É. Apor , I. Ormos (ed.): Goldziher Memorial Conference, June 21–22, 2000, Budapest.
ORMOS, István: The Correspondence of Ignaz Goldziher and Max Herz
THE CORRESPONDENCE OF IGNAZ GOLDZIHER AND MAX H ERZ have no doubts concerning your faculty of speech. Prof. Guidi was compelled to make use of some sort of a translator in order to make himself understood sometimes. But of course Guidi had never been in the Orient. Well, you have spent years here. Then you can choose as you wish: literary or colloquial Arabic. But 1 want you to ask Nallino for his opinion and suggestion concerning this matter. (Ich zweifle nielli an Dein arab. Sprachvermögen. Prof. Guidi mußte sich einer Art Dolmetscher bedienen, um sich manchmal verständlich zu machen. Aber Guidi war ja nie im Orient. Du hast ja Jahre hier verbracht. Dann kannst Du, wie Du willst, wählen: litterarisch oder vulgärarabisch. Aber diesbezüglich mächte ich doch, daß Du Nallinos Rat u. Meinung einholst.This correspondence goes on for a while but it is known that in the end Goldziher did not accept the invitation and did not go to Cairo. 8 9 It appears from a letter that Goldziher was worried when Karl Völlers resigned his post as director of the Khcdivial Library because Völlers had helped him regularly with preparing copies of or from manuscripts preserved in the Khedivial Library. 90 Herz however hastened to transmit the cordial greetings of the new director, Bernhard Moritz, who offered to be at Goldziher's disposal whenever he needed it. Herz said he was sure Moritz would gladly help him as much as possible." He assured Goldziher that he had no reason to fear adding that he had known both Völlers and Moritz for quite a long time and thought that Moritz had perhaps the advantage of being much more easy-going in social intercourse and personal relationships than Völlers, who was somewhat stiff and reticent: "Dr. Völlers has left the country. Dr. Bernhard Moritz has been appointed in his place. Dr. M. exchanged his post of a librarian in the Oriental Seminary in Berlin for that of a librarian here. I know him from a journey which he made to Egypt in 1891. We have been corresponding since then. The grief you have experienced through the departure of Dr. V. affected me so closely that I felt free to inform Dr. M. of it. Now 1 am glad to be able to inform you, My Esteemed Professor, that the new director will be ready and most happy to be at your service in all matters. His principle is to be at the disposal of all scholars but he regards it as a special joy to be at your 8 8 Letter dated Cairo, 26 May 1911. 8 9 Ibid. Cf. Goldziher, Tagebuch..., 269-271, 274; Patai, Ignaz Goldziher and His Oriental Diary..., 51-52. On the further details of this affair see István Ormos, 'Ignaz Goldziher's Invitation to the Egyptian University', in: Essays in Honour of Alexander Fodor on His Sixtieth Birthday. Ed. K. Dévényi, T. Iványi (7Vie Arahist 23), 2001, 183-192. 9 0 Goldziher informed Martin Hartmann of his worries too. Machen Sie doch.... 54-55. 9 1 Letter dated Cairo, 12 December 1896. Bernhard Moritz (1859-1939) was director from 25 October 1896 until 31 August 1911. Ayman Fu'äd Sayyid, Dar al-kutub ai-misriyya..., 97, 103.; Johann Fiick, Die arabischen Studien in Europa bis in den Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts, Leipzig 1955, 316. 185
