MS-K. Hungarian Studies 'Heviezu Vol. XXVII, Nos. 1-2 (Spring-Fall, 2000) Special Volume: Thousand Years of Hungarian Thought Compiled and edited by George Bisztray HUNGARIAN STUDIES REVIEW HUNGARIAN STUDIES NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA SZECHENYI LIBRARY VOL. 27, NOS. 1-2 (SPRING-FALL 2000) EDITORS GEORGE BISZTRAY N.F. DREISZIGER University of Toronto Royal Military College of Canada EDITORIAL ADVISERS OLIVER BOTAR GEZA JESZENSZKY University of Manitoba Budapest and Washington ILONA KOVACS MARIA KRISZTINKOVICH National Szechenyi Library Vancouver, B.C. BARNABAS A. RACZ ISTVAN MONOK Eastern Michigan U. National Szechenyi Library AGATHA SCHWARTZ THOMAS SAKMYSTER University of Ottawa University of Cincinnati THOMAS SPIRA S.B. VARDY U.P.E.I. Duquesne University SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER EVA TOMORY Toronto Correspondence should be addressed to: The Editors, Hungarian Studies Review, University of Toronto, 1 Spadina Cres. Rm. 104, Toronto, ON Canada M5S 1A1 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Articles appearing in the HSR are indexed in: HISTORICAL ABSTRACTS and, AMERICA: HISTORY AND LIFE. Copyright © (2000) the Hungarian Studies Review. ISSN 0713-8083 (replacing 0317-204X) The Hungarian Studies Review is an interdisciplinary journal devoted to the publication of articles and book reviews relating to Hungary and Hungarians. Since its launching in 1974, the Review has been a forum for the scholarly discussion of issues in Hungarian history, politics and cultural affairs. Subscriptions are $12.00 per annum. Membership in the Hungarian Studies Association of Canada includes a subscription to the journal. For further informa- tion, visit our web-pages: www.hungarianstudies.org and www.ccsp.sfu.ca/calj.hsr Statements and opinions expressed in the HSR are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the journal's editors. Desk-top typesetting by N.F. Dreisziger. Printed^ in Hungary. Distributed by the National Szechenyi Library: Budav£ri Palota, F Epiilet, 1827 Budapest, Hungary. special volume: Thousand Years of Hungarian Thought compiled, edited and introduced by: George Bisztray Translations from the writings of: Janos Arany Simon of Keza Mihaly Babits Lajos Kossuth Bela Bartok Dezso Kosztolanyi Gergely Berzeviczy Ferenc Kolcsey Daniel Berzsenyi Laszlo Nemeth Farkas Bolyai Stephen I (King St. Stephen) Janos Apaczai Csere Istvan Szechenyi Sandor Korosi Csoma Blanka Teleki Lorand Eotvos Pal Teleki Otto Herman Mrs. Pal Veres Gyula Illyes Mikl6s Zrfnyi Preface When the Hungarian Chair was established at the University of Toronto in 1978, I was encouraged to introduce a course on Hungarian civilization. After short-lived success, the course had to be cancelled because there were no primary texts available in English to represent Hungarian culture in a challenging and inter- esting way. This was a painful recognition which I intended to remedy somehow. Two of my language courses gave me an oppor- tunity to introduce practical translation into the curriculum. The students received excerpts from writings of outstanding Hungarians. The length of the selections was not demanding, yet the qualitative criteria were rigorous. While working on these interesting texts, the students gradually developed the first reader of Hungarian culture in English. The names of the students, and the year in which they attended the Hungarian language courses, are listed with apprecia- tion on the next page (p. iv). They have performed a service of which Hungarians should be proud. Since our world is a colourful mosaic of cultures, among which the Hungarian one is little known, interested English speakers to whom this culture has now been made accessible will appreciate the achievement of these young men and women. Hungary has many people, past and present, whose ideas should interest the world. Some of them are featured in this vol- ume. Many others would also deserve to be included. The purpose of this collection is not to overwhelm the reader, nor to catch up in one leap with long decades of missed opportunities to represent Hungarian culture. One can but hope that this first attempt will not be the last one. George Bisztray Toronto, 2000 Students who have helped to develop this reader: Ildiko Balogh Alex Dongo Kathy Kekesi Yvette Lieszkovsky Judith Meisels (during the academic year 1983-84); Tamas Hajos Krisztina Horvath Steven Kiizdenyi Stephen Satory Ernesztina Skerlan (during 1984-85); Bea Balogh Peter Boros (in 1988-89); Robert Boczi Susan Hanak Bela Hegedus Gabriella Szanto Attila Tarnok (in 1990-91); Timea Belej E. Gabriela Nagy Janos Novak Laszlo Siki Gyongyi Stranszky (in 1992-93). Additional acknowledgements: The copy editing of this volume was financially supported by the Faculty of Arts and Science of the University of Toronto, the Szechenyi Society (Calgary, Alberta), and the United Hungarian Fund (Toronto, Ontario). CONTENTS Introduction: Decoding Anonymous 1 I. Myth: The Foundation of Historical Consciousness 3 1. Anonymous: on Scythia 2. Simon of Keza: "The Origin of Hungarians" 3. Anonymous: on the Scythians; "Almos, the First Chieftain," "The Oath" 4. Janos Arany: "Our Naive Folk Epic" II. Roots, or the Never-Ending Polemics about Origins 15 1. Sandor Korosi Csoma: letter to his sponsors in Nagyenyed; letter to Gabor Dobrentey 2. Gyula Illyes: Who Is a Hungarian? 3. Gyula Laszlo: excerpts from two books 4. Otto Herman: postscript to one of his books III. Historical Tradition 29 1. Gyula Illyes: Who Is a Hungarian? 2. The Admonitions of King Stephen, parts V, VI, VIII. 3. Pal Teleki: Hungarian Political Thoughts 4. Lajos Kossuth: "The Danubian Confederation" 5. Pal Teleki: Hungarian Political Thoughts 6. Miklos Zrfnyi: about the need for a national army 7. Istvan Szechenyi: Credit IV. Ethnology and Folklore 45 1. Otto Herman about science and Hungarian cuisine 2. Bela Bartok: "The Influence of Peasant Music on Modern Music" V. National Economy and Social Life 51 1. Gergely Berzeviczy 2. Daniel Berzsenyi 3. Istvan Szechenyi: Credit VI. Education and Science 67 1. Janos Apaczai Csere about the importance of education 2. Farkas Bolyai: two letters to K.F. Gauss 3. Istvan Szechenyi: About the Hungarian Academy 4. Ferenc Kolcsey: "Theatre in Hungary" 5. Blanka Teleki's plans for the education of young women 6. Mrs. Pal Veres: two letters to Imre Madach; "Call to Women Right Before the First Conference" 7. Lorand Eotvos: about university education: selections from two statements; about the goals of the Academy VII. Hungarian National Character: Specific or Interactive? 93 1. Istvan Szechenyi 2. Lajos Kossuth: letter to Otto Herman 3. Bela Bartok: "Researching Folk Songs in our Age of Nationalism" 4. Laszlo Nemeth: "Orientation"; Mihaly Babits: "With Shield and Spear" 5. Mihaly Babits: "On the Characteristics of the Hungarians" VIII. Confrontations with Illusions and Misinformation 113 1. Mihaly Babits: "The Treason of the Intellectuals" 2. Dezso Kosztolanyi: "open letter" to Antoine Meillet DOCUMENTATION A. Notes 125 B. Biography 134 C. Chronological Table 140 Introduction: Decoding Anonymous In one of the parks of Budapest one can see a sculpture featuring a sitting figure in a monk's garb, with the hood pulled down over the face. While the statue is relatively recent (sculpted by Miklos Ligeti in 1903), the model is centuries old. It represents the medieval King Bela Ill's court notary whose name is still unknown. He is therefore customarily called Anonymous, and celebrated as the first chronicler of the Hungarians. Closer inspection reveals that the sitting figure has no face. That is, he has cheeks, a nose, and eyes, but no individual features. As such, he is indeed a puzzling epitome of a historical mystery. So are Hungarians. Their language has been identified, but their ethnic prehistory has not been. Their obsession with their origins is similar to that of an orphan without a clue about his parentage. More self-assured nations may not understand such a fixation. Yet, a culture represented by some 15 million speakers of the same language (of whom 10,200,000 form Europe's ninth most populous nation) is more than an anthropological rarity, such as a vanishing group of a few hundred speak- ers. In spite of all their proverbial pessimism and self-pity, Hungarians don't appear to be perishing. For a small nation that has endured severe setbacks in modern times, Hungarians play a larger role than their num- bers and the size of their economy warrant in the affairs of a turbulent region of Europe. Unfortunately, whoever takes an interest in their culture is still faced with a difficult dilemma: either to leam their language or to rely on less-than-adequate secondary information on Hungarian history and culture. Hungarians have been unable to bring their achievements to the attention of the world. Their outstanding thinkers, scholars, educators, and writers are virtually unknown abroad, due to a near-complete lack of translations. This reader constitutes an attempt to fill this hiatus, presenting in the English language a representative selection of discursive prose by twenty-four eminent Hungarians of the past one thousand years. Besides allowing insight into the tenuous phenomenon called "national character," some of the published reflections will probably strike the reader as quite original, even pioneering, ideas. This selection of documents did not aim to gain the approval of one or another group of Hungarians or to illustrate an all too familiar phenomenon — consequently, neither the list of names nor the issues were intended to be definitive. An introduction to different thematic units, notes explaining different references in the text, a short biography of the authors and information about the translated texts, and a chronological summary of historical events mentioned in the volume, are meant to facilitate the construction of a historical and logical context. While the method of compilation may not meet general approval, those who are able to compare the translations with the unabridged Hungarian text will find that the selection was kept as balanced as possible.