PREFACE
Why do we need a new edition of The Temptation of Homo Europaeus: An Intellectual History of Central and Southeastern Europe? First and foremost, because it is a topical book whose subject deserves to be better known in universities, administrative-political environments and by the European audience at large. Rooted in primary research, it offers new information, interpretations and analysis of certain so-called peripheral regions. Insisting on the importance of ‘cultural corridors’ that facilitated the circulation of people, books and ideas between Western and Eastern Europe during the long and difficult transition from medieval to modern, the book demonstrates the role of both temporality and geography in the understanding of history. The current edition retains the structure of its predecessors but introduces new illustrations and includes maps in several chapters, showing the numerous cultural encounters that occurred across Europe from around 1500 to 1800. The Afterword is also new, a concluding chapter
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that boldly conceptualizes the transition from medieval to modern and represents the outcome of years of research and hypotheses that form the foundation of this book. Why is such an approach important? First, in order to obtain thorough, objective knowledge benefiting the whole European continent. Second, because Central and Southeastern Europe have a fascinating history, their regions having been ruled by three empires – Ottoman, Tsarist and Hapsburg – with administrations situated in different historical periods and at varying levels of development. Third, during the period between 1500 and 1800 the aforementioned region of Europe was characterized by pluralism and not specificity, by multi- and interculturality and not ethnicity, by an ecumenical and cosmopolitan spirit, and not monolingualism and religious fundamentalism. During the same period, the area excelled in creativity in many fields, including theology, philosophy, historiography, literature and geography, all resulting from East–West and North–South cultural confluences. The documentary evidence provided in The Temptation of Homo Europaeus is accompanied by theoretical evaluations and analyses of the periods of change, religious practices and cultural phenomena. I examine the schools, intellectuals and individual works that led to the emancipation of people, the discovery and acknowledgement of multi- and intercultural communities and the understanding of Europe as a whole. Describing the peculiarities of a certain area – in this case, Central and Southeastern Europe – enables us to observe cultural and civilizational similarities across the continent. The distinctions between East and West, centre and periphery become less relevant as soon as we understand that the diverse historical legacies of the Renaissance, Humanist and Enlightenment periods led to the genesis of a shared cultural code in Europe. Thirty years of study in archives, museums, libraries and other institutions, examining secular and religious texts, furnished me with a wealth of information which I have analyzed historically, sociologically and philosophically. I have assessed the results of this research in the context of the current state of Central and Southeastern European civilization. Thus, I have avoided judgements and hypotheses that cannot be verified after the passage of the intervening two or three hundred years, instead trying to show, if only in part, what has remained constant in these societies. At times my conclusions paint a picture of suffocation, at others of hope.
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Scholars in Central and Southeastern Europe, writing in Latin, Greek, Slavic, German, Hungarian and Romanian, often shared the ideals of Western intellectuals. They were all united by an attachment to the notion of Europe. The intellectual pursuits of Nicolaus Olahus, Johannes Honter, Dimitrie Cantemir, Theophilos Corydalleus, Dositej Obradović, Samuel von Brukenthal and Ignác Batthyány, and many others, resonated widely. I have described their activities and evaluated their aspirations regarding the unity of Europe. Though little known to Western historiography, these figures produced seminal works of history, philology and jurisprudence, and established scientific institutions, printing presses, libraries, academic foundations and museums. Although they were among the first intellectuals in the region to be concerned with the structure of society and its institutions, they overcame numerous obstacles and successfully travelled through Europe’s ‘cultural corridors’, fostering connections between the East and West. How do we explain the delayed development of the region? From the nineteenth century, intellectuals in Central and Southeastern Europe were enticed by new political ideologies, and their relations with Western Europe assumed a different tone from previous periods. They substituted the historical and political realities of their environments with ethno-cultural myths. Völkischekultur / Volknation / Volksgeist – the identity concepts of the German idealist philosophers of the nineteenth century – were assumed and adapted by the intellectuals of the region. Through such influences, legacies were erased or distorted, while the multiple cultural code of previous centuries was forgotten. A large number of writers, historians, professors and priests became ideologists, devoting much of their energy to the origins, faith or language of one or another community. They opposed linguistic and cultural diversity, marginalizing or neglecting the creative output of the so-called ‘foreigners within’. The nation states of Central and Southeastern Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were established later than their Western counterparts, and their main criterion was allegiance to the ethno-culture of the majority. Their administrative structures differed from those of their Western models, whose political and judiciary institutions were the result of ‘glorious revolutions’. This is one of the reasons why extreme ideologies, intercommunity wars and totalitarian regimes (fascist and communist) found favour in the region. Indeed, the twists and turns of intellectual and political life in Central and Southeastern Europe need to be
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reconsidered: on the one hand, we must understand the prevailing similarities across Europe in the pre-modern age, while, on the other, we should seek to place the ruptures between Eastern and Western Europe that occurred during the past two centuries within the wider context of continental history. Homo Europaeus has shown us the way, though we should be mindful that only a minority benefited from his revelations – an elite that has understood only recently that sacrifices are required to assume leadership of a world ripped apart by the pettiness of obscure and irresponsible politicians interested only in the prerogatives of power. He does not deserve to be ignored by the West simply because for five decades he was denied civilization, the means of existence, travel and a consumer society. This new edition of The Temptation of Homo Europaeus is the result of an outstanding collaboration between myself and Dr Neil Titman of Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers in London. I offer my deep gratitude for Scala’s keen interest in this type of interdisciplinary studies, and for supporting a book whose purpose is to enrich Western historiography through the inclusion of intellectual creations and contributions from Central and Southeastern Europe. Victor Neumann Timișoara, 10 March 2020
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Plate 1 The town of Karlovy Vary Plate 2 Old market in Frankfurt am Main
Plate 3 University of Halle Plate 4 View of Budapest
Plate 5 Hungarian Parliament in Budapest Plate 6 Szeged Synagogue
Tentația lui Homo Europaeus: Geneza idelior moderne în Europa Centrală și de Sud-Est was originally published by Editura Științifică şi Enciclopedică, Bucharest, in 1991. The translation on which the text of this edition is based was originally published in 1993 as volume 384 in the series East European Monographs, Boulder, and distributed by Columbia University Press, New York. The translation has been extensively revised for this edition. © 1993 by Victor Neumann Preface and Afterword © 2020 by Victor Neumann This edition © 2020 by Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd 27 Old Gloucester Street London WC1N 3AX, UK www.scalapublishers.com ISBN 978-1-78551-241-4
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Translation edited and revised by Neil Titman Dust jacket and binding design, maps and image retouching by Dieter Penteliuc-Cotoșman Interior book design by Linda Lundin Printed in Turkey 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the author and publisher. Plates 1–30 between pages 192 and 193 are reproductions of postcards from the collections of Dr Thomas Mochnács, Timișoara, Romania.