Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/390

376 376 HUNGARY [LITERATURE. by Dobrentei, but the exact date either of this copy or of the original translation cannot now be ascertained. With approximate certainty may be ascribed also to Tamas and Balint the original of the still extant transcript, by George Nemeti, of the Four Gospels, the Jdszatj or Munich Codex (finished at Tatros in Moldavia in 1466). Amongst other important codices are the Jbrddnszky Codex (1516-19), an incomplete copy of the translation of the Bible made by Ladislaus Batori, who died about 1456 ; and the Dobrentei or Gfyulafehervdr Codex (1508), containing a version of the Psalter, Song of Solomon, and the liturgical epistles and gospels, copied by Bartholomew Halabori from an earlier translation (Kb rnyei, A Magyar nemzcti irodalomtortenct vdzlata, 1861, p. 30). Other relics belonging to this period are the oath which John Hunyady took when elected governor of Hungary (1446) ; a few verses sung by the children of Pest at the coronation of his son Matthias (1458) ; the Siralomenck Both Jdnos veszedelmen (Elegyupon John Both), written by a certain &quot; Gregori,&quot; as the initial letters of the verses show, and during the reign of the above-mentioned monarch ; and the Einlekdal Mdtyds kirdhj haldldra (Memorial Song on the Death of King Matthias, 1490). To these may be added the rhapsody 1 on the taking of &quot; Szabacs &quot; (1476); the Katalin-Lcgenda, a metrical &quot;Legend of St Catherine of Alexandria, &quot; extending to over 4000 lines ; and the Fcddoemk (Upbraiding Song), by Francis Apathi. In the next literary period (1530-1606) several translations of the Scriptures are recorded. Among these there are versions of the Epistles of St Paul, by Benedict Komjati (Cracow, 1533) ; of the Four Gospels, by Gabriel (Mizser) Pesti (Vienna, 1536) ; of the New Testament, by John Erdosi (Ujsziget, 1541 ; 2d ed., Vienna, 1574 2 ), and by Thomas Felegyhazi (1586) ; and the translations of the Bible, by Caspar Heltai (Klausenburg, 1551-65), and by Caspar Karoli (Vizsoly, near Goncz, 1589-90). The last, considered the best, was corrected and re-edited by Albert Molnar at Hanau in 1608. 3 Heltai published also (1571) a translation, improved from that by Blasius Veres (1565), of the Tripartitum of Verboezy, and Chronikn (1575) adapted from the Decades of Bonfini. Karadi in 1569 brought tolightthe earliest national drama, Balassi Mcnyliert. Among the native poets, mostly mere rhyming chroniclers of the 16th century, were Csamidi, Tinodi. Nagy-Baczai, Bogati, Ilosvay, Istvanfi, Gb rgei, Temesvari, and Valkai. Of these the best and most prolific writer was Tinodi. Szekely wrote in prose, with verse introduction, a &quot; Chronicle of the World&quot; under the title of Cronica ezvildgnac ycles dolgairdl (Cracow, 1559). Csaktornya and Kakony imitated the ancient classical poets, and Erdosi introduced the hexameter. Andrew Farkas and the homilist Peter Melins (Juhasz) attempted didactic verse ; and Batizi busied himself with sacred song and Biblical history. During the latter part of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th two poets of a higher order appeared in Valentine Balassa, the earliest Magyar lyrical writer, and his contemporary John Rimay, whose poems are of a contemplative and pleasing character. The melancholy state of the country consequent upon the perse cutions of Rudolph I., Ferdinand II., and Leopold I., as also the continual encroachment of Germanizing influences under the Haps- burgs, were unfavourable to the development of the national litera ture during the next literary period, dating from the Peace of Vienna ^1606) to that of Szatmar (1711). A few names were, however, distinguished in theology, philology, and poetry. In 1626 a Hun garian version of the Vulgate was published at Vienna by the Jesuit George Kaldi, 4 and another complete translation of the Scriptures, the so-called Konidromi Biblia (Komorn Bible) was made in 1685 by the Protestant George Csipkes, though it was not published till 1717 at Leyden, twenty-nine years after his death. 5 On behalf of the Catho lics the Jesuit Peter Pazman, eventually primate, Nicholas Eszter- hazy, Sambar, Balasli, and others were the authors of various works of a polemical nature. Especially famous was the Hodwgus, kalauzof. Pazman, which first appearedat Pozsony(Pressburg) in 1613. Among the Protestants who exerted themselves in theological and controver sial writings were Nemeti, Alvinczy, Alexander Felvinczy, Marton- falvi, and Melotai, who was attached to the court of Bethlen Gabor. Telkibanyai wrote on &quot;English Puritanism&quot; (1654). The Calvin- ist Albert Molnar, already mentioned, was more especially remark able for his philological than for Ids theological labours. Parispapai compiled an Hungarian-Latin Dictionary, Dictionarium magyar es dedk nyclven(L 6cse, 1708), and Ajraczai-Csere, a Magyar Encydopce- dia( Utrecht, 1653). John Szalardi, Paul Lisznyai, Gregory Petho, John Kerneny, and Benjamin SziLigyi, which last, however, wrote in Latin, were the authors of various historical works. In polite; litera ture the heroic poem Zrinyidsz( }, descriptive of the fall of Sziget, by Nicholas Zrinyi, grandson of the defender of that fortress, marks a new era in Hungarian poetry. Of a far inferior character was the monotonous Mohdcsi veszedclcm (Disaster of Mohacs), in 13 cantos, 1 First made known by Coloman Thaly (1871) from a discovery by MM. E. N;iRy and I) Veghelyi in the archives of the Csioscry family, in the county of Ung. 2 One of the only seven perfect copies extant of the Vienna (1674) edition is in the British Museum library. 3 A copy, with the autojrraph of the editor, is in the British Museum. 4 A copy is in the British Museum library. produced two years afterwards at Vienna by Baron Liszti. The lyric and epic poems of Stephen Gyongyusi, who sang the deeds of Maria Szeehy, the heroine of Murany, Murdnyi Venus (Kassa, 1664), are samples rather of a general improvement in the style than of the purity of the language. As a didactic and elegiac poet Stephen Kohari is much esteemed, though his poems are of a very serious and contemplative turn. More fluent but not less gloomy are the sacred lyrics of Nyeki- Veres first published in 1636 under the Latin title of Tintinnabulum Tripudiantium. The songs and proverbs of Peter Beniczky, who lived in the early part of the 17th century, are not without merit, and have been several times reprinted. We may here mention that, from the appearance of the first extant printed Magyar work 6 at Cracow in 1531 to the end of the period we have just been treating of, more than 1800 publications in the native language are known. 7 The period comprised between the peace of Szatmar (1711) and Period the year 1772 is far more barren in literary results than even that declini which preceded it. The exhaustion of the nation from its protracted (1711- civil and foreign wars, the extinction of the court of the Transyl- 1772). vanian princes where the native language had been cherished, and the prevalent use of Latin in the schools, public transactions, and county courts, all combined to bring about a complete neglect of the Magyar language and literature. Among the few prose writers of distinction were Andrew Spangar, whose &quot;Hungarian Bookstore,&quot; Magyar KiJnyvtdr (Kassa, 173S), is said to be the earliest work of the kind in the Magyar dialect ; George Baranyi, who translated the New Testament (Lauba, 1754) ; the historians Michael Cserei and Matthew Bel, which last, however, wrote chiefly in Latin ; and Peter Bod, who besides his theological treatises com piled a history of Hungarian literature under the title Magyar Alhends (Szeben, 1766). But the most celebrated writer of this period was the Jesuit Francis Faludi, the translator, through the Italian, of William Darrell s works. On account of the classic purity of his style in prose Faludi was known as the &quot; Magyar Cicero.&quot; Not only as a philosophic and didactic writer, but also as a lyric and dramatic poet he surpassed all his contemporaries. Another pleasing lyric poet of this period was Ladislaus Amade, the naturalness and genuine sentiment of whose lightly running verses are suggestive of the love songs of Italian authors. Of considerable merit are also the sacred lyrical melodies of Paul Radai in liisLclki hodolds (Spiritual Homage), published at Debreczen in 1715. Among the didactic poets may be mentioned Lewis Nagy, George Kr dmar, Johu Illey, and Paul Bertalanfi, especially noted for his rhyme.d &quot; Life of St Stephen, first Hungarian king,&quot; Dicsb segcs Sz. Istvdn clso magyar kirdlynak tlctc (Vienna, 1751). The remaining three literary periods stand in special relationship to one another, and are sometimes regarded as the same. The first two, marking respectively the progress of the &quot; Regeneration of the Native Literature&quot; (1772-1807) and the &quot;Revival of the Lan guage &quot; (1807-1830), were introductory to and preparatory for the third or &quot;Academy&quot; period, which dates from the year 1830, and comprises the results of the native language and literature in the highest state of cultivation. In consequence of the general neglect of the Magyar language Regen during the reigns of Maria Theresa and her successor Joseph II., ation the more important prose productions of the latter part of the 18th of the century, as for instance the historical works of George Pray, Stephen litera- Katcna, John Engel, and Ignatius Fessler, were written either in tare Latin or in German. The reaction in favour of the native literature (1772- manifested itself at first chiefly in the creation of various schools of 1807). poetry. Foremost among these stood the so-called &quot;French&quot; school, founded by George Bessenyei, the author of several dramatic pieces, and of an imitation of Pope s &quot; Essay on Man,&quot; under the title of Az cmlernck proldja (Vienna, 1772). Bessenyei introduced the use of rhymed alexandrines in place of the monotonous Zrinian measure. Other writers of the same school were Laurence Orczy and Abraham Barcsay, whose works have a striking resemblance to each other, and were published together by Revai (1789). The songs and elegies of the short-lived Paul Anyos, edited by Bacsanyi in 1798, show great depth of feeling. Versifiers and adapters from the French appeared also in Counts Adam and Joseph Teleki, Alexander Baroczi, and Joseph Peczeli, known also as the translator of Young s &quot;Night Thoughts.&quot; The chief representatives of the strictly &quot;classical&quot; school, which adopted the ancient Greek and Latin authors as its models, were David Baroti Szabo, Nicholas Revai, Joseph Rajnis, and Benedict Virag. Among the most note worthy works of Baroti are the Uj mertekre vctt kiilomb versck (Kassa, 1777), comprising hexameter verses, Horatian odes, dis tiches, epistles, and epigrams ; the Paraszti Majorsdg ( Kassa, 1779- 80), an hexameter version of Vamere s Prccdium rusticum ; and an abridged version of &quot;Paradise Lost,&quot; contained in the Koltcmenycs munkaji (Komarom, 1802). Baroti, moreover, published (1810- 13) a translation of Virgil s sEncid and Eclogues. Of Baroti s 6 The earliest, styled &quot;Song on the Discovery of the right hand of the Holy King Stephen,&quot; and printed itt Nuremberg by Anton Kobtirfrer in 1484. is lost. 7 See Clias. Szabd s Ilrtji Mugi.ar Konyvtdr, Budapest, 187y. Cf. also Lit. Her, au* Unr/arn for 1879, Bd. iii. Heft 2, p. 433-434.
 * There are two copies of this edition in the British Museum library.