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)

i /¡_ 2 Medical History in Hungary 1972 (Comm. Hist. Artis Med. Suppl. 6.) sciences. That is supported by the fact that the lama was the chief medical man of Lađakĥ, too. "He has given a complete account of the human body, specify­ing every member, articulation, fluid substances and distempers thereof, so fully as it is required for an intelligent physician to know the structure of our body." 6* In the introduction Buddha (Shakya) himself dwells on the significance of medicine and says that its knowledge is a virtue: "those who lay claim to the respect of others should know how to cure". 6 5 The importance of medicine is also shown by the fact that it fills five books in the sacred Stangyur and occupies a place equal to literature and alchemy, while there are occasional references to medicaments in Kahgyur as well. 6 6 Another interesting observation in Csoma's study concerns the basic re­quirements for mastering Hindu medicine. These are: the roots or the found­ation, the interpretation of theory, direction, and finally manual skill —that is a widespread combination of theory and practice. In enumerating the eight branches of curing, besides the general diseases they distinguished between infantile, female and senile diseases, and there was a distinct class for the directions aiming at the increasing of masculine power. Similar distinction was given to surgery, toxicosis and mental diseases. 6 7 Duka followed the lonely scholar on his last way to Lhassa at the age of 58, until Csoma's body, weakened by the many hardships and the effects of the tropical climate, fell victim to fever in April 1842 at Darjeeling. Duka ends his account with the memorial set up by the Bengal Asiatic Society and with the donations made by Körösi Csoma to his native Székely-land. These included the Kenderessy-Csoma endowment for the College of Nagyenyed for enabling an outstanding student to study abroad, the endowment given to the school at Körös and 100 gold sovereigns given in 1836 to the military school of Kézdi­vásárhely (today Tirgu Secuesc, Rumania). 6 8 In addition to the biography Duka was successful in helping the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to acquire "Csoma-relics", his books, letters and other belongings. Duka himself made an endowment in the Academy that triannually —(in April, the month when Csoma was born and died) —one of the members should deliver a "Körösi Csoma lecture" in the field of orientalism, a custom duly started in 1900. He also took the initiative that a statue of Csoma should be erected, which did not materialized before his death. A marble bust of the scholar was set up in 1910 in the lecturing-hall of the Academy, and its bronze copy was given to the Bengal Asiatic Society. 6 1 Note (03) p. 44. 6 5 Note (62), p. 2. 6 G Analysis of the Kahgyur and Stangyur. By Alexander Csoma de Kőrös. Bengal Asiatic Researches. Vol. 20. Part. 2., pp. 553—585. 6 7 Note (62) 6 8Duka, note (44), pp. 160-161,

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