J. Antall szerk.: Medical history in Hungary 1972. Presented to the XXIII. International Congress of the History of Medicine / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 6. (Budapest, 1972)
M. Vida : Serving two Nations: Tivadar Duka (1825—1908)
M. Vida : Serving two Nations: Tivadar Duka. 211 The rather small circle of orientalists in Europe soon learned about Csoma's activities and preserved his memory after his death. But in spite of the fact that his Tibetan grammar and dictionary were for long regarded as standard works, the many trials and self-sacrifices he had to encounter in his pioneering work had remained practically unknown before the appearance of Duka's writing. The main reason for the lack of interest showed for his person could be explained by the discovery that Tibetan literature was mostly a mere translation from Sanskrit or from old Indian Buddhist writings. In his native Hungary, where patriotic feeling was on the increase, the public was captured by the scholar who accepted all the sacrifices and set out on foot without any support to find the original homeland of the Hungarians in the wilderness of Central Asia. The first news about his secientific achievements reached Hungary belatedly in the 1830's: they stirred national pride but his researches into Tibetan Buddhist literature could not raise much interest as the study of oriental disciplines had hardly started. The withdrawing nature of his personality also added to the strangeness around him, so he became a kind of legendary figure. Despite his popular name the noted Hungarian linguists of the last third of the 19th century, standing on the platform of modern comparative linguistics "relegated him among those noble enthusiasts, in Hungary always to be found in abundance, who discarding critical methods and led only by the Fata Morgana of imaginary etymology sought to connect the origins of the Hungarian nation with all the centres of ancient Asian culture in turn : Assyria, China, India, etc . ad majorem gloriam patriae." 5 2 On the other hand one can find general interest for his personality already in the 1820's. One of his letters dated March 1 1820, which Csoma intended to be his will in case he would disappear on his journey, found its way with the help of Henry Willock to Csoma's relatives and to his former teacher at Nagyenyed (today Aind in Rumania), József Kovács. Here Csoma stated "that he left his country aiming to find the origins of the Hungarian nation and elaborating its early history." 5 3 Receiving this news the public in Transylvania and all over Hungary arranged a large-scale collection and the journal Tudományos Gyűjtemény (Scientific Collection) also offered help. Actually the first note about him appeared already in 1820 under the title "Nevezetes magyar utazó " (A Noteworthy Hungarian Traveller) when Sámuel Gyarmaty wrote a letter to the editor, Lajos Schedius. "Mr Körösi is a Transylvanian Székely who having finished his studies in his native land and led by the love of knowledge decided to give his life to the finding of the home of our ancestors ." After giving an account of Csoma's geographical and linguistical studies he asked the journal for its support. 5 4 A similar "memorandum" was drawn up in the following year by István Kultsár emphasizing the national significance of finding the traces of the origin of the Hungarians. 5 5 But the enthusiasm of the Hungarian 5 2 Stein, Aurél: Op. cit. p. 23. 5 3 Tudományos Gyűjtemény, 1825. No. 1., pp. 9-10, 5 4 Ibid., 1820. No. 10., pp. 121-122. 5 5 Ibid., 1821. No. 5., pp. 67-88, 14*
