The New Hungarian Quarterly, 1973 (14. évfolyam, 50. szám)
Gyula Illyés: The Presence of Petőfi
THE PRESENCE OF PETŐFI by GYULA ILLYÉS T here are times in the history of a given people when their genius bears miraculous fruit. Such, in Greece, were the fourteen years of Pericles, and in France twenty years of the reign of Louis XIV. Such also were the years which we call the Forties in Hungary. After centuries of silent preparation, the Hungarian nation creates a rich harvest of masterworks—the great deed, the historical event—pouring forth countless numbers of poets, writers, statesmen and heroes, any one of whom, in other times, might have served the needs of an entire generation. Astounded, Europe lifts up her head: she has forgotten the Hungarians and now, once more, the homeland is being conquered by a new generation of heroes and demigods. But just as she is recovering from her astonishment, and would look more closely at these giant figures sprung from the ground, the visions cease; a drum roll sounds; a pall drops and the years of greatness close with a huge cry of pain. The man who prepared the way for this era, was Széchenyi; its helmsman was Kossuth; its soul, the beat of its heart, is Petőfi. Of the three, his is the most living presence. * Petőfi is kin to us all. There is no native Hungarian in whose heart he has not established himself. Almost as if our relationship were one of blood. The young think of him as a brighter, more courageous older brother who has gone on ahead, and whom they will one day be proud to resemble. To older generations he is like a kid brother, a dearly beloved son, a grandson for whom they can never mourn deeply enough. Why does he exert this spell? Text of an address delivered by the poet at the Budapest Petofi-celebrations, December 1972. 6*