J. Antall szerk.: Medical history in Hungary. Presented to the XXII. International Congress for the History of Medicine / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 4. (Budapest, 1970)
ESSAYS-LECTURES - G. Buzinkay: Sanitary References in Kelemen Mikes's Letters from Turkey (in English)
that guarded and developed a sovereign Hungarian culture for almost two^ centuries: Kelemen Mikes's lifework had become the swan-song of this vocation^ of this magnificant spirit, for a long time. Letters from Turkey is, after French model, a diary written in letter form. The book containing the letters, which on the original title page bore the inscription "Constantinople, Count P . .. E .. .'s written letters to K ... M . . .", was given its title which has since then become accepted by István Kultsár when the first edition was issued. The 207 letters were written during the time between October 10,1717 and October 20, 1758. (The five letters that he actually sent were written between 1759 and 1761 and are of family interest.) In writing the fictitious letters he had not only English and French examples before him but the tradition of the Transylvanian memoirists and the heritage of several diacists working in Rákóczi's court. He was a modern Hungarian writer having got acquainted with Western European culture in Paris, and in his works he let it make its effect and moreover, he let it dominate in his choice of the theme. From 1723 on, this cultural material of experience slowly replaced the material taken from life. So did Mikes's erudition creating the first literary collection of letters [6]. The quantity of experience related to everyday life is, of course, significant. That is why Mikes's letters have documentary value in historical —primarily in Turkish historical—aspect too, though naturally a member of the prince's court living in exile could not tell many novelties about "great politics", but rather about everyday life, and about public opinion, an important complement of politics. As for quantity, the parts relating to sanitary matters do not take up much room in his letters—as is understandable with a rather healthy man of strong constitution, and who is not a physician and does not show the least disposition towards hypochondria [7]. His interest in medicine ranges as far as he writes about illness, death, matters of health as about indispensable elements of life, which, however, are the most important when not a single word is to be spoken about them. AN EXILE'S STATE OF MIND Beyond the strictly medical aspects, Letters from Turkey can be examined with the eye of the psychiatrist: how an exile's state of mind, the "refugee's psychosis" is reflected in them, if there are any traces of it at all. It is natural that we often come across with signs of his nostalgy and home-sickness. In a place, he says almost incidentally that "the exile being so long, it is useless to complain and it is not good : thereby we cannot shorten but only make it harder and longer" [8]. In another place he speaks of the "advantages" of banishment with an almost cynical openness: "we do not care for gaining and losing goods . We do not envy the other man's fate, office, carreer, mansion. No one envies ours either, I think" [9], But where these bitterly witty lines spring from, he tells frankly in several places. He saw the situation of banishment at all times wisely and clearly: "Let his will, who has created us, be done on us. He has made us an example before our whole nation and happy are those who will learn from our fate, who will keep 95-
