neofit was to employ it most advantageously in association with his tremendous work at the Gabrovo school. For his contributions he eventually gained the title of "Patriarch of Bulgarian teachers." This grammar was followed by Ivancho Andreov's (I. A. Bogorodov) Piarvichka Bialgarska grammatika (Bucharest, 1844; Pogorelov 91). Whereas Beron offered more general information than grammar, Neofit and Bogorodov presented competent technical instruction in basic grammar. However, the man who succeeded Beron in influence was Ioakim Gruev. Gruev had a very fruitful and long life (1828–1912). He was a teacher, a man of letters, and a government official. He numbered the revolutionaries Liuben Karavelov and Ivan Vazov among the pupils who studied under him in Plovdiv. Pogorelov lists 65 items under Gruev's name, and goes only up to 1877. Of these, 29 are separate publications, the others generally being new or revised editions. The Library has 19 of the separate listings, and a total of 32 items. At the age of 30 Gruev published what was probably his most influential work, Osnova za Bŭlgarskia grammatika (Belgrade, 1858; Pogorelov 386). This was republished in a revised edition in 1862 (Pogorelov 548), 1864 (Pogorelov 652), 1865, and 1869. Although in his preface the author apologized for his vast undertaking, his grammar became for the 1860s and 1870s what Beron's primer had been for the previous decades. Systematically and scientifically Gruev explained and described the fundamentals of modern Bulgarian. In time his works became synonymous with the growth of the literary language. His services were recognized when he was appointed minister of education for the province of Eastern Rumelia (Southern Bulgaria) after the Congress of Berlin in 1878.
Directly associated with the emphasis on the language was the need for secular schools. In this respect the name of Vasilii Aprilov (1789–1848) stands out. Aprilov was born in Gabrovo, which is located in the center of Bulgaria in the Balkan mountains. His brother, who was a merchant in Russia, brought young Vasilii at the age of 10 to Moscow, where he enrolled him in a Greek school. Thereafter he went to a German gymnasium and studied medicine in Vienna. Because of his health he was forced to return in 1811 to Odessa, where he too became a successful merchant. He soon cultivated a keen interest in his native Bulgaria, past and present. Consequently, he decided to found a school "in the European manner" in his birthplace of Gabrovo. Thus was created what became probably the most famous school in Bulgaria.
Aprilov soon interested another merchant, also originally from Gabrovo but now in Odessa, Nikolai Palauzov, and both pledged to give 2,000 grosh each for the undertaking. At the same time they persuaded Neofit Rilski to participate in their project; and in 1834 Neofit left for Bucharest, where he studied the Lancastrian method. He returned in 1835 to open the first new Bulgarian school. With Neofit as instructor and with students eager to learn, enough teachers were trained at Gabrovo so that 20 new schools employing the Lancastrian method had been opened by 1845 in Bulgaria. In 1840 the first girls' school was established in Pleven.
In 1866 a volume entitled Gabrovsko-to uchilisshche i negovy-tie p'rvy popechiteli (Constantinople 1866; Pogorelov 790) was published. The work is dedicated to the school's two founders, and sketches of both are on the frontispiece. In explaining the origin of the book the editor, P. R. Slaveikov, stated in the preface that Aprilov had expressed the wish that a history of the school be written. This is not only a history, but a magnificent source-book, filled with facts and figures which would enable anyone interested to make an informative and valuable study of the institution.
The volume is divided into two parts. The first contains 114 pages, of which 72 are a general narrative history of the school, carefully documented and foot-noted. In addition, it is interspersed with very important letters by Aprilov and Palauzov, which reveal their ideas and plans beginning in 1833.
By 1858 a nine-year curriculum had been established which included the following subjects: reciprocal teaching (i.e., the Lancastrian system); holy history; Orthodox catechism; arithmetic; algebra to the second level; elementary principles of geometry and planimetrics; physical, mathematical, and political geography; general and church history; history of natural science; business instruction; letter-writing; logic, rhetoric, and physics; languages: Bulgarian, Turkish, Slavic (Slavenski), Greek, French, and German.
Of special interest in the next section is the list of benefactors and their contributions. Aprilov and Palauzov gave the most. Both contributed 2,000 grosh yearly from 1832 to their deaths, in 1847 and 1853 respectively. Collectively their contributions represented 72,000 grosh. There were 22 others, most of whom made single or yearly gifts. Diedo Silvestri Penu donated two houses with stores in Bucharest which yielded "a very significant yearly income." Next is a list of the funds from the city of Gabrovo itself. One item lists 131,075 grosh, paid by the parents of the children to the teachers from 1853–1864. The next section includes gifts in the form of books. The initial contribution of 10 of these came in 1833 from the two founders. In 1835 Neofit Rilski donated 535 copies of his grammar, and in 1845 the citizens of Odessa contributed 3,077 religious works and catechisms. Between 1833 and 1861, 6,750 books were received. The names of 37 teachers are also cited, with their periods of instruction. The student enrollment began with 20 in 1835, which increased to 320 by 1842; and it was over 700 by 1867. Finally, there is also a list of books donated by the Gabrovo school to other institutions in Bulgaria.
Of special interest to librarians and historians are the titles in Aprilov's library, which he donated to the school. The books are divided according to the country of origin, and these in turn are classified topically (history and geography, literature, natural science, etc.) He possessed 1,051 books altogether, of which 436 were in Russian, 326 Bulgarian, 163 Greek, 39 French, 24 Italian, 20 German, 19 Latin, 18 Church Slavic, and 6 in Serbian and Czech. Not all of these were individual items; some represented duplicates, volumes in collected works, etc. Important and interesting works included in his collection were: Karamzin, Istoriia gosudarstva rossiiskago (History of the Russian State), vols. 1–8; Sochineniia Karamzina (The Works of Karamzin), vols. 2–8; Bantysh-Kamenskii, Slovar dostopamiatnykh liudei russkoi zemli (Dictionary of Memorable Men of the Russian Land), parts 1–5; Voltaire, Oeuvres, vol. 4; Uebersicht der politisch oekonomischen Ansicht der Griechen; and Opere dell' Abate Metastasio, vols. 1–14.
The next section contains the holdings of the Gabrovo school library, which numbered 2,340 items. This total must represent the books purchased by the school because, as indicated above, in an earlier section over 6,500 books are listed as having been donated to the school. The holdings of the Gabrovo collection are not in the same detail as those of Aprilov. Hence there are 1,953 listings in the miscellaneous category, which is printed on less than two pages. One item is "Bŭlgarsky Knizhitsy — 1016" (Bulgarian pamphlets). However, the other categories are more explicit and detailed. There are 234 Russian books, 101 Bulgarian, 40 Greek, 12 Serbian, and 12 Slavic.
The preponderance of Russian books in both the Aprilov and Gabrovo collections is readily understandable. The Russian and Bulgarian languages being so closely related, it was possible for a Bulgar to read works in Russian which were not available in his own language. There were, of course, other reasons. Because of Bulgaria's proximity to the Turkish Straits and Russia's keen interest in them, Bulgaria's political future was directly connected with Russia's campaign against the Ottomans. The two peoples possessed the closest historic-religious ties. The young Bulgars who desired a higher education generally attended the universities in Moscow or Kiev. Also significant was the "big-brother" role which Russia played with respect to all the Balkan Orthodox, especially the Slavs.
The last part of the book is equally interesting. A section of 62 pages contains the wills of men associated with the Gabrovo school. Again the most revealing is that of Aprilov, which is 41 pages and is printed in Bulgarian and Greek. He made his initial testament in 1843 which indicates that he had 72,742 silver rubles. A supplementary declaration in 1847 listed his resources at 76,000 silver rubles.
Bound with the above, but a separate publication is Smietka na dusheprikashchiky-tie V. E. Aprilova podadena N. N. Aprilovu (Constantinople, 1867; Pogorelov 830). Among other valuable financial statistics, this contains the complete yearly budget for the Gabrovo school from 1832 to 1866. The income and expenditures are listed on separate pages, with a monthly breakdown for each. The cost of books, teachers' salaries with names, etc., are all recorded in detail. A better source for the study of one school or of the level of Bulgarian education could hardly be expected.
One of the most popular subjects in Bulgaria was history. Paisii's work had not been published but had been recopied many times and read by all who were fortunate enough to see it. Both his and Sofronii's patriotic plea had a stimulating effect on the development of Bulgarian nationalism. However, the interest in history was perhaps more the result of the influence of Iurii Venelin (1802–39), a native of sub-Carpathian Russia. As a boy Venelin had shown a keen interest in history. In 1823 he went to Kishinev, Bessarabia, where he served as a teacher for two years. There he met some Bulgars, and became fascinated by them and their history; and the remainder of his short life was devoted to the study of all that was Bulgarian. His first and most famous work was Drevnie i nyneshnie Bolgare, published in Moscow in 1829 (the Library does not have a copy). Writing in the true spirit of the Romantic school, he extolled the virtues and glories of the medieval Bulgars. Nothing better describes the effect which he had on his readers than the statement made by Atanas Kipilovski, a prominent Bulgarian educator, that "I am insatiably re-reading this book now for the sixth time." Aprilov also admitted that Venelin's book, which he read in 1831, intensified his patriotism. Aprilov in turn encouraged Venelin to carry on his research, which resulted in his collecting national poetry, historical documents, and similar material. Thus in 1838 he published a book on Bulgarian literature which was translated into Bulgarian after Venelin's death - Zaradi vozrozhdenie novoi Bolgarskoi slovesnosti (Bucharest, 1842; Pogorelov 71). In this he discussed contemporary Bulgarian literary developments, comparing, for example, Sofronii's translations with those of others. At the end of the book are the names of all the Bulgars and others in the Rumanian lands who helped make publication possible by purchases of the book. Thus there were 1,329 subscriptions, with many individuals buying more than one copy, 20 being the maximum. For example, 14 copies were ordered by the Russian consulate in Bucharest and five by the secretary of the British consulate, whose name, however, was Konstantin Popovich. There were also 145 subscriptions from Bulgaria which are listed by village or town. In addition, there were 100 orders from Thrace and 30 from Macedonia.
As a result of all this enthusiasm for history, it became one of the most important subjects in the Bulgarian schools. The Library has a copy of the catalog of courses for the Gabrovo school, Programmy na Gabrovskitie uchilishcha (Constantinople, 1873; Pogorelov 1,403). In the first and second grades the pupils were taught courses in geography, which, however, was a combination of physical and political geography. Beginning with the third grade, geography and history were separated. A course in general world history was now introduced but was restricted to the ancient period with emphasis on the Egyptians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Persians, and Greeks. In the fourth year medieval history, which included Roman history, was taught, but a separate course on Bulgarian history, which concentrated on the first Bulgarian empire, became a part of the curriculum. In the fifth grade, modern world history, 1500–1789, and Bulgarian history, which included the second Bulgarian empire to the Turkish conquest, was supplemented by a course on general church history. The latter replaced the course on religion, which had been taught from the first grade. General church history was continued in the sixth grade, but the special course on Bulgarian history was discontinued. National history was now taught as part of Ottoman history, which was included in the world history course. Likewise, the course on the history of the Bulgarian church covered much material from the Turkish period. In the seventh grade, history was not taught.
All these requirements placed a premium on textbooks. The earliest general histories were translations from Russian, such as Ivan Kaidanov's Kratko nachertanie na vseobshchata istoriia (Budapest, 1836; Pogorelov 44); Vvedenie na vseobshcha istoriia (Constantinople, 1851; Pogorelov 209); Kratka vseobshcha istoriia v prosty razkazy (Belgrade, 1861; Pogorelov 512); and half a dozen others. The last-named work included four usable maps of Europe plus a sketch map of the New World. In all these works a general political treatment of world history was given so that children would have some acquaintance with other peoples.
The books on Bulgarian history were confined to the period of Bulgarian greatness, from approximately 800 to 1396. Present-day medieval and particularly Byzantine historians are readily familiar with the exploits and successes of the first Bulgarian empire, which ruled the Balkans and harassed the illustrious Byzantine state. All Bulgars could look back with pride on the achievements of Boris, Simeon, and the two Asens. Consequently, the histories of Bulgaria were exclusively concerned with the period up to the Turkish conquest. This terminal point served in itself to dramatize the plight which had befallen the once proud nation. Some of the more notable works were Tsarstvennik ili istoriia Bolgarskaia (Budapest, 1844; Pogorelov 109); Dobre Popov Voinikov, Kratka Bŭlgarska istoriia (Vienna, 1861; Pogorelov 502); M. Drinov, Pogled vr'kh proiskhozhadan'eto na Bŭlgarskii narod i nachalo-to na Bŭlgarska-ta istoriia (Plovdiv, Ruschuk, Veles, 1869; Pogorelov 990); D. T. Dushianov, Kratka Bŭlgarska istoriia po pytanie i otgovor (Kiazanl'k, 1870; Pogorelov 1,100); and Gavriil Kr'st'ovich, Istoriia Bŭlgarska, part I (Constantinople, 1871; (Pogorelov, 1,001).
However, the most popular work was D. Tsankov's Kratka Bŭlgarska istoriia (Plovdiv, 1866; Pogorelov 796). The Library has all five editions, the first being published with Miesetsoslov za 1857 (Constantinople, 1857; Pogorelov 354), and the third, fourth and fifth editions, respectively, in 1868 (Pogorelov 963), 1869 (Pogorelov 1,068), and 1870 (Pogorelov 1,162). This was a brief but spirited patriotic work which glorified the accomplishments of the medieval state and rulers. The work ends with the battle of Nicopolis in 1396, but a final paragraph is included in which the last two sentences relate how the "clever" Greeks persuaded the Porte to abolish the Bulgarian archbishopric of Ohrid in 1767 "for no other reason except to enrich themselves [the clergy] and in order to destroy Bulgarian patriotism." G. S. Rakovskii's well-known work, Niekolko riechi o Asieniu p'rvomu, velikomu tsariu Bŭlgarskomu i synu Asieniu vtoromu (Belgrade, 1860; Pogorelov 486) should not be overlooked.
Among the most interesting special histories are one of Alexander of Macedon, another of Egypt, and Bulwer's famous The Last Days of Pompeii-Istoriia na velikii Aleksandra Makedonsta (Belgrade, 1844; Pogorelov 95); Drevna Egipetska istoriia (Bucharest, 1858; Pogorelov 378); and Posliednitie dni na Pompeia (Constantinople, 1870; Pogorelov 1,118).
Both history (general European and world) and geography, the two subjects now increasingly lacking in the curriculum of the American public elementary and high schools, were mandatory in Bulgaria. Geography was taught in the first three grades as a separate subject, whereas in the next three geographic information was obtained through the study of world history. In the seventh grade, a course on physical geography was required of all students. Most of the more advanced geography books were translations from other languages, but the more elementary were written by Bulgars. The first geography book, Kratkoe politicheskoe zemleopisanie za obuchenie na Bolgarskoto mladenchestvo (Kragujevac, 1835; Pogorelov 36) was printed in Serbia with the approval and at the expense of the Serbian prince, Miloš Obrenovic, as a gift for the education of the Bulgarian youth. In 1835 six Bulgarian books were published in Serbia with the prince's approval and three at his expense. As indicated above, only Constantinople and Vienna surpassed Serbia in the number of Bulgarian books published for the period under consideration.
This geography is interesting reading. "Russia," it says, "is an expansive and an autocratic empire, the strongest of all empires and most vast because it is 25 times greater than European Turkey and twice as large as all of Europe." Concerning her natural wealth the reader learned that "There are all kinds of resources in abundance: wheat, tobacco, wine, fruits. . ., numerous metals, gold, silver, platinum, copper, lead, iron, mercury, marble, quartz and there is much salt. . . ." The United States, which in 1835 included only 24 States, was described as follows: "This country comprises about 63,580 square miles and numbers 12,526,368 white people, 319,497 free Negroes and 2,010,572 [slaves]. . . . It is a democratic union of states, over which rules a general congress in Washington. This country is completely good, rich and full of swamps, but, in general, fertile. The climate is cold in the north, temperate in the middle and warm in the south. All kinds of ores are produced; precious stones, marble, salt, saltpeter, wheat, rice, tobacco, sugar, cotton, horned cattle, horses, and many fish." The 24 States are listed individually with brief information about each. Thus: "11) Maryland, the granary of North America. There Baltimore, a large and beautiful city, with 45,000 inhabitants, has a good harbor, many factories and sugar refineries . . . . 12) Virginia, with excellent tobacco, rice and cotton. Richmond is the principal city there . . . . 23) Missouri, near the sea. St. Louis is the principal city, the seat of administration."
Eight years later Ivan A. Bogoev translated from Russian a much more substantial work, Vseobshcha geografia za dietsata (Belgrade, 1843; Pogorelov 77). It is divided into three parts. The first hundred pages give a general descriptive geography of the world. The next 250 pages cover "historical, physical and political geography." The last part is "mathematical geography," containing charts, figures, diagrams, and much scientific information on the planets and the solar system. The appendix includes tables giving area and population figures for all countries and the population of the most important cities in the world. This work also has a list of subscribers.
There are several dozen other geography books available, some more advanced than others. Mention should be made of a few. Ioakim Gruev, whose grammar had proved so popular, was equally successful with his Urotsi ot zemleopisanie (Plovdiv, 1861; Pogorelov 505). New editions appeared in 1865 (Pogorelov 703), 1870 (Pogorelov 1,093), and 1872 (Pogorelov 1,253). Abbreviated editions also were published. Botiia Petkov, the father of Khristo Botev, a favorite of the Bulgarian Communists, published Kratka vseobshcha geografiia (Plovdiv, 1868; Pogorelov 935).
Literature was another subject which received considerable attention. In the fifth grade there was a course on literature (slovesnost') which was really prose and poetic writing. However, in the sixth grade an extensive course on the general history of literature was required. Some of the authors listed in the Gabrovo course-description are Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Corneille, Racine, Molière, La Fontaine, Fénelon, Montesqieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Madame deStaël, Chateaubriand, Lamartine, George Sand, Dante, Petrarch, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Milton, Defoe, Scott, Byron, Dickens, Thackeray, Klopstock, Lessing, Herder, Goethe, Schiller, and Heine. In the seventh grade, the course dealt with Bulgarian and other Slavic literature.
Some of the translations from French in the Library's collection are Hugo's Liukretsiia Bordzhiia (Lucrèce Borgia) (Constantinople, 1872; Pogorelov, 1,306); Molière's Na-sila ozhenvane (Le mariage forcé) (Constantinople, 1873; Pogorelov 1,345); Fénelon's Prikliucheniiata na Télémakha (Les avantures de Telemaque, fils d'Ulysse) (Constantinople, 1873; Pogorelov 1,395); and George Sand's Diavolskoto blato (La mare au diable) (Constantinople, 1874; Pogorelov 1,431).
Numerous works were apparently available in French because it, as well as Turkish, was taught in all seven grades of school. Bulgarian was taught only in the first three grades of the boys' school, but in the girls' school, which consisted of five grades, it was taught in each grade but no foreign languages were included. The Bulgarian-French grammars were of high quality; for example, Frantsuzka grammatika za klassicheskitie grazhdanski uchilishcha (Vienna, 1869; Pogorelov 1,059). This was translated from the French by K. I. Tŭrnovskii. Similarly, Dr. I. A. Bogorov's dictionary, Frensko-Bŭlgarski i Bŭlgarsko-Frenski riechnik (Vienna, 1873; Pogorelov 1,347) is outstanding.
For the young Bulgar interested in a business career, books on arithmetic were numerous. Many Bulgars had been very successful merchants in the eighteenth century. Most of them had acquired their fortunes through native business ability. The advantages of proper business practices were, however, recognized. Thus in 1835 Khristaki P. Dupnichanin published Pismennik obshchepolezen na sekogo edinorodnago mi Bolgarina ot koi i de e chin i vozrast' (Belgrade; Pogorelov 38), a book on how to write letters. First, the pupil was taught how to address a person properly, beginning with the tsar or emperor, then a prince, a baron, and so on. Next, examples were given of letters for all occasions addressed to friends, relatives, and others. Then there were letters for business purposes, with pages of sample accounts indicating receipts and expenses. A timetable indicating distances between cities is included at the end of the book. Thus it cites 104 hours as required to go from Ruschuk, which is on the Danube, to Constantinople, with the time to 26 intermediary points indicated.
In 1850 the brothers Karaminkovy, Stoian and Khristo, published a very detailed business manual, Diplografiia ili kak s dr'zhiat tŭrgovsky knigy (Constantinople; Pogorelov 181). This provided examples for setting up a budget, with separate entries for receipts, expenditures, inventories, orders, etc. A book exclusively devoted to the subject of business letters was K. I. Poppov's Tŭrgovski pismennik (Belgrade, 1862; Pogorelov 575).
The proper way to bring up children was also a matter of concern to the nineteenth-century Bulgar. Riano Popovich translated a book from Greek entitled Khristoifia ili Blagonravie (Budapest, 1837; Pogorelov 49). Instructions were provided for all eventualities, including table manners. Thus, one reads: "That before all else when preparing to sit at a table, one must wash his hands." You were also cautioned not to tell your host that "the food or drink was not tasty." "You should never give to another anything which you have put in your mouth and have taken from it — be it food or drink." "You should not spit fruit seeds from the table into the platter, but with good manners take them from the mouth with the left hand and place them gently in the platter." Another book, Priiatelski sovieti na roditeli te kak trebuva da otaranvat dietsa ta ci (Smyrna, 1842; Pogorelov 72) instructed parents on how to bring up children. They were warned that youngsters who were not occupied begin "to walk the streets" and soon become involved in trouble "and begin to speak profanely and to fight with hoodlums."
In addition, in the Library of Congress collection there are scores of items of miscellaneous general value. Some of the more interesting are the following: The Orthodox views concerning the problem of the Christian Holy Places, which was one of the causes of the Crimean War, is discussed in Otgovor na G. Boreeva-ta knizhka nazyvaema vopros na sviaty-te miesta ot frantsuskii iazyk (Constantinople, 1851; Pogorelov 204). A Bulgarian translation of the famous Hatti-Humayun, the Turkish reform decree of 1856, is available — Hat-i-Khumaiium (Constantinople, 1856; Pogorelov 342). A book dealing with advice to pregnant women, Soviety za neprazdni zheny (Constantinople, 1853; Pogorelov 263) begins by citing 34 rules to be followed. There are two works depicting the dangers of alcoholism: N. K. Matenchev's, Povriedy-ty ot pianie vino i rakiia (Vienna, 1867; Pogorelov 851), and Vreda ot piianstvoto ili zlochesten piat (Russe, 1873; Pogorelov 1,400), translated by Evstatii I. Petkov. A work on how to make wine is G. Draganov's Riakovodstvo za pravianie na vino (Vienna, 1873; Pogorelov 1,369).
Robinson Crusoe was popular, and abridged versions were published — I. Gruev's Robinzon-skratena prikazka za dietsa (Belgrade, 1858; Pogorelov 387) and P. R. Slaveikov's Robinson na ostrovŭt si prikaska tv'rdie nravouchitelna (Constantinople, 1868; Pogorelov 1,051). Benjamin Franklin was widely known. Quotations from him are found in Todor N. Shishkov's P'rva khrana na zdravyia-t cholieshkii um, shkolska i domashna kniga za dietsa ta (Constantinople, 1860; Pogorelov 495). A translation of the life of Franklin by Mignet (Vie de Franklin) was provided by S. S. Bobchev in his Zhivotŭt na Franklina (Constantinople, 1874; Pogorelov 1,436).
Of considerable interest are the bylaws of various societies and organizations. Examples of these are: Ustav na Bŭlgarskoto knizhovno druzhestvo (Braila, 1868; Pogorelov 1,066); Uriednik na Bŭlgarsko-to druzhestvo 'Napriedŭk' v Vienna, za priemanie i podd'rzhanie vŭspitannitsi za uchiteli v Bŭlgariia (Vienna, 1875; LC 35);Ustav na Bŭlgarskoto druzhestvo 'Pchela' v Plovdiv (Vienna, 1872; LC 36); and 6 Ustav na Bŭlgarsko-to evangelsko druzhestvo (Constantinople, 1875; LC 37).
Pogorelov did not list periodicals in his bibliography. The Library has a number of fragmentary series of some interest. The earliest available, which is the second volume of the first periodical published in Bulgarian, is Liuboslovie ili povsemiesiachno spisanie, II, nos. 13–24, January–December 1846 (LC-10). This was a monthly periodical published at Smyrna and edited by A. Fotinov which included religious, historical, agricultural, and other general topics. R. I. Blŭskov's Dukhovny knizhky za pouchenie na vsiak khristianin, II, nos. 1–12 (Belgrade, 1866–1868; LC 5) was listed as a monthly, but appeared irregularly. It primarily discussed religious matters. P. R. Slaveikov edited Gaida-list za nauka i razgovorka, III, nos. 1–19 (Constantinople, November 1865–April 1867; LC 25), a bimonthly "for knowledge and amusement." On the serious side, this discussed some of the problems the Bulgarians encountered with the Greek patriarchate over the question of an autonomous church. The most complete set is of R. Blŭskov's bimonthly devoted to education, Uchilishte (Uchilishche), I-II (Bucharest, November 1870–January 1873; LC 2,3). Dragan Tsankov also edited a bimonthly pedagogical work entitled Rukovoditel' na osnovnoto uchenie, I (Constantinople, January–December 1874; LC 34). The last is an agricultural-economic monthly, Stupan-zemledielsko-ekonomicheski viestnik, II (Bucharest, January–December 1875; LC 29).
The preceding brief survey of the Library's collection has covered of necessity only the major topics, together with some of the odd items. Such categories as calendars, music, medicine, and science could not be discussed because of limitations of space. Nor has any attempts been made to deal with the collected works of many well-known authors.7
The impression which the Library's collection gives of Bulgarian society on the eve of political liberation is striking. When it is remembered that the Bulgars had been under Turkish domination since the fifteenth century and had been completely isolated from the great historical movements which had taken place in the West (the Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution), the Bulgars demonstrated a remarkable recovery in intellectual activity in the brief period of 70 years. Certainly Bulgaria cannot be compared with Britain, France, Germany, or even the Low Countries and the Scandinavian States; but the frequently expressed belief that the Bulgarian nation was composed primarily of an illiterate peasantry, devoid of any intellectual attainments, is definitely false and misleading. The educated Bulgar was a man well-versed in religion; he knew his history, geography, and literature; he was at home in four languages (Bulgarian, Russian, French, and Turkish) and was an astute business man; he had an appreciation for music; and he was interested in scientific knowledge. Moreover, he was able to acquire the knowledge and training he possessed while a subject of the Ottoman Empire, which indicates that the Turks did not exercise the strict censorship that is frequently attributed to them.
Following is a list of the books, pamphlets, and periodicals that are in the Library's collection but are not recorded in Pogorelov:
There are two books without title pages. One is an elementary instructional singing-book. The other discusses the Bulgarian church problem and the Greek patriarchate, and it apparently was published in Belgrade in 1861 by the "Obshchestvo Brailsko."
CHARLES JELAVICH University of California at Berkeley