Part I, Chapter 1

THE ETERNAL FIGHT: A King, who earns his bread

This chapter primarily deals with the King's activities on his name day, and descriptions as well as excerpted events meant to illustrate his quotidian life. The below translated excerpts, as elsewhere, do not give a complete account of the chapter but instead highlight portions that I perceive to be significant.



Százegy ágyúlövés a gellérthegyi fellegvárból jelenté Habsburgi Árpád legmagasabb névnapjának megvirradtát.

Hundred-and-one canon shots from the Gellért mountain citadel signal the sunrise of Habsburgi Árpád's most high name day.

"Habsburgi" is the Hungarian adjectival form of "Habsburg", functionally equivalent to the German "von Habsburg". While even in Jókai's time the King's name would have had localized forms in all his subjects' languages, his consistently being referred to by this name (paired with his portrayal as an unabashed hungarophile) suggests that the Hungarian form of his name is preferred by the King above the Austrian (and all other) versions. Be aware that Hungarian name order places the family name first, and given names last.

Habsburgi Árpád Magyarországnak ez idő szerint dicsőségesen uralkodó királya, nemkülönben a Magyarországgal szövetséges országoknak császárja, királya, nagyfejedelme, őrgrófja és a többi.

Habsburgi Árpád is at this time Hungary's gloriously ruling King, additional also being Kaiser, King, Chief Prince, Archduke, et cetera of the countries in union with Hungary.

Austria appears to be explicitly omitted and grouped in with all other countries in union with Hungary--further indication of the King's partiality toward Hungary. It is interesting, though perhaps politically not otherwise feasible, that Jókai, writing mere decades after Hungary's second uprising against the Habsburgs, imagines a future Hungary still under a Habsburg but with the sort of favoured status Austria previously enjoyed. Albeit it may simply be a case of Jókai being among those who saw the Ausgleich as being a positive step in the right direction.

Huszonhét év előtt – tehát 1925-ben – a római szent Kúria által „honalapító” Árpád a szentek közé emelteték.

Twenty-seven years ago--therefore in 1925--the Roman Holy Curia raised "the homeland-founder" Árpád to sainthood.

While I am not certain whether "Roman Holy Curia" is the correct translation, it is unambiguous in the original that the Catholic Church is meant.

It should be pointed out that Habsburgi Árpád is the King of Hungary, Kaiser of Austria, et cetera... in other words, the Ruler of Austria-Hungary and all its holdings in the novel's time frame, circa 1952. Whereas Árpád (the first, or "the homeland-founder") is the "Fejedelem" (Grand Patriarch) of the Hungarian tribes moving in to Europe and conquering much of historical Hungary, circa the 890's.

Oka volt a kanonizációnak azon körülmény, miszerint a legmagasabb királyi anya újszülött fiát egyenesen e névre óhajtá kereszteltetni, leghívebb népe iránti rokonszenvének tanújeléül.

One reason for the canonization was the circumstance, according to which the most high Queen mother desired specifically to name her newborn son with this name, as a sign of her affections for her most loyal thede.

I use the (I believe Middle English) word "thede" to mean "people" as an abstract grouping of people who are ethnoculturally linked. Basically equivalent to the Greek "demos". I do this in order to avoid an ambiguity between "people" as in "multiple individuals" and "people" as in "a mass of individuals treated as a collective singular", since such an ambiguity does not exist in the Hungarian. It is also interesting that Hungarians are characterized as "most loyal", again, as at the time of the novel's writing the second Hungarian uprising is still fairly recent history.

De mindenekfölött erős védok volt Árpád kanonizáltatására az a nevezetes történelmi adat, mely az első magyar fejedelem fehéregyházai sírjának fölfedeztetése alkalmával jött napfényre.

...

De legnevezetesebb volt a cölöpkriptában talált aranylánc, mely éppen a sisakos koponyát köríté, s melyhez egy hármas arany kereszt volt foglalva (a minőt manapság is használnak Dél-Oroszországban a raszkolnik szektáriusok). Ezzel be lett bizonyítva, hogy Árpád fejedelem már a honfoglaláskor, ha konfirmálva nem volt is, de formaszerint keresztyénnek állítható: ami annak az okát is kideríti, hogy miért viselt a nyelvrokon kazár fejedelem Mén Marót ellen oly hosszan tartó hadjáratot, aki ugyanis soknejű volt, tehát Mahomed-hitű.

But above all else a strong defense/reason for Árpád's canonization was the notable historical detail that came to light upon the discovery of Hungary's first Grand Patriarch's grave at Fehéregyháza.

...

But most remarkable was the golden chain (necklace) found within the wooden crypt, surrounding the hatted skull('s neck), and to which a triple cross was attached (such as the raskolniki sectarians still wear in Southern Russia). With this it was proved that by the time of the Conquest Grand Patriarch Árpád was, even if unconfirmed, basically a Christian: which also explains why he long waged war upon the Khazar Grand Patriarch Menumorut, who was a linguistic kin, who of course was a polygamist and therefore of Mohamed's faith.

Be aware that many cities mentioned in the book that may today be outside of Hungary are very likely considered/treated by the novel to be Hungarian cities, albeit doubtless many with significant non-Hungarian minorities or even local or regional non-Hungarian majorities.

The triple cross is doubtless the Eastern Orthodox cross with the crooked crossbar toward the bottom.

In contrast with the accepted practice, I translate "Fejedelem" (whose most direct [albeit not literal] translation would be something like "Great Head [of the Nation]") neither as "Chieftain" nor as "Grand Prince", since the title sound as (if not more) majestic in Hungarian as the Hungarian words for "King" (Király) or "Emperor" (Császár). Also, the authority of the Fejedelem was not meaningfully lesser than that of the King, despite definitely being both different and different in scope in some ways. I view the translations "Chieftain" and "Grand Prince" as historically rooted (and doubtless altogether subconscious) attempts to deemphasize the prestige/significance/legitimacy of non-Christian/non-European rulers. In light of all this, I find "Grand Patriarch" to be the most satisfactory translation and will consistently use it instead of the aforementioned alternatives.

Kánoni indoka volt e kanonizációnak az, hogy Árpád, ki egy egész népet kihozott a pogányságnak világrészéből, Ázsiából, s azt a keresztyénség keblébe átvezérelte, méltán sorozható a „hittérítők” legnagyobbjai közé,

The canonical justification for the canonization was that Árpád, having lead an entire thede out of the pagan part of the world that is Asia right into the bosom of christendom, can rightly be considered among the greatest "evangelists",

Méltó oka volt a kanonizációnak pedig az, hogy a szomorú korszakban oly balcsillagzatok jártak Európa fölött, melyeknek befolyása alatt a még mindig rómainak nevezett, de Rómát elhagyni kényszerült egyházi fejedelmi kúria koronás fejével együtt legbiztosabb menedékét találta a „négyfolyamú” országban ... a pápa Pozsony városát választá lakhelyéül,

A worthy reason for the canonization was that, influenced by the unfortunate stars of a sad era in Europe, the Church Curia still calling itself Roman was forced to leave Rome and with its crowned head found safest refuge in the "four rivered" country ... the Pope chose the city of Pozsony as his place of residence,

Pozsony despite it being Slovakia's capital as Bratislava in our present day, should be imagined as a Hungarian/Austro-Hungarian city, having been home to Hungary's parliament just a few decades before the writing of this novel.

Tehát 1952. július 15-én százegy ágyúlövés hirdeté Szent Árpád napjának megvirradtát.

So on July 15th of 1952, hundred-and-one canon shots announce the beginning of Saint Árpád's day.

Thus Jókai's book begins about 80 or so years in the future (counting from its 1872 publication).

kétszáznegyven léggömb emelkedik ki ... mik ezer mérte (mètre) hosszaságú köteleken tartva s egymáshoz fűzve, az új stratégia vívmányát mutatják fel; amikből az ostromló sereg fejére trinitrin, durranilin, dinamit, nitromannit és pyroxilin lövegeket lehet hajigálni, anélkül, hogy az röppentyűivel a mennyei tűzaknákat elérhetné; legfőbb rendeltetésük levén pedig az ostromló léggömbök hasonértékű ellensúlyozása.

two-hundred-and-forty hot-air balloons rise up ... which are both tied to the ground and to each other by thousand meter long ropes, showcasing the new advances in strategy; from them "trinitrin" (Nitroglycerin?), "durranilin" (?), dynamite, "nitromannit" (Mannitol hexanitrate?) and "pyroxilin" (pyroxile?) shells can be dumped onto the heads of the besieging troops, without their bullets (?) in-turn being able to reach these heavenly fire-mines; though their primary purpose being the countering of likewise besieging hot-air balloons.

This is extrapolation from the existing use of non-steerable balloons used in warfare by the time of the writing of this book.

S mind a kétszáznegyven hadi léggömb körös-körül fel van lobogózva őfelsége minden országainak színeit képviselő zászlókkal, ... s egy villanyütésre legöngyölődik ... a Duna fölött huszonhárom zászló, őfelsége valamennyi országainak címereivel.

And all the two-hundred-and-forty martial hot-air balloons are surrounded by flags representing all of His Majesty's country's colours, ... and from an electric signal (?) roll down ... over the Danube twenty-three flags, with all of His Majesty's countries' coats of arms.

More emphasis on cultural pluralism.

Az az ing egy páncéling.

Húsz rét tafota erősen összevissza varrva selyemmel képezi ezt a páncélt. Feltalálója, ki ezt felajánlá, saját testén állta ki a próbát, puskagolyóval húsz lépésről, revolverrel közvetlen közelből engedve magára lövöldöztetni, a páncélt nem bírta a golyó átszakítani. E páncél neve „gambisson”.

That shirt is an armour-shirt.

Twenty rét (altogether 4200 sq. m - 17460 sq. m) tafota (?) strongly sewed back and forth with silk forms this armour. Its inventor, who had offered it up, tested it upon his own body, allowing himself to be shot at with a gun from twenty steps' distance, and with a revolver from point-blank range. The bullet could in neither case rip through the armour. This armour is called "gambisson".

Unfortunately I am uncertain of the meaning of the word "tafota", though it might mean something like "sheet" or "contiguous length of fabric". The point seems to be that a lot of fabric is layered... which, while may sound rather like a kevlar bullet-proof vest, also has earlier analogues.

– Felség, azt fel kell venni. Az olasz király őfelségére kétszer lőttek rá, a francia köztársaság elnökére háromszor, az angol király őfelségére négyszer, a spanyol királyra csak egyszer, de nyolc fegyverből, a szerb királyt el is találták, az orosz cárt nem is említve, .. a Mahmud szultán őfelsége ellen utóbbi időkben merényeltetett.

- Your Majesty, you must wear it. The Italian King was shot at twice, the French Republic's President thrice, the English King four times, the Spanish King just once but from eight different weapons, and the Serb King was actually hit too, not to mention the Russian Czar, ... recently did Sultan Mahmud experience an attempt on his life.

A list that gives an idea about the sort of international political circumstances envisioned by Jókai at the time of the beginning of his novel.

pápa elhagyta Rómát, később Avignont is; s egy ideig Máltában időzve, végre Pozsonyba menekült, s erős ellentétben volt a világi kormányokkal. Azonkívül Magyarországra menekültek az európai államoknak változás következtében eltávozott fejedelmei, volt itt nápolyi és spanyol Bourbon-, Welf-, Bonaparte- és Orléans-, Romanov-, Chambord-, Coburg- és Karagyorgyevics-dinasztia: s azoknak a monarchia mind menedékjoggal és protekcióval tartozott, úgyhogy egy időben kétféle teljes diplomatiai corps működött az udvarnál, egyik a legitim, de elűzött praetendenseké, másik az illegitim, de tettleges hatalomé. ... mindenkinek a saját nyelvén kellett válaszolnia, azon időben a francia nyelv diplomáciai általánossága a nemzetiségi elv érvényre jutása által meg levén szüntetve: tehát spanyolul, angolul, franciául, németül, románul, olaszul, szerbül, görögül és törökül (az orosz nincs közötte, hogy miért nincs, azt majd megtudjuk később)

the Pope left Rome, then later Avignon too; and spent some time in Malta, finally fleeing to Pozsony, being in strong opposition to the worldly governments. Furthermore to Hungary did flee the former leaders of European countries where changes had manage to unseat them. There were Napolitans and Spanish Bourbon, Welf, Bonaparte and Orléans, Romanov, Chambord, Coburg and Karadyordyevich dynasties: and to all of them the Monarchy owed refuge and protection, so that at any given time, there were two full diplomatic corps at the court, one belonging to the legitimate but exiled pretenders, the others to the illegitimate but de facto powers. ... everybody had to be answered in their own language, by that time the general use of French as the language of diplomacy having been ceased under the aegis of nationalism: therefore the answers had to come in Spanish, English, French, German, Romanian, Italian, Serbian, Greek, and Turkish (Russian not being on the list for reasons that will become clear later)

More insight into the political state of Europe.

Végre a légen keresztül röpült fel őfelsége a királyi vár erkélyeig, egy óriási léggömb csónakjában, a léggömb tetején ülő aeronautának hűségére volt bízva az alatta lebegők élete: egy meggyújtott gyufa elég az egész léggömböt egyszerre fellobbantani, s az aeronauták mind internacionalisták.

Finally His Majesty flew through the air all the way to the Royal Castle's terrace, in his gigantic hot-air balloon boat, trusting the lives of those floating thus to the aeronaut sitting atop the hot-air balloon: for a single lit match could explode the entire hot-air balloon in an instant, and all the aeronauts are internationalists.

I chose this excerpt primarily for the vague political implication about aeronauts therein.

Átellenben a királlyal ül az észak-amerikai államok követe, s a menü hátlapjára jegyezget valamit.

Across from the King sits the ambassador of the north-american states, and he is scribling something onto the back of his menu.

The phrase "north-american states" is very close to the colloquial Hungarian name for the United States of America (i.e.: "Amerikai államok" which would translate to "American States"). It is not clear at this point in the book whether the suggestion is that the United States and Canada (and perhaps Mexico?) merged into a single Union, or whether despite being separate countries they opt to present joint diplomatic representation abroad.

Őfelsége nemcsak a misén jelenik meg a Szent Árpád-székesegyházban, hanem az egész délelőttöt arra fordítja, hogy a protestánsok, óhitűek és héber vallásúak templomaiban is fölkeresse a szent szertartásokat, nehogy valamelyik hitfelekezet háttérbe téve érezze magát, s emiatt zúgolódjék.

His Majesty does not only show up at the mass held at Saint Árpád church, but spends the entire morning seeking out the holy rituals in the temples of the Protestants, Old-Faithers and those of the Hebrew religion, lest one of the faith-groups feel ignored and become discontent.

More cultural pluralism. I am not certain what "Old-Faithers" refers to... but it is conceivable that the idea is that this is a faith-group that (believes itself to have) revived the pre-Christian Hungarian pagan religion... or perhaps started a uniquely Hungarian flavour of Christianity supposedly based on pre-European-contact Christianity of the Hungarians. (Such notions were entertained and even popular at one time, but by now and have long been discredited.)

A simpler explanation might be "Old-Faithers" referring to Orthodox Christians... but this is the first time I have encountered the term, so I cannot meaningfully connect it to either the former or the latter theory conclusively.

Ő tudja, hogy Oroszországban mi történik. Az orosz respublika borzasztóan fegyverkezik. A roppant néptömegek, mik a nemesség ellen fellázadtak, foglalkozást keresnek, s valami nagy organizáló talentum alakítja át a hadsereget. Észak-amerikai kéz dolgozik benne. A hadi léggömböket, miket eddig csak várostromokhoz használtak megdöbbentő sikerrel, most újabban csatatéri működésre alkalmazták, melyben a lovasság is szerepet játszik.

He knows what is happening in Russia. The Russian Republic is arming itself at an alarming rate. The great masses of people, that had rebelled against the nobility, now seek professions, and some great organizing talent is reshaping the army. North-America has a hand in this. The martial hot-air balloons, that until then had only been used for castle sieges, and with great success too, they now have started to employ for use on the battle-field, in a way incorporating the cavalry too.

There will be more about Russia in chapter 2.

Foreword

{The below is the full translation of Jókai's "Foreword" to "The Novel of Next Century".}

This work makes no demand to be considered one among the many so-called "state novels", like Thomas Moor's well known "Utopia" that attempts, through worthy fancies, the [development|bringing about] of mankind's state of artless perfection on a [barren|mere] island; Holberg's "Niels Klim's Underground Travels"; Swift's masterwork of "Gulliver's Travels" that draw a picture through satire of the travestied relations of familiar states; or Campanella's "Civitas Solis"; or Cabet's "Voyage en. Icarie" that was created primarily in the service of party ideologies; or Terrason's "Sethos" that was supposedly compiled in the tradition of Egyptian hieroglyphs; or Fénelon's "Telamach"; or the imaginative and mythical descriptions of the mysterious Kingdom of "Ophir", and the countries and islands of "Scydromedia", "Dimocala", "Ajaoja", "Nova Atlantis", and "La Basiliade de Bilpai"; or the satire of "Eldorado" that mocks the other ideal state novels.

Other novels are called to present a tale, born only of the imagination, in a way that convinces the reader that it could really have happened; this novel will present a historical event that has not "yet" happened, and will grapple with the difficult task, to present the facts and the characters, the future age's inner and outer world, in such a way so as to make the reader say: this might yet happen!

There will not be in this novel Utopian states, Icarian people; its scenes will not be yet to be discovered islands; the story, throughout, takes place in the known world, and develops from situations that exist today, from notions that impact the world today.

I summoned for the task understanding, faith, and imagination.

I studied to understand the historical world: the reasons and phases behind the evolution, development, dissolution, and rebirth of states; I came to admire and envy the civilization-spreading nation gians, and amidst this awe I also felt love, concern, and an inspiring thirst for life toward my own small and backward nation and homeland.

I followed the great [ideas|paradigms] {of the age/ages}, that strive to remake the world in a new mold, and their great struggles with opposing notions. I saw titanic battles amidst armed millions in the wake of these [ideas|paradigms]: for human rights in America, for spiritual freedom and national unity in Italy, for national revival in Poland, for religious superstition in East India, for European power-balance in Crimea, for pride in France, and for an abstract state-concept between Austria and Prussia, and then for a societal principle in Paris. These were battles that consumed millions and an ocean of blood, and their [ideas|paradigms] whether victorious or defeated, continue to live.

And I had to also discover amidst the great struggles, the separate battles of smaller groupings of human interests, in which many small interests continuously boil and chafe against one another, only occasionally calmed by a national catastrophe, but sometimes downright validated thereby: racism, national hatred and an instinct for self-preservation; the inability of political parties to find common ground, the open parliamentary fights, traditions and innovation, the insidious leagues; holy and not holy, and not holy only because of holy unions, on political, social, and religious grounds; Jesuitism, Internationale, Nihilism; among them the Mohamedan fatalism, which impacts world history through its immovability, and the individual interest that stalks beneath great struggles to personalize for the inheritors of royal aspirations: the families that sleep-walk amidst royal dreams, the adventurers that hunt for crowns, and other hunters who make sport against crowned heads.

Behold the building blocks of the eternal war.

And this eternal war demands [general|contiuous] armament. The whole male gender--from childhood unto old age--armed, and the weapons always changing, continuously perfected, surpassing one another with new advantages, the art of war raised to the level of mastery and science.

The continuous arms race binds terrible sums of money: in machines that provide no utility; in constructions that provide no benefit; and in human masses that do no work. The states' debts, on this account, grow to mythical sizes, and the greater they become, the heavier the taxes, the more difficult the life of the worker, the industrialist, and the land owner; while the [flighty-minded] entrepreneurs, the [money chasers] can all the more easily acquire easily-gotten wealth. The war wages on between capital and labour.

And the more easily money is accumulated at the top levels of society's hierarchy, the easier they collapse into society's boglands. The Kings, high priests, ministers, bankers, lords, generals, and people's representatives also have parasites, many of them in fact: men who can be bought, patented cheats, thieves of public property, mercenaries, flatterers, idle men, writers-for-hire, [gatherers], [compromisers|appeasers], transporters, sinecurists, stewards, [concessioners], campaigners, and thirsty, hungry masses of people. The flow of gold will be swallowed by sand, and it will become a swamp. And if the character of men is submerged by the flow of gold, what is woman to do? The people of Phaeax takes payment for all things, and gives all things for payment. Love, art, music, sculpting, painting, and literature all yield to serve the hedonist whose wealth was gained with ease. The war wages on between the moral foundations of life and societal decay.

And as family life grows looser, so will the old world's population grow, and the more people there are, the less bread there is. Slowly every forest is cut down, to plow the land left in its stead, every valley is dug up, to force it to yield its store of coal; but the gifts of nature are not endless, the way old tales reckon; the blackmailed earth will give way to year after year of poorer and poorer yield of crops and produce, the [sky] itself shall turn hostile due to the violent deforestation, and the price of coal shall in a hundred years grow fourfold. The man of the old world is hungry and cold. The war wages on between man and the earth.

And this shall end with the defeat of the former. The overpopulated old world will spill forth foam at its edges. And all that it expells, will hurry to the new world. Therein there is space enough still. The Jesuit and the philosopher, the lot of those who lost their crowns, and the exiled rebels; the aspiring industrialist, and the wandering fraudster, the martyrs of liberal thinking, and the charlatans, the inventors, and the believers of all folly, the German and Russian cosmopolitans, and the smaller ethnicities' unsatisfied members will find enough space for both clever and foolish ideas, for the founding of both praiseworthy and condemnable companies. And the overabundance of these elements will change America's present character. The legions of expatriates will demand influence over Europe's affairs. And that will be easy for North America. The perfection of transportation will bring the old world close to it. It will need no large army, for in its half of the world it shall have no neighbour all, once it absorbs Canada and Mexico as well; its financial sources are limitless, its lands are rich, and its income exceeds its expenses twenty-fold. It also has no responsibility toward anyone in the old world, not from interest, not from friendship, not from alliance, not from debt, not from linguistic kinship, not from religious brotherhood, not from national admiration, nor by its past or its future. It will take full advantage of its position too, and will freely press upon Europe with the whole of its influence. The war wages on between the old world and the new world.

And let us now add that a hundred years from now there will still be people -- many of them -- who love their homelands, who will strive to alleviate humanity's great ills, who ennoble peasant morality, who spread enlightenment, who create something from nothing by striving to raise manpower into god{like}power; the guard of the public good will continue to be "legion!", but in opposition to these shall stand another giant, whose name is Nihil, Nothingness, who believes in nothing, not in God, not in the homeland, not in the nation, not in an afterlife, not in the state, not in human laws, not in family, not in honour, not in poetry; those who deny the past and cares not for the future, those who have no other goal than today, no other ruler than "I", no other law than to do as he pleases.

The war wages on between "God" and "animal" -- both appearing in human form.

Is this not what must come to pass in the next hundred years?

This is no fantasy, no prophecy, this is knowledge! understanding! And does a faith not naturally follow this knowledge, that it cannot forever continue that way?

Upon this faith stands the work that I am writing. My novel has two parts, one is called "the eternal war", until it becomes impossible; the other is called "the eternal peace", once it becomes a necessity and is realised.

But, the whole things is built upon a hypothesis. Upon an invention, that will change the world.

I know, because of this, I will be declared a "madman". However I shall be in good company, with Fulton who in 1805 was called a "madman" by the Parisian Academy of Sciences, because he claimed that steam could power ships. Grey, on account of his notion of railroads, was called a "madman" in 1815 by the Edinburgh Review. S Stephenson, on account of his steam-train, was nearly committed to the madhouse by the members of the English parliament in 1825.

Therefore I believe in the realisation of an invention, that has been sought by so many from Daedalus to Coxwel and Lamountain, in search of the solution to the mystery of the sky, who entered its domain, but could not find what they sought. Somebody will find it one day.

And this will set the limit of the eternal war.

It will force disarmament onto millions prepared to genocide one another, sending cannons and guns back to the smeltery, to create machines of labour from them; the gunpowder will instead be used to avert natural disasters, the soldier along with his horse will be sent home to plow the land instead.

It will turn those demanding thrones into peaceful citizens.

It will put an end to the insanity of racism, and will show the brother in the former enemy. It will put an end to diplomatic scheming.

It will free the slaves, and will make voluntary service a sweet labour.

It will open new avenues for those who yearn for praise and glory; it will spread enlightenment to every part of the world, becoming victorious over blind faith and all its fake apostols.

It will put an end to taxing by the state, to customs duties, monopolies, and will still bring wealth to the governments.

It will bring correct ratios into commerce and monetary circulation, and will divide the income according to intelligence and talent, designating the place of the scientist, the poet, the artist and the {agricultural} day-worker, and will make each satisfied with his lot. It will put an end to mindless behavior and corruption.

It will place societal morals onto stable ground, and will resanctify the altars of family life, love, and ideals.

It will put an end to the death penalty and to jails; and will find for the enemies of civilized society punishment that will fix them and be a blessing unto the whole of humanity. It will correct the imbalance between the old world and the new world.

It will help make victorious the humanitarians, and will force the surrender of the enemies of humanity, some of whom wear masks and some of whom do not.

It will bring back the Siberian exiles to their rejuvenated homelands.

It will exert influence over the weather, and will penetrate the secrets of nature.

It will lighten the impact of epidemics, and will restore man's machinery of life to its ancient state of perfection.

It will dry out the Ganges and La Plata's morasses, terrible hotbeds of cholera and yellow fever, and will liberate three parts of the world from their ravaging plagues.

It will enhance technology with new materials, that will be useful to all, and which will be more noble than gold, but cheaper than iron.

It will take out of ocean water a billion tonne's worth of silver, and will put it into circulation.

It will have one continent's plentitude [exchanged|traded] with that of another.

It will drive extinct ravaging beasts in their jungles and grasslands.

It will take civilization amidst wild peoples, and will bring light to those of other colours, and will give opportunity to every ethnicity to rise gradually; it will turn every man human.

It will populate the great wastelands. It will guide rivers through the Sahara, and will populate the inlands of Africa and Australia, so that humanity's one-time cradle, that is a desert today, can become a paradise once more.

It will take away the ocean's fearsomeness, and will make shipwrecking and the loss of sent goods impossible.

It will put an end to vows of celibacy, and will return priests to family life.

It will give woman an honoured standing in society, it will consider children a treasure of the state and will care for them accordingly.

It will give existence only to a single party, whose motto shall be: patriotism through labour.

It will build churches only for one religion, whose dogma is: clear-headed humanitarianism.

It will lengthen the day for man, and shorten the work therein.

It will raise the word of honour as strong as law, and make conscience the first {or primal?} judge and arbiter.

It will ease traveling, and will make the whole of the earth known to man.

And it will help discover even the nook of land, where {other descendents of} the Magyars ancestors live, cut off form the outside world, and will make them into a kindred nation.

These are the creative [ideals|ideas] of my work.

If knowledge and imagination were as strong as my faith!

Because my faith is strong in that humanity is moved forward by great ideas in each age, which permits no falling back.

The classical age raised man higher through poetry. The Hebrew age by familiarizing man with moral laws. The teachings of Jesus brought salvation through the religion of love. But still remains the honour that raises man to the highest state of perfection -- and that {honour} is [knowledge|understanding].

The triumph of [knowledge|understanding] will be when the mortal who says of himself, "I am God!" puts down his crown before the mortal, who says, "I am Man!"

And then it is possible -- for there is no impossibility in the universe -- that the creator will even indulge the now perfect mankind by correcting the fault in the earth that is primary cause of weather irregularities, namely the tilt of the earth's axis.

It is with this that my novel shall end.

About this blog

The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness about Jókai Mór's relatively unknown early science fiction novel "A jövő század regénye" (The Novel of Next Century) from 1872.

Wikipedia writes: "this monumental two-volume novel includes some acute observations and almost prophetic visions, such as the prediction of a revolution in Russia and the establishment of a totalitarian state there, or the arrival of aviation."

As of the creation of this blog, plans are to offer translated excerpts and chapter summaries, though in the future both the scope and the focus may shift to accommodate either me, the blog author, or the readership if and when one forms.

Please be aware that until further notice, any translation that appears strives primarily for fidelity to the original text, not literary eloquence in English. Be accordingly kind in both your expectations and criticism.

Note: due to lack of time, most chapters will only have italicized summaries/explanations of the chapters, with translated excerpts being added later as time permits.

- István