János Erdélyi (1 April 1814 – 23 January 1868) was a Hungarian poet, critic, author, philosopher and ethnographist. He was born 1 April 1814 at Nagykapos, in the county of Ung, and educated at the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

college of

Sárospatak Sárospatak (; ; Serbian language, Serbian: Муд Стреам; Slovak language, Slovakian: ''Šarišský Potok, Blatný Potok)'' History The area has been inhabited since ancient times. Sárospatak was granted town status in 1201 by Emeric ...

. In 1833 he removed to Pest, where he was, in 1839, elected member of the

Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious learned society. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primar ...

. He began his literary career with poems written in folk style (published in 1844). His literary fame was made by his collection of Hungarian national poems and folk-tales, ''Magyar népköltési gyűjtemény, népdalok és mondák'' ("Collection of Hungarian Folklore, Folk Songs and Tales", Pest, 1846–1847). This work, published by the Kisfaludy Society, was supplemented his ''ilnon Hiinaarian national ooetrv'' afterwards partially translated into German by Stier (Berlin, 1851). Erdélyi also compiled for the Kisfaludy Society an extensive collection of Hungarian proverbs ''Magyar közmondások könyve'' ("Book of Hungarian Proverbs", Pest, 1851), and was for some time editor of the ''Szépirodalmi Szemle'' ("Review of Polite Literature"). In 1848 he was appointed director of the national theatre at Pest; but after 1849 he resided at his native town. He died on 23 January 1868 in

. A collection of

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

was published the year after his death, entitled ''A nép költészete: népdalok, népmesék és közmondások'' ("Poetry of the People: Folk Songs, Tales and Proverbs", Pest, 1869). This work contains 300 national songs, 19 folk-tales and 7362 Hungarian

proverb A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...

s. As a philosopher he was an utopian socialist, influenced by

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

Quotes

* "It was said that education harms folk poetry, and it's true, but should we curse the Sun for banishing the dawn?" ''(Mondatott: a műveltség árt a népköltészetnek, s ez igaz, de miért átkoznók a napot, hogy a hajnalt elűzi egünkről.)''

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Erdelyi, Janos 19th-century_Hungarian_male_writers Poets from the Austrian Empire Members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences 1814 births 1868 deaths Writers from the Austrian Empire