Kazimierz Bein (1872 – June 15, 1959), often referred to by his pseudonym Kabe, was a Polish

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

, the founder and sometime director of the Warsaw Ophthalmic Institute (''Warszawski Instytut Oftalmiczny''). He was also, for a time, a prominent

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

author, translator and activist, until in 1911 he suddenly, without explanation, abandoned the Esperanto movement. Bein became at least as well known for his involvement with Esperanto as for his medical accomplishments, and as much for the manner in which he left the Esperanto movement as for what he had accomplished within it.

Life

As a young man, Bein participated in the Polish movement for independence from Russia, for which he was exiled for several years; thus he was forced to finish his medical training in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

. Bein authored many technical books and articles, and founded the Warsaw Ophthalmic Institute and the Polish Ophthalmological Society. He was also a noted amateur photographer.

Esperanto movement

Bein was among the earliest adopters of

, the international language that had been created by a fellow Polish ophthalmologist,

Ludwik Zamenhof L. L. Zamenhof (15 December 185914 April 1917) was an ophthalmologist who lived for most of his life in Warsaw. He is best known as the creator of Esperanto, the most widely used constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language ...

. Bein became an eminent pioneer of Esperanto prose, writing under the pseudonym, "Kabe," an abbreviation of his actual name (and also the Polish pronunciation of his

initial In a written or published work, an initial capital, also referred to as a drop capital or simply an initial cap, initial, initcapital, initcap or init or a drop cap or drop, is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter, or a paragraph that ...

s, "K.B."). In 1904 he gained fame with his translation of a 1900 novel by

Wacław Sieroszewski Wacław Kajetan Sieroszewski (24 August 1858 – 20 April 1945) was a Polish writer, Polish Socialist Party activist, and soldier in the World War I-era Polish Legions (decorated with the Virtuti Militari). For activities subversive of the Rus ...

, ''Dno nędzy'' (''The Depths of Misery''; Esperanto title: ''Fundo de l' Mizero''). In 1906 Bein became vice-president of the

Academy of Esperanto The Akademio de Esperanto (AdE; en, Academy of Esperanto, link=yes) is an independent body of Esperanto speakers who steward the evolution of said language by keeping it consistent with the ''Fundamento de Esperanto'' in accordance with the Decl ...

. He had a profound influence on the language's early development. The highlights of his career were most likely his Esperanto translation of

Bolesław Prus Aleksander Głowacki (20 August 1847 – 19 May 1912), better known by his pen name Bolesław Prus (), was a Polish novelist, a leading figure in the history of Polish literature and philosophy, as well as a distinctive voice in world lit ...

' historical novel, '' Faraono'' (''Pharaoh''), and one of the first Esperanto

dictionaries A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, p ...

, ''Vortaro de Esperanto''. Bein is, however, probably best known for his sudden, comment-less 1911 disappearance from the Esperanto scene. Interviewed twenty years later, in 1931, by the Esperanto magazine, ''Literatura Mondo'' (World of Literature), he spoke of Esperanto's stalled progress, and said that he no longer regarded the language as a viable solution to the need for an international language. Shortly after he had left the movement, Esperantists coined the word ''kabei'',"kabei", in ''Reto-vortaro'' http://www.reta-vortaro.de/revo/art/kabe.html . Retrieved July 10, 2019. after "Kabe," meaning "to fervently and successfully participate in Esperanto, then suddenly and silently drop out." The expression, ''kabei'', remains in use by Esperantists to this day.

Notes

Polish Esperantists Writers of Esperanto literature Polish–Esperanto translators Polish ophthalmologists 1872 births 1959 deaths {{Authority control

Life

Esperanto movement

See also

Notes