Magyar
„1955-ben egyetlen ember élt Magyarországon, aki Herakleitosszal, Buddhával, Lao Ce-vel és Shakespeare-rel mindenikük anyanyelvén nemcsak beszélgetni, hanem beszélni is tudott volna. Ha az emberi szellem e négy prófétája Tiszapalkonyán szállt volna le a repülőről, s ha megszólították volna az első munkást, s az épp Hamvas Béla lett volna, s miután három éjszakát átbeszéltek volna vele (nappal ugyanis Hamvasnak maltert kellett volna hordania, de lehet, hogy vendégei segédkeztek volna neki) - nos, vajon mit gondoltak volna ezek arról: ha ebben az országban ilyen egy segédmunkás, vajon milyenek lehetnek az ország írástudói? De, szétnézve az országban, mindent megértettek volna. " (Szőcs Géza)
English
”In 1955 in Hungary there lived only one single person who could have not only conversed but actually exchanged views with Heraclitus, Buddha, Lao Tse, and Shakespeare, and that in each one's mother tongue. If these four prophets of the human spirit had gotten off the plane in Tiszapalkonya, and if they had addressed the first laborer they came across, and if this had happened to be Béla Hamvas himself, after talking for three nights straight - during the day Hamvas had to carry mortar, but perhaps his guests would have given him a hand - well then, what might they have thought: if in this country the unskilled laborers are like this man, what then might the scholars be like? But had they looked around the country, they would have understood everything.” (Géza Szőcs )
Română
„ În 1955, în Ungaria trăia un singur om, care ar fi putut nu numai să converseze, dar să şi poarte discuţie cu Heraclit, Budha, Lao-Ţî şi Shakespeare, cu fiecare în limba lui maternă. Dacă aceşti patru profeţi ai spiritului uman ar fi coborât din avion la Tiszapalkonya, şi dacă s-ar fi adresat primului muncitor ieşit în cale, şi dacă acesta ar fi fost tocmai Béla Hamvas, după ce ar fi discutat împreună trei nopţi – ziua Hamvas trebuia să care mortar, dar poate că oaspeţii l-ar fi ajutat – ei, oare ce ar fi gândit aceştia: dacă în această ţară aşa este un muncitor necalificat, cum or fi ştiutorii de carte? Dar uitându-se în jur în ţară, ar fi înţeles totul. ” ( Géza Szőcs)