Translated from the Hungarian by Gábor Csepregi.

Previous editions of Béla Hamvas’s A bor filozófiája (written in 1945), including those in Hungarian, omitted some material that has been restored in this translation, making it the first complete edition of the work in any language. I need hardly say that the ‘Index of Topics’, like much of the author’s terminology (for example, his use of ‘atheist’), is not to be taken in any conventional, literal sense but as part of the author’s distinctive, ironic approach to his theme. I would like to thank Mr Tibor Palkovics for commissioning this version on behalf of the Hamvas Foundation, kindly providing me with a copy of the original typescript, and – not least – his conscientious responses to my queries. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my erstwhile student Mrs Eileen Zwalf, for her sustaining friendship over many years; her unquenchable enthusiasm for the Hungarian language, which invariably blossoms into lively discussion whenever we meet, has greatly benefited this text. For any errors and imperfections that no doubt remain I am, of course, solely responsible.