Fraternity-Testvériség, 1956 (34. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1956-12-01 / 12. szám
FRATERNITY 5 Worthy of its ancient fame, Still mil be our Magyar name! Off we scour, off we sluice, Centuries of vile abuse. By the God of the Magyar, Do we swear, Do we swear, chains no longer Will we wear! Where our gravemounds grow one day, Sons of sons shall kneel to pray, Blessing us tenth proud acclaims, Uttering our sacred names. By the God of the Magyar, Do we swear, Do we swear, chains no longer Will we wear! Translated by Pest — March 15, 1848 E. B. Pierce and E. Delmár * ** * From the book, “Sixty Poems by Alexander Petőfi.” Distributors: Johannes Press, New York, N. Y. $2.50. ** Sándor Petőfi was born on January 1, 1823, in Kiskörős, a typical community of the Alföld, the Hungarian plains. Petőfi became acquainted very soon with solitariness, poverty, misunderstanding, compassion, love and hatred. His prestige was established and his economic status somewhat improved when he was introduced to the Hungarian public by Michael Vörösmarty, the great poet and critic. He was one of the most talented leaders of the revolutionary young Hungarian generation. In 1848 Petőfi plunged headlong into the stream of political activities. In 1849, in the Hungarian war of freedom, he disappeared during the battle near Segesvár as an aide-de-camp of General Bern, fighting the Russians whose Tzar supported the autocratic Habsburg dynasty against Hungary. His extraordinary productivity is due to his spontanity and unique poetical ability. His works filled a thick volume, which one might consider the most worthy heritage of Hungarian literature.
