Life and works of Alexander Csoma de Körös : $b A biography compiled chiefly from hitherto unpublished dataDuka, Tivadar
History
Life and works of Alexander Csoma de Körös : $b A biography compiled chiefly from hitherto unpublished data
Duka, Tivadar
Kőrösi Csoma, Sándor, 1784-1842
“I was on very friendly terms with Csoma during my stay in Calcutta,
where I found to my satisfaction that the people of that city had much
clearer ideas about Hungary than before, for which, doubtless, we are
indebted to Csoma. Nevertheless, the truth must be told, that I never
saw a more strange man than him. He lives like a hermit among his
Tibetan and other works, in the house of the Asiatic Society, which he
seldom leaves. Of an evening he takes slight exercise in the grounds,
and then he causes himself to be locked up in his apartment; it
therefore invariably happened that when, during my evening rides, I
called on him, it was necessary for me always to wait a while till the
servants produced the keys to unlock the door of his apartment. He was
cheerful; often merry, his spirits rose very considerably when we took
the opportunity of talking about Hungary. Altogether, I found him very
talkative, and if he once started on this strain there was no getting
to the end of it. Often, when speaking of our native land, or
discussing the subject concerning the origin of the Hungarians, our
pleasant conversation was protracted till after 10 o’clock. I began to
suspect, however, that he would never see his native land again, being
then already advanced in age, and yet he proposed remaining for ten
years longer in the country, to enable him to glean whatever he could
find in the old writings, and such a secluded, one would almost call it
a prison life, might soon undermine the powers of any constitution and
leave but a mere shadow of an existence.”
Besides the aged Professor Szabó, there is yet another living witness
who knew Csoma face to face, namely, the Rev. S. C. Malan, D.D.,
Oxford, now Rector of Broadwindsor, Dorset. He was connected with the
Bishops’ College of Calcutta, and during his short stay there, as
secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, was on intimate terms with
the subject of this memoir.
Dr. Malan says [46] as to Körösi, “I never think of him without
interest and gratitude. I had heard of him and seen his Tibetan Grammar
and Dictionary before leaving England.
“One of my early visits was to the Asiatic Society’s house, Calcutta,
where Csoma lived as under-librarian. I found him a man of middle
stature, much weather-beaten from his travels, but kind, amiable, and
willing to impart all he knew....
“I happened to be the only person who was troubling himself about
Tibetan; he and I became very good friends during the whole, alas! too
short, stay in India. And when we parted he gave me the whole of his
Tibetan books, some thirty volumes. I value such relics highly, and
still use the same volume which I used to turn over with him.”
These volumes, forty in number, are now the property of the Royal
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, through the kindness of Dr. Malan, the
donor. [47]
There is a more recent letter from Dr. Malan to the writer, giving his
opinion about a likeness of Csoma, and which is quoted at the end.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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