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CHAPTER III

The Rise of Magyar Nationality

"Wer mir meine Sprache verdrängt, will mir auch meine Vernunft und Lebensweise, die Ehre und die Rechte meines Volkes rauben."

 — Herder.

BY the middle of the eighteenth century the Magyar language was in very real danger of dying out. Latin was the language of the government, the administration, the law courts, of common intercourse between educated people; and the astute policy of Maria Theresa had won over the great nobles of Hungary to German customs and ways of thinking. Contact with the Court and intermarriage with the Austrian aristocracy rapidly turned them into little better than Germans, and their demoralizing example had begun to spread among the gentry and educated classes, while the towns were mainly German already. It was Joseph II's mistaken attempt to establish German as the universal language of his dominions, that roused Hungary from her lethargy. An able linguistic reformer arose in Francis Kazinczy, and simultaneously the ideas of the French Revolution led to a great revival of national feeling among the Magyars, whose virtual monopoly of political power survived every infringement of the con­stitution and secured to them the control of the nation's destiny. The magnates ceased to be ashamed of their native tongue, and in many instances placed themselves at the head of the new movement. At the Diet of 1790-1, which cele­brated the restoration of the Hungarian constitution, the first linguistic laws made their appearance. Professors of Magyar language and literature were appointed in all gymna­siums, and Magyar became a regular subject of instruction. Henceforth the success of the movement was assured, and the enthusiasm evoked in Hungary during the Napoleonic Wars, though silenced later by the ingratitude of Francis I, certainly contributed towards the Magyar renaissance. During the universal reaction which followed the Congress of Vienna, the Hungarian Diet was not summoned, and for ten years the County Assemblies resumed their traditional function of bulwarks of the constitution. They have been accused, not without justice, of pettifogging and rabulistic methods, of corruption and laissez faire; but even the most hostile critic must admit that their sturdy resistance saved Hungary from the police system of Metternich and Sedlnitzky, and at length in 1825 compelled the Government to summon parliament once more. The trend of opinion was clearly shown by the prominence given in the Address to a demand for the erection of Magyar ("the national language" — a nemzeti nyelv — as it was now called) into the official language of state. The devotion inspired by the narrow cause of Magyar nationality revealed itself with growing frequency in the course of the debates. More than one deputy had lamented the lack of funds which prevented the formation of a national learned society, when Count Stephen Széchenyi rose from his seat and offered to this cause his entire income for the year. A scene of indescribable enthusiasm ensued, and his example was followed by a number of the other magnates present. Such was the dramatic debut of the man whom the next generation acclaimed as " the greatest Hungarian," such was the birthday festival of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

The year which saw the definite establishment of the Academy (1830) marks a fresh stage in the progress of the Magyar language. By Article VIII of that year the Diet made a knowledge of Magyar obligatory for all persons holding any public office or an advocate's diploma: enjoined the Palatine's Council (perhaps best known by its German title of Statthaltereirath) to answer in Magyar all communications which it might receive in that language, and bound over the Curia to conduct in Magyar all cases where a Magyar application was made. With every year the tide of national feeling ran more strongly, and the efforts of politicians were ably seconded by a brilliant band of poets, dramatists and novelists. This was the golden age of Magyar literature: the names of Vörös­marty, Arany and Kisfaludy would add lustre to the records of any Western literature, while the political and economic writings of Széchenyi produced an effect upon his own nation, for which there are few parallels in history. Amid the general decay which has characterized Hungarian public life in the twentieth Century, the Magyar patriot must often look back regret­fully upon the giants that inhabited the earth in those days.

In the Diet of 1835-6 the "national language" made a further step in advance. The use of Magyar was extended to courts of second instance, though still as an alternative to Latin, and Magyar verdicts were made compulsory. Laws were to be published no longer in Latin only, but in Latin and Magyar. All official documents might henceforth be drawn up in Magyar, though this still remained optional. In all parishes where Magyar services were held, the registers must in future be drawn up in Magyar. This last provision which at first sight would seem of less practical importance, is really in many ways the most significant of all, when we realize what bitter struggles were already being waged in more than one Slovak community against the forcible introduction of Magyar priests and Magyar sermons.[1] These innovations, to which the government yielded with considerable reluctance, only served to rouse the national apostles to redoubled efforts. Certainly, no one contributed so much to their success as Louis Kossuth, who had already won a name by editing lithographed reports of the parliamentary debates, in defiance of the Government's disapproval. So enormous was the effect produced by these reports, that after the close of the Diet he continued to publish a similar manuscript journal under the title of Official News (Törvényhatósági Tudósítások), which contained admir­able reports of political life and progress in every county and Royal town in Hungary. His persistence in this publication brought upon him a sentence of four years' imprisonment[2] and thus earned for him his truest title to fame, as champion and vindicator of Liberty of the Press.

After a short breathing-space the national struggle was resumed at the Diet of 1839, during which the great name of Deák first comes into real prominence as a leader of the more moderate Opposition. For the first time the Addresses to the Sovereign were drawn up in the Magyar language only — an innovation which kindled immense enthusiasm.[3] Encouraged by this success, the Estates proceeded to formulate far-reaching linguistic demands; Magyar, they claimed, must become the exclusive language of the Government (adminis­tration and executive alike), of all schools and places of educa­tion, and of all Hungarian regiments. Without committing himself to so comprehensive a programme, the King extended his sanction to a new law[4] which has influenced the whole subsequent course of Hungarian history. By it, (1) Magyar became the official language of the government; (2) after a lapse of three years all registers throughout the country must be kept in Magyar only;[5] and (3) a knowledge of Magyar is enjoined upon the clergy of all denominations. But the appetite of the Magyars was insatiable, and every fresh concession led to more extravagant demands. That lack of perspective which has always been the bane of Hungarian politics, blinded the ruling classes of the day to the inevitable reaction which further legislation of this kind must produce among the other races of the country, who despite their political impotence were strong in numbers and came of a virile stock. In the early forties a wave of Chauvinism engulfed the Magyars and assumed with every year more alarming dimensions, until in 1848 a dreadful Nemesis plunged friend and foe alike into the gulf of revolution and internecine war. At the same time the principles of press freedom for which Kossuth had suffered rapidly asserted themselves. A number of ably conducted journals sprang into existence — all with one exception on the narrowest racial lines. Above all the Pesti Hírlap, Kossuth's own brilliant paper, marked a new departure and almost immediately acquired immense influence; while its only serious rival, the Világ, was all too soon placed hors de combat by the death of its editor, Count Aurel Desewffy, who, had he lived, might have altered the course of Hungarian history. Unhappily the racial intolerance of which we shall have to speak later, spread through the entire Press, and the few journals which took up a moderate attitude in the racial question, were just those which carried least weight with the Magyar reading public. The very genuine ardour which inspired all educated Magyars, infected the somewhat backward Slav nobility of the North, who, like most renegates, soon outbid the true-blood Magyars in racial Chau­vinism. The Slav "common nobles,"[6] being ignorant and without leaders, were unable to make an effectual stand for linguistic rights, and too often allowed themselves to be swept away by the current. Magyar influences became supreme in the County Assemblies, and none but their nominees could be appointed as delegates to the central Diet; while the Royal towns, whose representatives alone could have redressed the balance, were restricted to two collective votes (or no more together than the smallest county singly) and thus exercised no real control upon the Diet's action. The new linguistic law which was passed by the diet of 1843-4,[7] was by far the most stringent of any that had yet appeared, and bore within itself the seeds of future trouble, (1) Magyar became the exclusive language of the legislature, the Government and official business. (2) Magyar was further declared to be the exclusive language of public instruction, but this monstrous innovation was left to be dealt with by a special law. (3) National arms and colours were to be placed on all public buildings — a happy change which meant a great deal in the evil days when absolutism still ruled in Cisleithania. (4) The three Slavonian counties[8] and the Hungarian Littoral were exempted for six years, in order that the officials if not the population might during that period acquire a knowledge of Magyar; but after that date they were to be subject to the same regulations as the rest of the country. (5) In Croatia, though Latin was to remain the language of the lawcourts and of internal administration, Magyar was to be the sole language of intercourse under all circumstances with all Hun­garian authorities. As a solitary concession to the Croats, it was laid down that Magyar was not to be made their language of instruction, but only a compulsory subject in all their schools. This intolerant law gave a great incentive to the Illyrian cause in Croatia, and led to the most violent recriminations between tre Croats and the Magyars. While Kossuth declared himself unable to find Croatia on the map, and with incredible folly brought forward a motion in the Pest county assembly for Croatia's exclusion from Hungary, Louis Gaj, the champion of Illyrism, consoled himself with prophetic confidence for the temporary check administered to his cause.[9] Not merely the whole spirit of the debates, but more than one passage in the law itself, revealed Magyarization as the leading motive of the Diet and of the dominant classes of Hungary; while the clause referring to education made it abundantly clear to all the non-Magyar races that the near future threatened them with fresh onslaughts on their language and nationality. Voices were to be heard on all sides arguing that the "national language" must be imposed upon the so-called "foreign inhabi­tants" of the country, and a dozen fantastic schemes were aired for their speedy absorption into what is now known as the one and indivisible Magyar nation. A minority of the population, conscious of its strength and full of an enthusiasm which would have carried many a better cause to victory, offered a direct challenge to the majority, which was weak in all save numbers and obstinacy. The challenge was taken up, and the world can still read the passionate answer in the racial war of 1848.