of the city. "Is this," thought he, "the fate of so glorious a nation?" And then he vowed that he would sacrifice all he possessed in order to raise his country, to inspire it with hope and confidence, and to lead it towards a prosperous future, even though he had to do it alone. A wonderful resolve, but yet more wonderful is it that the traveller fulfilled his promise. This young man's name was Stephen Széchenyi, the founder of modern Hungary.
Hungarian literature reached its highest level in the forties of the nineteenth century. The enthusiasm of the leaders gradually took possession of all men's minds, and in the middle of the century a new ideal—the democratic—suddenly appeared. Those two ideals, patriotism and democracy, seized and dominated the minds of leaders and people alike.
The voice of the leaders rang out and awakened an ever-widening circle of echoes. Literature was the first to respond; then the Press, which was just beginning to be a power in the land, awoke. Great orators helped in the work of stirring the hearts of the people. No wonder if, from this hot, teeming soil, poetry suddenly sprang up, like a tropical flower of rapid growth and fascinating beauty. Such a fertile soil was needful for the development of the national poetry, which, in its highest phase, is represented by Vörösmarty, Petőfi and Arany.
The second great ideal was that of democracy, which captivated the mind of Europe. The peasant class came into fashion in politics, as well as in art and literature. The poetry of Arany and Petőfi had its origin in the popular tales and ballads, and it seems almost as if their poetry were but the ennobling of these.
"It is of no use denying it," writes Petőfi to Arany.
