William Penn Life, 2003 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2003-03-01 / 3. szám
Ma ovar NvpIvíYifl^y on yvi y Count István Széchényi ‘The Greatest Hungarian’ by Stephen Sisa He was a man who felt quite at ease on wildly galloping horses, amid the fire of cannons and a hail of bullets, in dueling with swords, in the reception halls of kings and great leaders, in leading his company of hussars in an attack, or in storming the hearts of beautiful women in their parlors. And when this "aristocrat of aristocrats" returned to Hungary, his father took him, along with his two brothers, to one of the several Széchényi estates. There, old Széchényi lined up his sons before a delegation of serfs who had come to greet their landlords, and said: "Look at these serfs, my dear sons. It is their work and sweat which produces the wealth that enables you to live according to your rank. Never forget this and treat them accordingly. Always show them compassion, love and gratitude. And to demonstrate this gratitude, step forward, my sons, and kiss the hand of the oldest serf in this deputation." The Széchényi brothers complied obediently and ceremoniously. This spirit reigned in the family of Count Ferenc Széchényi, the scion of a long line of soldiers and churchmen distinguished for honorable service to their country. István Széchényi was still a young man and much of his time was spent on leave in Vienna where he lived the gay and luxurious life~a life varied, in his case, by periodic visits to France and England. A decisive event in his life occurred in 1820 at Debrecen when he first met Baron Miklós Wesselényi, who was only 23 at the time but whose fame had already swept across the border from Transylvania (Erdély) into Hungary proper. After meeting Wesselényi, Széchényi jotted in his diary (which he started to write in 1814, at the age of 23 and kept for the rest of his life): "His love of the land, his lofty conceptions and charisma have The month’s English-language version of “Magyar Nyelv” is excerpted from the book, “The Spirit of Hungary” by Stephen Sisa. Last month’s English-language account of the life of Miklós Wesselényi was also excerpted from this book. enchanted my soul...." Széchényi began his great reform work in a peculiar way: He introduced horse racing and founded the National Casino in Budapest, which were meeting places for noblemen to discuss public affairs and play cards. But preliminary steps towards Széchényi's grand entrance into Hungarian public life happened in 1825. He first attracted attention at the Diet of Pozsony by delivering his maiden speech to the Upper House in Hungarian. This act was an historic first, because until then the deliberations had been held exclusively in Latin. Széchényi's example was soon followed by other Manates. One day, while the Lower House was discussing the subject of how to raise funds for an institute for the cultivation of the Hungarian language and literature, Széchényi asked for permission to say a few words. "Since I am not a delegate, I have no say in the discussions," he said, "but I am a landowner and should an institute for the cultivation of the Hungarian language be founded I am ready to sacrifice one year's income from my estates for this purpose." Széchényi's announcement came as a bombshell and inspired other aristocrats to follow his example. Their action secured the establishment of the Hungarian Academy of Science within one hour. Széchényi's first deed may have been his most famous, but not necessarily the greatest. More significant was a book he wrote entitled "Hitel" ("Credit"). The book dealt with Hungary's economic problems, attacking the nobles exemption from taxation and the whole "antiquated and rusty system" which protected the rights of the nobility. Although he followed up "Hitel" with two similar works"Vilag" and "Stadium''-he was not a writer primarily, but a man of action. He was not a daydreamer, as many of his compatriots were, but an achiever of dreams. While in England in 1832 he met the famous bridge builder, Adam Clark, and persuaded him to come to Hungary to build a suspension bridge over the Danube between Pest and Buda. This became the most cherished project of Szechenyi's life. Széchényi also deserves credit for regulating Hungary's second-largest river, the Tisza. He introduced steamship traffic on Lake Balaton, founded banking houses and societies for the propagation of Hungarian wines, and promoted the growing of silk worms. He also assisted in planning and erecting the first shipyard at Buda and in the building of the first large flour mill. It was also Széchényi who initiated the building of railroads in Hungary. In contrast to Kossuth, who favored national independence to preceed everything else, Széchényi wanted economic advancement first. Despite this difference, Kossuth always showed Széchényi reverence. In a speech Kossuth delivered to a meeting of the Assembly of Pest, he called Széchényi "the Greatest Hungarian." In the spring of 1848, the first independent Hungarian ministry was formed, as a result of the Revolution. Széchényi joined the cabinet as minister of transportation. But, soon the clouds of war were gathering on Hungary's horizon, and Szechenyi's nervous system, damaged by continuous worry and Continued on Page 24 16 Willi« Pfia Life, March 2003
