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)
G. Buzinkayt Hungarians on Great Britain, 1620—1848. (Observations on English Education and Public Health in Hungarian Travelogues)
60 Medical History in Hungary 1972 (Comm. Hist. Artis Med. Suppl. 6.) For centuries Great Britain has remained for us a place of ever recurring wonders, and especially from the Hungarian Age of Reform onwards (1825— 1848), it was the school of the greatest personalities of Hungarian history and cultural history. It was in England where they could set up the highest possible standards in comparing Hungarian circumstances with a continuously progressing great empire and their experiences and studies there greatly contributed to the development of their theories and plans for the reform of Hungarian society, administration and education. 5 Márton Szepsi Csombor, a Presbyterian preacher and teacher, one of the most significant among our first travellers to England, and the very first who also published his experiences in 1G20 — in Hungarian language —writes in his book enthusiastically: "Pure and Christian England should always preserve its faith, name , well-deserved reputation and respect". 6 He goes on saying: "English people strongly protect their genealogy . Be he ever so mean, if you talk to him, he traces his genealogy back to noble or royal origin ." In London he exclaims: "I have seen several big cities in the countries I went, but I have never seen a town like this one...". 7 This enthusiasm did not fade until the 19th century: "The English are the most humane among all nations, and this can be regarded as a main feature in the analysis of their character " — János Zigán observed in 1808. 8 In 1837 the the young Bertalan Szemere —later, in 1849 Hungarian Prime Minister —said: "No matter how much you have seen, in London you'll be surprised, because other towns resemble each other, but London resembles only it self". 9 Varietas. Kolozsvár, 1943. p. 104.; In the middle of the 17th century Miklós Bethlen wrote the same: "In England ... I was compelled to speak in their language, even if badly, even if broken, because priests and even professors consider it a mere nuisance if they have to talk in Latin." c.f. Bethlen Miklós önéletírása (Autobiography of Miklós Bethlen), Budapest 1955. Vol. I. p. 188. 5 Horváth, J.: Az angol-magyar érintkezések utolsó évszázada (The last century of English —Hungarian relations) in: Történeti Szemle (Historical Review) 1929. p. 144. He observes: ".. .Hungarian public opinion was greatly influenced by English constitutional principles and political views, because in Hungary the English precedents never before enjoyed such a high reputation and were never before to such an extent in the focus of interest as during the Age of Reforms. U ñder liberal and centralist management the Pesti Hírlap-just as the conservative press —was full of English examples; our best publicists wrote essays on English speakers and statesmen." G Szepsi Csombor, op. cit. p. 99.; Békés, Á.: Szepsi Csombor Márton útja Angliában (Márton Szepsi Csombor's travellings in England) in: Angol Filológiai Tanulmányok II. Debrecen 1965. p. 35. 7Szepsi Csombor, op. cit. p. 101, 105. 8 Zigán, J.: Nagy Britanniának egyházi, polgári és tudománybéli állapatja a' XVIIldik század' vége felé. Nemzeteket és országokat ismertető gyűjtemény. (Ecclesiastical, civil and scientific state of Great Britain around the end of the 18th century. Collected review on nations and countries). Vol. I. Pest 1808. p. 70. 9Szemere, B. : Utazás külföldön (Travelling abroad). Second enlarged edition. Vol. II. Pest 1845. p. 10.
