A History of Hungarian Literature/Chapter 17
XVII RECENT WRITERS THE Fiume express wh ich rattled into the station of Károlyváros at noon on Sunday, November 5, 1899, did not leave it again until after some delay. A disturbing incident had occurred. Someone had committed suicide in a second- class carriage just before the train reached the station. A crowd quickly gathered, a nd wh en the body was removed from the trai n, they saw that the dead man's bands still grasped a revolver, a shot from which had penctrated his right temple. By means of documents he was found to be EUGENE PÉTERFY (184<)-1899), a pro fessor a the high school in Budapest. No one at the station was aequainted with the name nor knew that it was one of Hungary's most talented and cultivated writers who had th1.1s. flung his life away. Three days later this H ungarian author, for whom his own country was not to provide a gra,• e, was buried in a littie Croatian viliage in the presence of a fe w of his friends who had come in haste to show bim this last mark of their affection. On the sea coast , wh en the waves wash ashore the bodies of the unknown dead, the fishermen's wives are a ceus torned to say a prayer and light a candie over their grave. So, too, did the Croatian maidens, who, moved by pity, twined their wreaths around the grave of the stranger, cast up by the ocean of life. 11 What then is the value of 268 HUNGARIAN LITERATURE li fe," asked his friends, " if one who has aU his life laboured for his own education and perfection, like an artist engaged upon some master-work, finds it so easy to throw it away ?" Eugene Péterfy lived the most virtuous and most intellectual life. He had a healthy body but an ill disciplined will. He was one of those problematical natures of whom Goethe said that in spite of their great talents they are not able to meet the varying demands life makes u pon them. To bim Pascal's well known saying was applicable : " L'homme est un roseau pensant." Péterfy was the best of Hungarian essayists. His great susceptibility to impressions, which throughout his life bro ught bim much suffering, was the cause of his excellence as a writer. The qualities which essay writing demands were just the qualities wh ich he pre-eminently possessed. He was above ali an impressionist, and his essays may be defined as glimpses of great poets seen through Péterfy's temperament. The world's great autbors thrilled his sensitíve soul, and his essays were interpretations into language as refined as his own soul, of _the feelings which they awakened. But of course this sensitiveness to each momentary impression was united with vast knowledge and sound logi c or his work would not have value. His essays are sometimes on Hungarian and some times on foreign authors. Th e best among them referring to Hungarian writers are those dealing with te novelists. It would hardly be possihle for any · essayist to understand an author better than Péterfy u nders lood Kemény, in whom, with his great love for the tragic element, he found a kindred spirit. The superTOLDY ficiality of Jókai in the psychological conception of his characters was seriously reproved by Péterfy. Among his essays on foreign autbors the best are those on Dante and Aristophane:;. Florence and Athens were the two cities he admired and loved most, not merely as a poetical idealist ·but as a· psychologist interested in every aspect of life. The first writer who worked seriously at the history of literat ore in Hungary was FRANCIS TOLDY (x8os- x875). He·colleeted and arranged a vast amount of material and published in German a work entitled Ha ndbuch det tmga rischen Poesie in 1828. His reason for writing in German was that he wished to give some idea of the treasures of Hungarian literatore to other nations. He worked very hard, and towards the middle of the century, wrote a more elaborate history of Hungarian literatore chiefly ernbodying the resolts of his own thorough studies and painstaking investigations. ln Toldy, untir ing industry was united with vast knowledge and fervent patriotism. He was the good genius of Hungarian literatore for half a century. The country is indebted to Toldy for a mass of historical details concerning autbors and their works, but for a eritical estimate of the literatore of the past, it is indebted to Paul Gyulai, who su cceeded Toldy in the chair at .the University. The H ongarian philosophers who treated of aesthetics based their work upon the same foundation as the Germans, chiefly follawing Hegel, but differing from their German models in their pursuit of nation al aims. ln small nations criticism does not develop readily, for with them literatore requires to be encouraged rather than severely criticised. The first real criticism contain270 HUNGARIAN LITERATURE ing no flattery and displaying remarkable power of analysis was that of Kölcsey. Besides Kölcsey, JOS EPH BAJZA (1804-1858) became important as a critic. He was a poet as weil, whose poems are of an abstract, sentimental and írnpersonal character, a kind of drawi ng room poet, with culture and a refined taste. Bajza started the first eritical j9urnal in Hungary, realising that instead· of the prevail ing friendly eulogies, serious and just criticism was needed. He was twenty-seven when the journal first appeared, and he continued the work in the supplements of "The Athenreum." JOHN ERDtLYI (1814-1 868) was much less polished in his style than Bajza, but possessed more i nsight. He too was a poet, and became tie Percy of H ung!lry by his compilation of H ungarian folk-lore, the first book of its kind. In aesthetics he was a follower of Hegel, and in his charact er sketches of autbors he anticipated Hyppolyte Ta ine, for like bim he endeavoured to discover that fundamental quality [ 11 qualité maitresse "] of an author from which his remaining characteristics were derived. The best work on aesthetics was by AUGUSTUS GREGUSS (1825·1882), a University professor. His life and work were the mirror of the refinement of his mind. He wrote an excellent book on the ballad, dealing especially with the sources of Scottisb ballads and also, of those of Arany. He defined the ballad very pithily as a tragedy told in song. Greguss consecrated his life to the task of raising the taste of the nation by teaching men to love the beautifui and the good, which he declared were not different elements, but merely different rays from the same sun . PAUL GYULAY (born 1826), Hungary's chief critic, is a very interesting figure. He was horn at Kolozsvár and is now living in Budapest as an editor and retired University professor. He is a polemical writer and is opposed to luke warm compromise. Many have been angry with him but all esteem him. His importance is perhaps best indicated by the fact that nearly all the general by accepted literary estimates of to-day are derived from him, although many of his opinions when first expressed seemed paradoxical.
Gyulay introduced perfect sincerity into criticism. He holds such a high opinion of the importance of truth and of the functions of criticism that he is always veraciaus and sometimes merciless. His convictions are so strong that he is ready to be their martyr. While many of his contemporaries regarded the eminent leader General Arthur Görgey, who was compelled to capitulate at Világos in 1849, as a traitor, Gyulay defended him, and on the other hand, he attacked the idols of the people, Kossuth and Jókai, or at least assailed their weak points. In an age when all men, even the proudest, bow their knee to the great monarch, public opinion, he often seeks not popularity but almost unpopularity. He is always ready to expose a writer's vanity or shallowness. A modest man himself, he is shocked at the chartatanism and the bragging self-esteem of some of his contem poraries. He has always been the champion of good traditions against the too vehement reformers who would introduce foreign elements into Hungarian literature, and yet when the "orthologists" endeavoured to annibilate the results of the language reform, it was Gyulay who for a decade defended the valuable fruit of Kazinczy's labours. His eritical acuteness is especially revealed when he is examining the composition of a lyric poem, the element of terror in a tragedy and the reality of the characters in a work of fiction. But this genius for criticism has its 272 HUN GARIAN LITERATURE defects. Sometimes Gyulay is too biting and carries on his p olemics for its own sake and not merely for the sake of truth. He is a consummate master of prose style. His chief works are an admirable and profound essay on Katona's Bánk bán, and Vörös marly's Biograp hy, in wh ich he gives a wooderfui description of the whole period. Among his orations and in his essays the best are those in which he spoke of his great friend Arany. ln his short stories he does not excel in inventive power but in truthful characterisation, in style and in the realistic atmasphere with which he ís able to surround an event. His best short story is Th e Old Mansion's Last Te nant, describing the gradual decay of an ancient estate as weil as of its owner. Gyulay is also distinguished as a lyric poet. His style is simple and concise, without much passion. An element of reftection moderates or represses his sentiments, but these restrained feelings serve to reveal his· strength. ln some poems the critic is manifest and we detect here and there a note of bitter ness. A peculiar quality of his subj ectíve poetry is the ra pid alternation of irony and emotion. One of the best known of his poems telis of an incident in the war for freedom. DEA R CA PTAIN M INE. " Oh Captain mine, oh Captain see l " " What is it, lad, that aileth thee 1 " " Look 1 on you,. cloak a crimson patch l " "Nay, heed it not, 'tis but a sCf'atch " " Oh Captain, tuf'n aside I p,.ay, The way is sleep, you,. footsteps stay." "Istumbled o•e,. a stone, pMchance, FiN bayonets , men, and ali advance l " The Honveds jOf'Waf'd press ; not so, The Captain wounded by the joe ; "Onwaf'd, my lads ," he cries again, And falls tn death amid the slain. CHRONICLERS The oldest Hungarian Chronicles which have come down to us date from the thirteenth century and were written in Latin . The best known is the Chronide of King Béla's Anonymaus Scribe, which telis of the conquest of the country by the Hungar iaus in some detail but with littie vivacity. The age an d autborship of the book have been much discussed, for the writer does not state his name but merely describes bimself as the scribe or notary of King Béla, and as there were four kings of that name we are in doubt as to which of them is meant. It is proved that the unknown scribe lived under Béla IV. (died 1270), or, at the earliest, under Béla III (died u96). Th e first history in which a sense of style may be detected was the Chronide written in Hungarian by GASPAR- HELTAI in 1575, the deeds of Matthias Corvinus being remarkably well told. Heltai's roaterials were largely drawn from the Latin work of the Italian humanist Bonfini, who lived at the Court of Matthias. The best Hungarian historian of the eighteenth century was MICHAEL CSEREl (died 1756), who wrote the history of Trausylvania from 166 1 to 1712 in a vivid style, ánd with a somewhat moralising tendeney. The first of the more modern sch ool of Hungarian historiaus was STEPHEN KATONA (died 18u). He worked with astounding diligenec and a keen eritical sense for original sources and produced a history in forty-two bulky volumes, telling the story of Hungary from the earliest times. AU subsequent historiaus have u sed this work as the foundation for their own. It was BENEDICT VIRÁG (1752-1830), however, the distinguished writer of odes, who first wrote a history of Hungary in a refined and artistic style. He began, about the heginning of the nineteenth century, to write a popular s 274 HUNGARIAN LITERATD RE work entitled CetJiuries of Hu ngarian History, but he did not get further than the Battle of Mohács. It is curious that the two most important concise histories of H ungary were written by two exiled historians, both living in Switzerland, after the revolution. One of these was the bishop MICHAEL H ORVÁTH (18o9-1878), who was Minister for Public lnstru ction in 1848-9, and wh o when exiled went to reside in Zurich . The other was LADISLAS SZALAY {18IJ-1864) whose work deals chiefty with th e juridical aspect of Hungarian affairs. FRANCIS SALAMON (r825-189 2), a professor at the University of Budapest was perhaps the most pithy of the historians. He produced some good work in the way of literary essays before taking up history. His chief book treats of Hungary under Turkish rule, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, describing her administration, legislature, and economic condition. Salamon' s strength lay in his ability to recon struct in his imagination a series of important events with the aid of a few small details. Sometimes, it is true, the details did not provide a sufficien t basis for his conclusions, but he was very ingeniaus in declucing the ancient · methods of Hungarian warfare from a slight knowledge of the tactics that were employed. At the request of the chief magistrate of the capital he wrote a History of Bttdapest down to th e end of the Middle Ages. He sh owed, in a very interesting way how the part which Budapest was to play in Hungarian history was determined by its geological forrnation and geo· graphical position. Excepting history, the pursuit of no branch of know ledge has beeri attended with so much national sentiment PH I LOLOGISTS as philology, and the reason is not hard to see. The nation lives in its language, so it becomes a national task to iovestigate it scientifically, the more especially since the Hungarian tongue does .not belong to t he Indo- . Germanic group which is studied by the great Western nations. The greatest Hungarian ph ilologist, and perhaps the most original genius in the H ungarian scientific world, was NICHOLAS RÉVAY {I750- I8o7)1 who was aiso a poet of the classical school. He first applied the methods of cam paratíve philology to the problems of the H ongarian lan guage, at_ a time when those methods were hardly known to the seholars of other nations, His principal work was in Latin ; Elaboratiar Grammalica Hunga1 ica1 .I8o6. We must, however, regard PAUL HUNFALVY {I8Io-I89I}, the eminent student of ancient Hungarian history and philölogy, and JOSEPH BUDENZ (I8J6-I892)1 wh o was of German origin and a professor in the University of Budapest, as the real fo unders of system atic comparalive ph ilology in Hungary. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century the study of philology receíved a great impetus fr om a crusade agaiost the extravagances of the langu age reform. Th e enthusiastic leader of this movement was GABRIEL SZARVAS (I8J2-I89S), a brilliant controversialist and etymological scholar. The works of two other distinguished philo logists, ALEXANDER KdRdSI CSOMA (1787- 1842) and ARMINIUS VÁMBÉRY (1832-) were for the most part first published in English . Csoma was one of the most remar kable and interesting personalities not merely in the Hungarian scientific world but in ali Europe. Schopenhauer used to call him " the excellent Csoma," for he was fond of him on account of his investigations into Buddhism. Csoma defects. Sometimes Gyulay is too biting and carries on his polemics for its own sake and not merely for the sake of truth. He is a consummate master of prose style. His chief works are an admirable and profound essay on Katona's Bánk bán, and Vörösmarty's Biography, in which he gives a wonderful description of the whole period. Among his orations and in his essays the best are those in which he spoke of his great friend Arany. In his short stories he does not excel in inventive power but in truthful characterisation, in style and in the realistic atmosphere with which he is able to surround an event. His best short story is The Old Mansion's Last Tenant, describing the gradual decay of an ancient estate as well as of its owner. Gyulay is also distinguished as a lyric poet. His style is simple and concise, without much passion. An element of reflection moderates or represses his sentiments, but these restrained feelings serve to reveal his strength. In some poems the critic is manifest and we detect here and there a note of bitterness. A peculiar quality of his subjective poetry is the rapid alternation of irony and emotion. One of the best known of his poems tells of an incident in the war for freedom. DEAR CAPTAIN MINE. " Oh Captain mine, oh Captain see ! " " What is it, lad, that aileth thee ?" " Look ! on your cloak a crimson patch ! " "Nay, heed it not, 'tis but a scratch." " Oh Captain, turn aside I pray, The is steep, your footsteps stay." way "I stumbled o'er a stone, perchance, Fix bayonets, men, The Honveds forward press ; not so, The Captain wounded by the foe; Onward, my lads," he cries again, And falls in death amid the slain.
®
and all advance ! THE FRIENDS OF GYU LAY 277 fests infinite care. Th oughts of crystalline purity in forms of crystalline symmetry constitute his poetry. His Vi n tage Day is one of the most charming of idylls. The poet, in a distant land, is thinking of the home of his parents. It is a great day to-day, that of the vintage. The happy family is seated at dinner in the shade of a large pear-tree. The lips of his two littie sisters are redder than ever with the j uice of the sweet purple grapes. In the course of a playfui dispute one of them begins to sulk, and dectares that she does not wan t any dinner. While the father breaks the neck of a wine flagon, one of the labourers fires his gun into the air as a salute, and the woman and ch ildren cry out though more arnused than startled. The father bids the labourer draw near and offers him a glass of wine, though he may guess from the way in which th e labourer's hat is tilted on his head that this is not the first glass he has tasted to-day. The hills re-echo with laughter and the songs of merry labourers. Only u pon the mother's brow is there a cloud, as she thinks of one wh o i3 far away. CHARLES SZÁ SZ (1829-1906) is the third member ot the littie group, and a real poet, though not of the first rank. His best poems are perhaps those which he wrote after the •death of his young wife, who was a tal ented poetess. Szász became very actíve as a translator, and his translations incJude several of Shakespeare' s plays and of Tennyson' s poems. His numerous prose works are chiefly devoted to the spreading amongst others of his own great kno wledge of literature . The fourth of the group was LADISLAS ARANY (1844- 1898), the son of John Arany. He was a satirical epic poet, but he soon gave up writing poetry, perhaps because he did not find his talent strong enough to inspire men in a prosaic age, or perhaps he may have been oppressed by the greatness of his father's memory. His chief work, The Mirage Pursuer, was published anonymously, and he refused to allow a second edition to appear, although the first was rapidly sold out. In composition it reminds us of Pushkin's Onyegin, but in language of John Arany. The hero is a well-drawn specimen of a type that was common in the sixties, a sort of Hungarian Don Quixote. He is a good fellow, and loves his country sincerely, but has many faults. His enthusiasm is like a fire of twigs which blazes up in a moment and quickly expires. He loves to build castles in the air, but lacks persistence. He goes abroad, fights for Italian liberty under Garibaldi, then rambles about Europe and at length returns to Hungary. Here in his patriotic fervour he seeks to initiate a variety of reforms, but he soon comes to see the selfish interest that often hides behind the mask of patriotism, and that politics often means merely business, and so his desire for reform evaporates. His career is still more marred by the circumstance that once, when excited by the revelry at a banquet, he offended a lady whom he had loved as a girl.
Ladislas Arany was the type of a true Hungarian gentleman. Though widely cultured and acquainted with many lands, he retained a fervent love for his race, and that sentiment inspired his best poems.
In contrast with the little circle whose guiding star was John Arany, stood two pessimistic lyric poets, who, ignoring the traditions of Hungarian lyrical poetry, followed an eccentric line of their own. They were John Vajda and Gyula Reviczky, who died young.
John Vajda (1827- 1897) was a passionate writer who loved to be unique. In 1848-9 he was an officer in the Honvéd or national army. Later on he was compelled by the Austrians as a punishment to serve in their army as a private soldier, and in that capacity he spent a year in Lombardy, which was then in the hands of the Austrians. On returning home he lived in Budapest as an author and editor, friendless, discontented and immersed in fantastical dreams. His soul thirsted for the extraordinary and the grand, and he shunned commonplace people. "Our age," he said bitterly, "is the conspiracy of organised mediocrity against genius." In poetry he sought for the great, the profound, the surprising. As a young man he fell in love with a dancer named Gina, who was famous for her beauty, and who became for him the symbol of an unattainable ideal. This ideal, who, by the way, was another man's mistress, he met again thirty years later, and the meeting inspired his finest poem, After Thirty Years, in which life's tragedy is expressed with great pathos.
"And so we have met once more," he says, "our last meeting this side of the grave. When once I am dead you will know what I am to you, eternal love enshrined in song. Heaven has betrothed us to one another. You who have loved so many, and I who have loved but you alone, here we stand and take one long last look at one another."
"Their looks expressed the grief not of those who had lost Eden, but of those who had never gained it."
"Thus the moon seems to repose on a lofty cloud, when the storm has been lulled to rest, and to gaze sadly down upon the night, but without passion; she hears the infinite silence of the forest, like the silence of the tomb, while from the trees big heavy teardrops fall noiselessly upon the dead leaves which strew the ground beneath."
28o HUNGARIAN LITERATURE The other pessimistic poet was GYULA REVICZKY (I8SS I88c)). His short life was a continual struggle with disease and poverty. Like Schopenhauer and Heine, he gave expression to two con trasting tempers, now resignation and a conviction of the world's vanity, and now, a keen desire to live. In his poem, The Death of Pa u, the two feelings are mingled. Pown in the waist of a sh ip there is boisterous reve lry, and wc hear the sound of music and drinking and dancing. Suddenly a vo ice calls to the helmsman, u Thamus l " but the helrnsmao does not heed the su mmons. Again comes the cry u Thamus l " and he leaves the heim, mounts the upper deck and looks arou nd, but as far as eye can reach there is no living thing. He is about to descend agai n, wh en his name is called for the third time, and on his startled ear there fali the words : 11 When thou reachest the headland, cry aloud, 1 The great Pan is dead.' " The helmsman obeys and cries, 1 1 Th e great Pan is dead," whereupon he hears the sou nd of sobbing among the trees and hills, sighs are borne upon the breeze, and ali Nature is filled with the sound of wailing. The reign of the Pagan gods is over, the great Pan is dead, and a voice cries : 1' Pan and his merry tribe have gone, but the one God remains, not in stones and trees, but in the heart. Hitherto the world has belonged to the proud and happy, but henceforth those who suffer sh all own th e earth. There shall be a sweetness even in tears, and though the forest is si lent, the sad will find in it peace." And then, far off, near th e horizon, there appears in the sky the Cross, bathed in the red light of the morning. While most of the poets in th e fifties and sixties fo und their model in Arany, the chief follower of Petőfi in lyric song Wci.S the ardent and fervently patriotic KÁLMÁN T ÖTH ( 183I- I881). MODERN LITERATORE No task is more ditlicuit for the historian or critic than to estimate his con temporaries rightly. From what point is he to gain a true perspective, for even to take a photograph he must sta nd at a certain distan ce from his subj ect ? How can his judgme nt have the necessary obj ectivity and ho w is he to overcome the distorting influ ence of so cial relations ? But although it is ditlicu it for a mao to judge his contem poraries individually, it is easier and even more important to characterise the general tendency of modern literature. Literatore cannot boast to-day such giant-like figures as Vörösmarty, Petőfi and Arany. _ The golden age of Hun gar ian literatore has been followed by a period of com parative mediocrity, and the great talent and lofty inspira tion which marked the time of the national revival (1825- 1 849) are lacking, but as in all such periods, the last of the late classi cs became the model for succeeding writers. This was Arany, whose style exercised an unbounded in fluence, though in the matter of the tech nique of versifica tion there has been a decided advance upon that attained during the great age. A conspicuous feature of modern literatore is the absence of the popular element. Hungarian poetry reached its greatest height in the sublimatien of the popular poetry. Petőfi, Tompa and Arany were rooted in the soil of the popular tales and ballads, but it would seem as if that soil were exhausted, at least for the time being. The popular play does not seem to be receíved either, and literato re scarcely turns its eyes to the past at ali. In both epic and draroatic poetry modern soc iety occu pies the field more and more exclusively. The heroic epic, cultivated by Vörösmarty and Arany, has entirely go ne out of fashion. Dramatists, with the exception of a few talented men ·tike Eugene Rákosi and Louis Dóczi, the author of the comedy The Kiss, who do not come within the limits of this book, prefer to deal with so-called social problems which are not really of sufficient importance to deserve literary treatment.
The influence of journalism is steadily increasing, and as journalism is favourable to the feuilleton, that species of literature has been prolific in short stories and sketches. There are two masters of the feuilleton, of whom it is necessary to say a few words. They are Kálmán Mikszáth and Francis Herczeg.
Kálmán Mikszáth (born 1849) is Jókai's greatest follower. He has not the brilliant imagination and poetic idealism of Jókai, but he is vivid, witty and original. His best work, The Good People of Palécz,[1] is a volume of short stories, all drawn from the life of the people and some of them written with thrilling tragic power.
Mikszáth's humour gains its depth and charm from his power of detecting the attractive and poetical even in the simplest circumstances of life. The story of St. Peter's Umbrella begins by telling that the inhabitants of a lonely little mountain village had never seen an umbrella, and that when on one occasion they discovered a large red one they thought it was a gift of St. Peter. Upon this foundation he builds up a charming story. He has also written a very successful satirical novel entitled The New Zrinyiász. Nicholas Zrinyi, the hero of Szigetvár, rises from his grave to find himself amidst the altered conditions of modern Hungary. There is great surprise and embarrassment everywhere. The character of each statesman and party is revealed in the kind of reception given to the great general. The author is alluding to recent events, when with bitter irony he tells how Zrinyi gets into debt and accepts the post of bank manager to some Jewish bankers, who set a great value upon ancient Hungarian names.
The most witty novelist who has appeared since the death of Arany is Francis Herczeg (born 1863). He has written dramas as well as novels, but is at his best in the short story. The character of his talent may be briefly described by saying that he is an ironical observer of mankind. He has a keen scent for the foibles of men and women, especially of the latter, but he does not regard these weaknesses with either indignation or indifference; he looks at them from a point of view of some elevation and is not blind to their humorous side. He sets before us with remarkable truth the types to be met in our streets every day. His characters seem to live before our eyes, so real and living are the features with which he has invested them. His inventiveness and fancy are not so great as those of Jókai, but his powers of observation, his excellent taste and spirituel attitude towards life, assure him a distinguished place, not only amongst Hungarian authors. Herczeg is sparing of words, sobre as the French would say. In his short stories, full of irony, we see the poetical spirit of a modern man of the world. He is an idealist without illusions.
Perhaps the Bohemian world of journalists has never been so truly painted as in Herczeg's novel, András and Andor, which is full of satirical observations.
Besides stories dealing with modern town life, like The Gyurkovics Girls, in which the characters seem to be living 284 HUNGARIAN LITERATURE persons of our acquaintance, so vividly are they drawn, Herczeg has also written a historical novel, The Paga t1s. lts subje ct is the revolt of the Pagan Magyars agai o st Christianity in the eleventh century. The author strives to enter into the thoughts of primitive nat ures. His hero is a young Hungaria n noble who is a favourite with the Bishop St. Gerard . The young man yearns for th e fre life of the plains, leaves the monastery, and places hímself at the bead of the party of rebellion. Herczeg is equally fortunate as a writer of historical dramas. Brigadier Ocskay depicts the times of the great leader Fra ncis Rákóczy, and in Byzan tium there is por trayed to us, in pithy sentences, the corruption and fali of Constan tin ople. JOSEPH KISS (born in 1843) belongs to the school created by Arany. His name became known by his ballads. Kiss, who is a Jew, treats of a J ewish subj ect in his ballad, Judith Simon. From the house of Simon small coffins are carri ed every year into the graveyard ; every year an infant child dies. Despair drives the mother, Judith Simon, to go to the wise Rabbi to ask his advice. 1 1 Wou ld you preserve your child now 1 " asks the Rabbi. 11 You did not care to have a child when your first horn was given to you. Where is your first child ?" Judith confesses that she killed her first child beca use its father had deserted her. The Rabbi commands her to deny herself the happiness of a mother's kiss ; she shall not kiss her dau ghter until her wedding-day. This will be the ato neme nt for her crime. Judith fulfils the command. I n vain the child asks for one kiss wh ile she lies suffering on her bed ; the 11;10ther does not yield to · her prayer. The father, roused to anger, drives the beartless mother · from his house. After many years they celebrated the MODERN LITERATDRE daughter's wedding. From the crowd which had come to see the beautifui and happy bride a poor beggar woman rushes up to the bride an d presses a kiss on her tips. She is pate and cold and dying. It is the mother who has atoned fo r her forrner deed. Among existing autbors who write on resth etics, the first in import ance is certainly ZsoLT BEÖTHY (boro in 1848). He is the author of a history of Hungarian literatore ; and also of a work analysing th e tragic element in literature. It deals with the literatures of all niltions. Now that we have come to an end of our survey of Hungilrian literatore it will be weil to cast a glance over the ground we have travelled. We have seen that H ungary's efforts for its own preservation have been the main spring of its lite rature, efforts rendered more necessary by her history, geographical situation and ethnical relations. Th erefore patriotism en ters more into Hungarian th an into other literatures. It is the instinct of national self-preservation which we see in Count Széch enyi, though tran sfigu red by the statesman's genius, and which has al ways caused politics to bulk so largely in the life of the people and has affected the form of literatore by giving it a pre-eminently rhetorical character. To determi ne the value of H ungarian literatore we must consider its history and its amount. It was a thousand years ago that the H unga rians entered Europ e and founded a state, wh ich reacl1ed i ts greatest extent and power some six centuries later, when King Matthias occu pied Vienna. Afterwards, the greater pa.rt of the country fell under the Turkish yoke, and when the Turks were fin ally driven out, Hungary had fewer i nhabitants than London has now .
286 HUNGARI AN LITERAT URE The language of Partiament and of the courts of justice was Latin, while German was spoken in the towns. These unfavourable circumstances must all be taken into account wh en seeking to form a right judgment of the country's literary activity, and if we do so, we may regard the prose o utput as norma l ; so much we might fairly expect under the circumstances, but no more. The country has had . some good prost:. writers, though it can not boast a Bacon or a Macaulay. Among novelists Jókai is pre-eminent ; his rich imagination and inventive ness, and his ge nius for story-telling, render his novels fascinating even in translation. When, however, we come to consider Hungar ian poetry, the case is different. In this respect Hungary has been richly dowered, for her poetry has been both more abu ndant and more brilliant than could have been expected. Alexander Petőfi was one of the bright stars in the finna me nt of literatore ; the inspired Vörö smarty would be a distinguished figure even amidst the world's grandest poets, and Arany was an accomplished master of style and language. Just as doring great political crises there have arisen gifted s tatesmen, so the national revival in the nineteenth century gave birth to great poets, and the works of these poets are entitled to a place amongst the literary treasures of the human race.
- ↑ The Palócz race was descended from the Kumanians, but has been amalgamated with the Hungarians for centuries. Mikszáth himself is of Palócz origin.