Debrecen [antikvár]

Salubrious Permanence What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the name 'Debrecen'? If you are not from Debrecen, how would you be able to perceive the inherent intellectual spirit, the overall heritage of the place, let alone its present atmosphere that continues to cherish age-old traditions? For the residents of the city, these questions should be much easier to answer. However, even the locals would often find themselves in a dilemma to choose a metaphor that accurately depicts their life here. The residents of this "most civic" city, along with their numerous descendants, only think in terms of whether it is easy or painful for them to live in Debrecen. At most, they would perhaps be able to assess if they can live up to the demands made by the city. As writer Magda Szabó put it, Debrecen neither gives nor asks for things but demands them. There is no other Hungárián city which was given the same strict provision for the journey through life: the task of having to learn everything about themselves, including past history. Yet the same provision must alsó be passed on to those who do not live here. This message states that they should alsó get to know Debrecen, since the fate of this city incorporates the destiny of our country and nation. Moreover, they would be able to get a closer view and a better understanding of the desire of Hungárián Protestants for freedom and survival. The city is alsó characterized by a légion of opposite notions, sometimes extreme ones, many of which are related to the issues of dependence versus independence, or personal freedom versus commonresponsibilities. It was dependence and the responsibilities on the one hand that made the spirit of folk in Debrecen so tough and acute. On the other hand, their notorious passión and vehemence, sometimes coupled with downright stubbornness. As for independence, Debrecen became the "guardian city or fortress of freedom" during the winter and spring of 1849, providing shelter for the revolutionary government together with ardor and fervor for the whole country. The walls of both Református Kollégium (the Calvinist College) and Nagytemplom (the Great Church) testify the will, courage, and faith of Debrecen. It was then and there that heart and intellect became one, as a result of which Debrecen, to this very day, considers the legacy of both outstanding statesmen of the War of Independence, Kossuth and Széchenyi, as its own. Yet the most salient feature, or rather, the essence of the Debrecen brand of permanency seents to be the will and capacity for survival and safeguarding values. It is not by chance that the words engraved on the fagade of the College are "Orando et laborando" (pray and work), i.e., the instruction to instill the spirit of believing and working in the congregation. Only an industrious lifestyle can save us from the three deadly vices of sin, destitution, and tedium.