Remarks on Mátyás Maróthy, the Philosophical Chief Engineer of Szeged

Abstract

The essay deals with a hitherto little-noticed aspect of the life of Mátyás Maróthy (1791–1850), the highly respected 19th-century chief engineer of Szeged. It states that in the twilight of his life and in the difficult year of 1850, he not only performed his duties in an exemplary manner (the documents of which are recorded in local historical literature), but also published a treatise in Hungarian on natural law and natural religion. The essay describes the main ideas of the work and then presents the author and his work, which is only identified by name in the Hungarian edition, outlining the history of Constantin François Volney's treatise, its origins, and its afterlife in France and Europe. Drawing on the Hungarian reception of the work, the presumed purpose of Maróthy's enterprise is formulated. He highlights a work by István Vedres, written a decade earlier, and concludes from the similarities that the inspirational example of his former boss likely played a role in the publication.