18 K O N ‰ T A N T Í N F I L O Z O F Walls everywhere are trembling with horror. It is as if Herod had come to life again ... who will gather the nations if not Christ, the Truth and the Life? What will happen to us if we expel Him? Another poet cried out: ”O Lord, do not depart from Europe!“ Slovakia might be unique among the nations of Europe and the world for it carries in its state insignia the cross and the Preamble to the Constitution refers to the truths of Christianity, to traditions of SS Cyril and Methodius and to values of life. Now that we have achieved liberty in the Slovak republic, we often stand looking around and ask, what we are to do, whom we should follow and trust. Is that necessary? We have everything we need for a healthy development of our nation. It is only through our work and our common efforts that we can go forward. Our nation has in the span of a thousand years build a manifold and flourishing culture. It grew from the lives of our fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, from their hearts and their souls, from their love and their sacrifices. They drew strength inside and outside the temples from prayers, words of God and his mercy. They lived and grew ”in God’s way“ as it is said in ”Proglas“. This is the way the professors and students of Academia Istropolitana (a university founded in 1465) lived, it is way that was followed by people at the University of Trnava founded in 1635. It was the way of the great spirits of this nation, of people like Bernolák, Holl˘, Mojzes, Kuzmány, ·túr, Sládkoviã, Radlinsk˘, of the generations of our poets and scientists. What about us and our time? Today we and our country too have to grow in God’s way. Our future too lies in ourselves. As one of our poets said, the seed of things to come, of our destiny and future is not growing outside, but inside, it is in individuals, families, nation, in schools and fields, factories and in life. ”Proglas“ says: ”for to the one who will accept these letters Christ himself will reveal his wisdom, your souls too he will strengthen with letters ...“ Slovakia has the chance to be stable, creative and happy. And it has a lot to offer to other nations too. Nitra Castle 15th May 1996
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