Hungarica [antikvár]

God has created me a Hungárián, my parents have brought me into the Catholic Church and my own choice has made me an Australian. I have never felt a conflict of loyalties. I owe the sweet gifts of childhood and youth to Hungary, the harmony of my philosophy to my religion and the fruits of my working life to Australia. Our children and grandchildren born outside Hungary should not be made toface the dilemma ofwhether to be a Hungárián or an Australian (American, etc.). They should be good Australians - and cherish their Hungárián heritage. Their loyalty to their present country should gain an added dimension by the historic depth of their ancestral culture, their Magyar heritage. This is the proper concept of "Multiculturalism". This little book offers a collection of "chronicles" - descriptions of events and stories of personalities chosen, at random, by their anniversaries. They form a mosaic which depicts the civilization of the people who were multicultural before they settled in Central Europe eleven centuries ago. Though never an "empire" and rarely a "great power", Hungary has taught the world one useful lesson: how to create one nation out of many. At the risk of sounding pompous, one may speak of "Pax Hungarica": the Hungárián method of pacifying their hostile environment. Instead of repelling, destroying or conquering their aggressive neighbours, the Hungarians invited them into their country, or, if they came uninvited, integrated them into their composite nation. "If you can't fight them, make them jóin you", is the Magyar variant of the well-known proverb. The reader will find among these chronicles the stories of somé foreigners who came to Hungary (invited or uninvited) and who eventually chose to live and die for Hungary. This undescribable magic attraction of Hungary and all things Hungárián is, perhaps, explained by somé of these tales. I hope that our children and their children, our friends and their friends will read these chronicles and feel somé of the pride, love, sorrow and joy I felt when I remembered them.