Ferenc Kazinczy
Ferenc Kazinczy, was a Hungarian author, poet, translator, neologist, an agent in the regeneration of the Hungarian language and literature at the turn of the 19th century. Today his name is connected with the extensive Language Reform of the 19th century, when thousands of words were coined or revived, enabling the Hungarian language to keep up with scientific progress and become an official language of the nation in 1844. For his linguistic and literary works he is regarded as one of the cultural founders of the Hungarian Reform Era along with Dávid Baróti Szabó, Ferenc Verseghy, György Bessenyei, Mátyás Rát and János Kis.
Life
Early years
Ferenc Kazinczy was born in Érsemjén, Bihar, Hungary. His father, József Kazinczy de Kazincz came from an old noble family and worked as a magistrate at Abaúj County. His mother was Zsuzsanna Bossányi de Nagybossány. Ferenc had four brothers and four sisters. Until the age of eight he was brought up by his maternal grandfather, Ferenc Bossányi, the notary of Bihar County and parliamentary ambassador, where he did not hear any foreign word during his first seven years.He wrote his first letters in December 1764 to his parents who lived in Alsóregmec at that time. In 1766 his aunt got sick, therefore they moved to Debrecen for three months for the healing treatment. Kazinczy studied during that time at the College of Debrecen. After the death of his aunt he returned to his parents where he learnt Latin and German from a student of the College of Késmárk. His well educated and enlightened father, experiencing rare susceptibility, was delighted with his son, so he also taught him and communicated with him in Latin and German. Kazinczy continued his language studies in Késmárk in 1768 in a preparatory class.
His father, József Kazinczy, initially wanted Ferenc to become a soldier, but Ferenc's resistance and the development of his other especially literary talents diverged him from his intent, and then he wanted to see his son as a writer. However the father, as a pietistic educator, understood under the profession of a writer a religious one, and therefore ordered his fourteen-year-old son to translate Christian Fürchtegott Gellert's dissertations on religion from Latin to Hungarian. Otherwise, the father provided his son advanced education: Ferenc was educated in foreign languages, could practice fine art and music, and for seeing the world, he brought him to county assemblies and for the lunch of the emperor, Joseph II when the ruler visited Sárospatak. In 1774 the father urged his son to continue his translations, but Ferenc preferred to spend time reading György Bessenyei's Ágis tragédiája, Ignác Mészáros's Kártigám and other belles-lettres works. He broadened his knowledge with the idylls of Salomon Gessner and the poems of Vergilius, Horace, Anacreon.
He did not neglect his theological studies, and even at home they frequently debated over theological topics during lunch and dinner. After his father's death in 1774, he continued to pursue the translation of Christian Fürchtegott Gellert's De religione until his teacher of theology dismissed him to do it because he found Gellert's works too difficult to interpret. Ferenc turned slowly from theological to more secular and national topics and prepared a short geographical description of the country. István Losonczi Hányoki's Three Small Mirrors served as an example for his work. It was a childish compilation with the title Geography of Hungary..., which he later described as "suddenly scribbled" and was published in Kassa, Hungary at his mother's expense in 1775.
Sárospatak (1769–1779)
On September 11, 1769, he became a student at the College of Sárospatak where he taught himself Ancient Greek. He studied philosophy and law during his first years. In 1773 he started to learn rhetoric. Even in the same year December he greeted General Count Miklós Beleznay as a member of the thanksgiving delegation of the college in Bugyi on a special reception for donating money toward the construction of the college. Then Kazinczy saw Pest for the first time. Until 1775 he attended the theology courses at the college and from a French soldier who came to Sárospatak learnt French.He translated György Bessenyei's short story written in German, Die Amerikaner, to Hungarian and published it in 1776 in Kassa with the title Az amerikai Podoc és Kazimir keresztyén vallásra való megtérése. He recommended his translation to his mother. This work informed him about Deism and the principle of religious tolerance. In his translation Kazinczy used the word világosság the first time in the history of the Hungarian language. Bessenyei welcomed it and his response was inspirational for Kazinczy. Kazinczy understood Bessenyei's response as a liberating letter for the profession of an author. He was happy finding the contact with one of the most prominent authors in Hungarian literature of that time. But Kazinczy did not become a follower of Bessenyei, because Bessenyei as a culture politician and philosopher did not mature his works so much so that he could create a literary school.
Ferenc's uncle was a member of the delegation of Zemplén County in Vienna at the royal court and he took the young Kazinczy along. This trip made a huge impact on him. It was the first time that Kazinczy saw the emperor's city, whose magnificent collections, especially his pictures, completely enthralled him.
At that time Kazinczy followed the thoughts of Salomon Gessner, Christoph Martin Wieland and Dávid Baróti Szabó. Later he got Sándor Báróczi's translation of Jean-François Marmontel's Contes Moraux from the librarian of Sárospatak, which became his favourite book and he later took it along with him to the prison. So he decided to find a way to lay a wreath on Báróczi's works. What fascinated him was the beautiful new style, the rhythmically arranged packing of sentences, the rigidity and purity of the language with a dramatic compactness, and the French strangeness which made the translation truly incomprehensible for amateur readers. It showed Kazinczy a sample for the cultivation of Hungarian belles-lettres. Thus after being primarily inspired by Bessenyi he discovered a life goal as a translator and cultivator of the Hungarian language.
Kassa (1779–1780)
After finishing his studies he travelled to Kassa on September 9, 1779, to meet Sámuel Milecz, the prosecutor of Tolna County, where he did his law degree and first met his young love, Erzsébet Rozgonyi and one of his role models, Dávid Baróti Szabó. He stayed there until October 18.His world-view crises occurred during his stay in Kassa. He turned his back on the religious thesis and "useless" theological studies. Between 1779 and 1781 Kazinczy joined the laic, deist perception of religion which was free of dogmas. The artistic cult of beauty replaced the lost religious experience. His enthusiasm for beauty became his passion, consuming his whole personality and worldview. Sometime in 1780 he started his first major literary work, the translation of Salomon Gessner's writings among others. Soon after that he published the Hungarian version of Siegwart in 1783. Because of his translations he came in contact with several foreign authors and corresponded with Gessner, Johann Kaspar Lavater and Daniel Chodowiecki. His connection with renowned European scholars made him feel chosen. So after Rousseau he stated his own conscious separation from ordinary people.
Meanwhile, in 1779, he met Miklós Révai in Nagyvárad, Hungary. Révai was a grammarian who acclimatized the analysing of words according to the rules of morphology in the Hungarian language. They became friends and often shared their own ideas about literature and grammar with each other.
Eperjes (1781–1782)
Between January 11, 1781 and June 2, 1782, he continued his practice of law in Eperjes, Hungary. Besides his job he spent a lot of time with arts, too: dancing, playing the flute, drawing, painting and reading. His favourites were especially the German writers. During this time in Eperjes he fell in love with an "educated girl", the daughter of Ninos Steinmetz, who had a great influence on him.Pest (1782–1783)
He continued his practice of law in August 1782 in Pest where he was sworn in as a hired clerk of József Bernáth. During his time in Pest he came in contact with two older, prominent authors, Lőrinc Orczy and Gedeon Ráday. Ráday introduced him even more to knowledge of Western literature, but also to an appreciation of the old Hungarian writers, especially Miklós Zrínyi. This friendship greatly developed Kazinczy's aesthetic sense and broadened his horizons. Kazinczy was still working on the translations of Salomon Gessner's idylls and showed them to Ráday and Báróczi. Their enthusiastic acknowledgement greatly enhanced his writer ambition. The fact that Kazinczy was working a lot on the translations of Gessner's maudlin, sentimental idylls, was partly brought by the sentimental trend at the time, but on the other hand, Kazinczy intended to practice the Hungarian prose in the depiction of emotions and expression of fond moods.He found himself soon in a more lively intellectual and political life in Pest and became interested in the church policies of Joseph II which were born in the spirit of absolutism.
Miklós Beleznay, József Teleki, Gedeon Ráday and László Prónay were working on the preparation of the Patent of Toleration in 1781 just when Kazinczy became their trustworthy man. As a Protestant Kazinczy was glad to be so close to the "champions of Protestant freedom". The policies of the emperor on religious tolerance, on the press, and on the permission for Protestants to hold office strengthened his beliefs in his Freemasonry convictions of believing in the illusion of the "brightness" coming from above. Already in Miskolc, he became a member of the secret society in early 1784 which generally supported the civilization process. It had a major role in the refinement of morals and tastes, unlike the former religiosity, it captured rather the recently alienated members of the biblical religions with a mystical, mostly naturalistic mysticism. Kazinczy later, in the beginning of the 1790s, started to sympathize with the ideas of the Illuminati order, and wrote about them enthusiastically to György Aranka: "their goals are... evertere superstitionem, opprimere Tyrannismum, benefacere... is it not the sweetest happiness of life?".