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.
