Széchenyi István és munkatársai az Akadémia dolgában

Abstract

The present article explores, through the correspondence of the officials of the Hungarian Learned Society, who was involved in the Society’s affairs during its early years, in what manner, and to what extent they participated in addressing and resolving emerging issues. As vice-president, István Széchenyi corresponded regularly with his colleagues and employees in the Society about academic matters. In most cases, he expressed his dilemmas regarding a particular issue or his arguments in favor of a particular decision at length in his private correspondence, thus his letters to Antal Tasner further nuance the positions expressed in his (semi-)official letters. In the early years of the Society, there were several issues in which almost all of the actors mentioned in the article were involved, as documented by the correspondence: the start of the institution's operations, the publication of the dictionary and the Tudománytár (Encyclopedia of Science), and the 1835 election of officers. For a more detailed account of the latter situation, Ferenc Kölcsey's private correspondence is also available, which reveals why it was a difficult decision for him to accept or reject the position of secretary.