Jókai belong Árpád Kupa (A napszámosok, “The Labourers”;
Képselt királyok, “Imaginary Kings”); Robert Tábori (Nagy játék,
“Great Game”; A negyvenéves férfiu, “The Man at Forty”); and
Julius Werner (Kendi Imre házassága, “The Wedding of Emericus
Kendi”; Olga; Megvirrad még valaha, “Dawn will come in the
End”). The second class of Hungarian modern novelists is led by
the well-known Koloman Mikszáth, a poet endowed with originality,
a charming naïveté, and a freshness of observation from life. A
close observer of the multifarious low life of Hungary, Mikszáth has,
in his short stories, given a delightful yet instructive picture of all
the minor varied phases of the peasant life of the Slavs, the Palócok,
the Saxons, the town artisan. Amongst his numerous works may
be mentioned A jó palóczok (“The Good Palóczok,” Slav peasants);
Egy választás Magyarországon (“An Election in Hungary”); Pipacsok
a búzában (“Wild Poppies in the Wheatfield”); A tekintetes
vármegye (“The Worshipful County”); Ne okoskodj Pista (“Don’t
reason, Pista”); Szent Peter esernyője (“St Peter’s Umbrella,”
translated from the original into English by Miss B. W. Worswick),
&c. Mikszáth has had considerable influence upon other writers.
Such are Victor Rákosi (Sipulus tárcái, “The Essays of Sipulus”;
Rejtett fészkek, “Hidden Nests”); Stephen Móra (Atyánkfiai, “Our
Compatriots”); Alexius Benedek, the author of numerous distinctly
sympathetic and truly Magyar tales, fables and novels, one of the
most gifted and deserving literary workers of modern Hungary
(Huszár Anna, “Anna Huszar”; Egy szalmaözvegy levelei, “Letters
of a grass widow”; A sziv könyve, “The Book of the Heart”;
Katalin, “Catherine”; Csendes órák, “Quiet Hours”; Testamentum
és hat levél, “Last Will and Six Letters,” translated into
German by Dr W. Schönwald, &c.); Géza Gárdonyi (several novels
containing the adventures, observations, &c., of Mr Gabriel Gőre;
A kékszemü Davidkáné, “Blue-eyed Mrs Dávidka”; A Kátsa, scenes
from gipsy life); Charles Murai (Vig történetek, “Jolly Stories”;
Bandi, a collection of short tales); Stephen Bársony (Csend,
“Silence”; A Kaméleon-leány, “The Chamaeleon Girl, and other
Stories”; Erdőn–mezőn, “In Wood and Field”). The third class
of Magyar novelists comprises those cosmopolitan writers who take
their method of work, their inspiration and even many of their
subjects from foreign authors, chiefly French, German, Russian and
also Norwegian. A people with an intense national sentiment, such
as the Hungarians, do not as a rule incline towards permanent
admiration of foreign-born or imported literary styles; and accordingly
the work of this class of novelists has frequently met with
very severe criticism on the part of various Magyar critics. Yet it
can scarcely be denied that several of the “foreign” novelists have
contributed a wholesome, if not quite Magyar, element of form or
thought to literary narrative style in Hungary. Probably the foremost
among them is Sigismund Justh, who died prematurely in the
midst of his painful attempt at reconciling French “realistic”
modes of thought with what he conceived to be Magyar simplicity
(A puszta könyve, “The Book of the Puszta,” prairie of Hungary; A
Pénz legendája, “The Legend of Money”; Gányo Julcsa, “Juliet
Gányó”; Fuimus). Other novelists belonging to this school are:
Desiderius Malonyai (Az utolsó, “The Last”; Judith könyve, “The
Book of Judith”; Tanulmányfejek, “Typical Heads”); Julius
Pekár (Dodo főhadnagy problémái, “Lieutenant Dodo’s Problems”;
Az aranykesztyűs kisasszony, “The Maid with the Golden Gloves”;
A szoborszép asszony, “The Lady as Beautiful as a Statue”; Az
esztendo legendája, “The Legend of the Year”); Thomas Kobor
(Aszfalt, “Asphalt”; O akarta, “He Wanted It”; A csillagok felé,
“Towards the Stars”); Stephen Szomaházy (Huszonnégy óra,
“Twenty-four Hours”; A Clairette Keringő, “The Clairette
Valse”; Páratlan szerdák, “Incomparable Wednesdays”; Nyári
felhők, “Clouds of Summer”); Zoltán Thury (Ullrich főhadnagy és
egyéb történetek, “Lieutenant Ullrich and other Tales”; Urak és
parasztok, “Gentlemen and Peasants”); also Desiderius Szomory,
Ödon Gerő, Árpád Abonyi, Koloman Szántó, Edward Sas, Julius
Vértesi, Tibor Dénes, Ákos Pintér, the Misses Janka and Stéphanie
Wohl, Mrs Sigismund Gyarmathy and others. In the fourth class
may be grouped such of the latest Hungarian novelists as have tried,
and on the whole succeeded, in clothing their ideas and characters
in a style peculiar to themselves. Besides Stephen Petelei (Jetti,
a name—“Henrietta”—Felhők, “Clouds”) and Zoltán Ambrus
(Pókháló Kisasszony, “Miss Cobweb”; Gyanu, “Suspicion”)
must be mentioned especially Francis Herczeg, who has published a
number of very interesting studies of Hungarian social life (Simon
Zsuzsa, “Susanna Simon”; Fenn és lenn, “Above and Below”;
Egy leány története, “The History of a Girl”; Idegenek között,
“Amongst Strangers”); Alexander Bródy, who brings a delicate
yet resolute analysis to unfold the mysterious and fascinating inner
life of persons suffering from overwrought nerves or overstrung
mind (A kétlelkü asszony, “The Double-Souled Lady”; Don
Quixote kisasszony, “Miss Don Quixote”; Faust orvos, “Faust the
Physician”; Tündér Ilona, Rejtelmek, “Mysteries”; Az ezüst
kecske, “The Silver Goat”); and Edward Kabos, whose sombre and
powerful genius has already produced works, not popular by any
means, but full of great promise. In him we may trace the influence
of Nietzsche’s philosophy (Koldusok, “Beggars”; Vándorok,
“Wanderers”). To this list we must add the short but incomparable
feuilletons (tárczalevelek) of Dr Adolf Ágai (writing under the
nom de plume of Porzó), whose influence on the formation of modern
Hungarian literary prose is hardly less important than the unique
esprit and charm of his writings.
Dramatic literature, liberally supported by the king and the government, and aided by magnificent theatres in the capital and also in the provinces (the finest provincial theatre is in Kolozsvár, in Transylvania), has developed remarkably. The Hungarians have the genuine dramatic gift in abundance; they have, moreover, actors and actresses of the first rank. In the modern drama three great and clearly differentiated groups may be distinguished. First the neo-romantic group, whose chief representatives are Eugen Rákosi, Louis Dóczi (b. 1845), who, in addition to Csók (“The Kiss”), has written Utolsó szerelem (“Last Love”), Széchy Mária (“Maria Széchy”), Vegyes Párok (“Mixed Couples”). In these and other dramatic writings, more remarkable perhaps for poetic than for stage effects, Dóczi still maintains his brilliancy of diction and the delicacy of his poetic touch. To the same school belong Louis Bartók, Anton Váradi and Alexander Somló. The next group of Hungarian dramatists is dominated by the master spirit of Gregor Csiky (q.v.). Among Csiky’s most promising disciples is Francis Herczeg (already mentioned as a novelist), author of the successful society comedy, A Gyurkovics leányok (“The Misses Gyurkovics”), Három testőr (“Three Guardsmen”), Honty háza (“The House of Honty”). Árpád Berczik’s Nézd meg az anyját (“Look at her Mother”), A protekczió (“Patronizing”), also followed on the lines of Csiky. The third group of dramatic writers take their subjects, surroundings and diction from the folk-life of the villages (népszínmü, “folk-drama”). The greatest of these dramatists has so far been Edward Tóth (Toloncz, “The Ousted Pauper”). Amongst his numerous followers, who have, however, sometimes vulgarized their figures and plots, may be mentioned Tihamér Almási (Milimári, A Miniszterelnök bálja, “The Ball of the Premier”) and Alexander Somló.
In philosophy there has been a remarkable increase of activity, partly assimilative or eclectic and partly original. Peter Bihari and Maurice Kármán have in various writings spread the ideas of Herbart. After the school of Comte, yet to a large extent original, is the Az ember és világa (“Man and his World”) of Charles Böhm, who in 1881 started a philosophical review (Magyar Filozofiaí Szemle), subsequently edited by Joseph Bokor, a vigorous thinker. Realism, more particularly of the Wundt type, is represented by Emericus Pauer, Az ethikai determinismus (“Ethical Determinism”), and Eugen Posch (Az időről, “On Time”). On a Thomistic basis John Kiss edits a philosophical review (Bölcseleti Folyóirat); on similar lines have been working Ákos Mihályfi, Répássy, Augustin Lubrich and others. Neo-Hegelianism is cultivated by Eugen Schmitt, efficiently assisted by Joseph Alexander Simon (Az egységes és reális természet filozofia alapvonalai, “Outlines of a Uniform and Realistic Philosophy of Nature”). F. Medveczky (formerly a German author under the name of Fr. von Bärenbach) espouses Neo-Kantism (Társadalmi elméletek és eszmények, 1887, “Social Theories and Ideals”). The Hungarian scholar Samuel Brassai published, in 1896, Az igazi pozitiv filozofia (“The True Positive Philosophy”). Amongst the ablest and most zealous students of the history of philosophy are Bernhard Alexander, under whose editorship, aided by Joseph Bánoczi, a series of the works of the world’s great thinkers has appeared; Andrew Domanovszky, author of an elaborate History of Philosophy; Julius Gyomlai, translator of Plato; Eugen Péterfy, likewise translator of philosophical works, &c.
Juristic literature has been stimulated by the activity in positive legislation. On 1st January 1900 a new criminal code, thoroughly modern in spirit, was put in force; and in 1901 a Civil Code Bill, to replace the old Hungarian customary system, was introduced. Among the newer writers on common and commercial law may be mentioned Wenczal, Zlinsky, Zögöd, Gustave Schwarz, Alexander Plósz, Francis Nagy and Neumann; on constitutional law, Korbuly, Boncz, Stephen Kiss, Ernest Nagy, Kmety, Arthur Balogh, Ferdinandy, Béla Grünwald, Julius Andrássy and Emeric Hajnik; on administration, George Fésüs, Kmety and Csiky; on finance, Mariska, Exner and László. Among the later writers on statistics, moreover, have been Konek, Keleti, Láng, Földes, Jekelfalussy, Vorgha, Körösy, Ráth and Vízaknai.
On subjects of politics, amongst the more important works are the various monographs of Gustavus Beksics on the Dualism of Austria-Hungary, on the “New Foundations of Magyar Politics” (A magyar politika uj alapjai, 1899), on the Rumanian question, &c.; the writings of Emericus Bálint, Ákos Beöthy, Victor Concha (systematic politics), L. Ecsery, Géza Ferdinandy (historical and systematic politics), Árpád Zigány, Béla Földes (political economy), Julius Mandello (political economy), Alexander Matlekovics (Hungary’s administrative service; Államháztartás, 3 vols.), J. Pólya (agrarian politics), M. Somogyi (sociology), and the late Augustus Pulszky.
In history there has been great activity. The millennial festivities in 1896 gave rise to the publication of what was then the most extensive history of the Hungarian nation (A magyar nemzet története, 1895–1901), ten large and splendidly illustrated volumes, edited by Alexander Szilágyi, with the collaboration of the best specialists of modern Hungary, Robert Fröhlich, B. Kuzsinszky, Géza Nagy, H. Marczali, Anton Pór, Schönherr, V. Fraknói, Árpád Károlyi, David Angyal, Coloman Thaly, Géza Ballagi.
Literary criticism is actively pursued. Among the more authoritative writers Paul Gyulai and Zsolt Beöthy represent the
