appreciation of external nature. Until the advent of Balassa, the man of extremes, the dreamy yet passionate troubadour, external nature had found no voice in Hungarian poetry; she was a world waiting to be discovered by poets. It was he who first, of Hungarian poets, felt the beauty of the landscape and saw symbols of his own inner experiences in the phenomena of nature.
During the time of the Turkish wars a large number of stories were written in verse, telling some tale of love and war. Many of these were inspired by the works of Boccaccio, though some of them only to a slight extent. Such a story is that of The Faithfui Griseldis, written by Paul Istvánffy, who was educated at Padua. It tells us of the mental anguish of a wife whose fidelity and love were put to a severe test by her husband on account of some wager. Another group of these stories was based upon the Gesta Romanorum. There were also translations from the Italian, such as that fine fairy tale which was adapted by Albert Gyergyai under the title of Prince Argirus, and which served as a basis for Vörösmarty's delightful fairy play Csongor and Tünde. But more important than any of these, by virtue of its being purely Hungarian, is the story of Szilágyi and Hajmási. Two Hungarian warriors are taken prisoners and carried to Constantinople. On a certain Whitsunday, one of them, Szilágyi, more moved than usual by the memory of his beloved country, takes up his lyre and sings mournful songs. The Sultan's daughter hears, and feels pity for the captive, and her pity is soon changed into love. "If thou wilt promise to be faithful to me in thine own land, then will I set thee at liberty and follow thee." The young hero promises to be faithful, and he and his companion are set free by the princess, and they all three fly
