Cited:

“Одискони пак и на Приморју Србин је био само православни, — Српство је значило само православље, као што у овијем крајевима (на истоку) значи и данас.

Matavulj je konstatovao ono što su konstatovali mnogi drugi pisci i intelektualci toga doba, u 19. vijeku za narod(e) na Iliriku srbin je značilo isto što i – pravoslavac:
“Odiskoni pak i na Primorju Srbin je bio samo pravoslavni. – Srpstvo je značilo samo pravoslavlje, kao što u ovijem krajevima (na istoku) znači i danas.”

English translation:

“Even the Catholics on the Littoral [coast], a Serb was only an Orthodox — Serbdom meant only Orthodoxy, just as it still means in these regions (in the East) today.

Matavulj noted what many other writers and intellectuals of that time also noted: in the 19th century, for the people(s) in Illyricum, “Serb” meant the same as “Orthodox”:

“Even the Catholics on the Littoral, a Serb was only an Orthodox. — Serbdom meant only Orthodoxy, just as it still means in these regions (in the East) today.”

Source

(Notes of a Writer, Matica srpska and SKZ, Novi Sad – Belgrade, 1969, p. 40). (Bilješke jednog pisca, Matica srpska i SKZ, Novi sad – Beograd, 1969, str 40)