Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
SECONDARY SCHOOL AND COLLEGE-THE COLLEGE AND THE DEVELOPING, MODERN EDUCATION SYSTEM - Odd judgments - Benő Zsoldos
SECONDARY SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 148 longer a viable reality, he laboured for the success of the English Residence of the College in Sárospatak. He spent his final years at home. He continued to work but did not dedicate any time to professional or academic work; he was busy with writing the history of legal education at the College in Patak. He paid homage to outstanding teachers (e.g. József Finkey, Sándor Kövy, Gyula Szánthó, and György Radácsi) and compiled three autobiographical volumes. He returned home - not only in a physical sense but in a spiritual one as well. ODD JUDGMENTS - BENŐ ZSOLDOS Benő Zsoldos Benő Zsoldos (1847-1910) is still a recognized and well-respected, scholarly reputable teacher among classical philologists. It is primarily due to his translations of Thucydides that he managed to escape the shadows of oblivion but it is much more for his outstanding work in organizing the archives at Sárospatak that common memory guards his name. He was born at the very end of the Reform Era in Komárom county in the Trans-Danubian region but studied in Patak and his life was always closely linked to the fate of the town planted on the banks of the Bodrog River. As an older student, he was invited to be an assistant teacher in his own school and, in 1873, he was appointed to be a full-time teacher. He then spent a year at the University of Pest where he studied mainly Greek, Latin and Hungarian history. Upon his return to Sárospatak, he taught without interruption until his retirement. Besides his extensive academic and teaching work, he also did extensive academic organizational management, as it might be called today. He began his philological career by translating Thucydides into Hungarian, to which translation he also provided explanatory side notes. The first ten years of his career were fully occupied with this undertaking. Not surprisingly, he became well-known for it in professional circles. He expected the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to publish his three-volume translation, which meant submitting it for a very strict appraisal and detailed analysis by the most distinguished experts of the era (e.g. Jenő Ábel and Emil Ponori-Thewrewk). They highlighted his precise proficiency in the language and his perseverance and effectiveness in deciphering even the most obscure historical and philological references. Nevertheless, they judged his translation to be far too Hungarian, in some places too loose while in other places too complicated and they proposed revisions to the job. He brought back a heavily modified version a year later, but received the same critique. One of the critics had even ventured to say that his translation was a “rushed” job. This remark offended him greatly, almost to the point of outrage and, in penning a very combative letter, he withdrew his intention for academic publishing. In the end, after listening to a friend’s advice, he decided not to send the angry letter and reluctantly devoted still another year to revise the parts which had been criticized. Thus, at the end of a process lasting four years process, Thucydides became available in Hungarian in 1888. His similar undertaking with the writings of Demosthenes and Cicero remained in the drawer, despite there being a great need for such translations. He submitted his translation of Demosthenes to the Academy in the mid-1890s but, because of the recurring conflict, he withdrew his original intention. None
