What do you think?
Rate this book
The Philosophy of Wine
An English translation of a Hungarian book published in 1989. "'The Philosophy of Wine' is an apology for the rare, solemn instants of life, of ease, of play, and self-forgetting serenity."
130 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
18 people are currently reading
694 people want to read
About the author
Béla Hamvas
102 books108 followersBéla Hamvas was born in 23 March 1897 in Eperjes (Prešov). His father, József Hamvas was an evangelical pastor, teacher of German and Hungarian, journalist and writer. The family moved to Bratislava in 1898, where Hamvas completes his basic studies in 1915. After graduation, like his classmates, he entered voluntary military service and was sent to the front in Ukraine. He is sent back to Budapest for hospital treatment due to severe traumatic shock, but just after recovery, he's being drafted to the front lines to western Italy. He never reaches the battlefield, as his train was hit by a bombshell, wounding Hamvas, who was discharged.
In 1919 his father refuses to take an oath of allegiance to Czechoslovakia, whereby his family was expelled from Bratislava. They move to Budapest, where Hamvas attends Péter Pázmány University. Upon graduation he became a journalist at the newspapers Budapesti Hírlap and Szózat. Hamvas considered this job shallow and humiliating, but he had to support his family (his father was pensioned in 1924). Three years later he quits, as he finds a better job in the main library of Budapest. He is appointed as a senior librarian in 1927. By this time he is writing articles, reviews and essays for 25 different journals. He marries Ilona Angyal in 1929, but divorces in 1936 to marry Katalin Kemény in 1937. She was her partner in founding the Sziget circle, a literary group which later gains prominent members like Antal Szerb, László Németh, or Antal Molnár.
Nearly 20 years of library work is ended by World War II. Hamvas was drafted for military service three times. He continues his literary work while on the front lines - translating Laozi and Heraclitus among others. His first essay collection is published in 1943.
The couple survives the siege of Budapest. Their apartment is hit by bombing, destroying his library and manuscripts. Despite the Soviet siege and numerous harassment by authorities, 1945-1947 are his most fruitful years.
In 1948 he was placed on the b-list (interdiction from publishing) by the newly elected communist government, and was forced into retirement from his library job. While he published more than 250 works before his interdiction, most larger body of Hamvas's work was written anonymously later on. He gets licence to farm in the garden of his brother-in-law in Szentendre, and is tending plants between 1948-1951, in which time he also completes Karnevál, one of his major essay.
Between 1961-1964 he is employed as an unskilled worker in power plant buildings in Tiszapalkonya, Inota and Bokod, under harsh conditions. Whenever he has spare time, he translates from Sanskrit, Hebrew and Greek, and writes about the Cabala, Zen, and Sufism. Between 1959 and 1966 he completes Patmosz, his last major work.
Aged 67, he finally manages to get permission for pension. Béla Hamvas dies in 1968 in brain hemorrhage. He was buried in Szentendre.
In 1990 he receives the Kossuth Prize posthumously.
In 1919 his father refuses to take an oath of allegiance to Czechoslovakia, whereby his family was expelled from Bratislava. They move to Budapest, where Hamvas attends Péter Pázmány University. Upon graduation he became a journalist at the newspapers Budapesti Hírlap and Szózat. Hamvas considered this job shallow and humiliating, but he had to support his family (his father was pensioned in 1924). Three years later he quits, as he finds a better job in the main library of Budapest. He is appointed as a senior librarian in 1927. By this time he is writing articles, reviews and essays for 25 different journals. He marries Ilona Angyal in 1929, but divorces in 1936 to marry Katalin Kemény in 1937. She was her partner in founding the Sziget circle, a literary group which later gains prominent members like Antal Szerb, László Németh, or Antal Molnár.
Nearly 20 years of library work is ended by World War II. Hamvas was drafted for military service three times. He continues his literary work while on the front lines - translating Laozi and Heraclitus among others. His first essay collection is published in 1943.
The couple survives the siege of Budapest. Their apartment is hit by bombing, destroying his library and manuscripts. Despite the Soviet siege and numerous harassment by authorities, 1945-1947 are his most fruitful years.
In 1948 he was placed on the b-list (interdiction from publishing) by the newly elected communist government, and was forced into retirement from his library job. While he published more than 250 works before his interdiction, most larger body of Hamvas's work was written anonymously later on. He gets licence to farm in the garden of his brother-in-law in Szentendre, and is tending plants between 1948-1951, in which time he also completes Karnevál, one of his major essay.
Between 1961-1964 he is employed as an unskilled worker in power plant buildings in Tiszapalkonya, Inota and Bokod, under harsh conditions. Whenever he has spare time, he translates from Sanskrit, Hebrew and Greek, and writes about the Cabala, Zen, and Sufism. Between 1959 and 1966 he completes Patmosz, his last major work.
Aged 67, he finally manages to get permission for pension. Béla Hamvas dies in 1968 in brain hemorrhage. He was buried in Szentendre.
In 1990 he receives the Kossuth Prize posthumously.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
June 5, 2014
An absolutely charming little book by Hamvas, who was a student of René Guénon and Julius Evola and was the first to introduce traditionalism in Hungary. Only ostensibly a study of the various wines of Hungary (on which there is quite a bit of practical information), as well as the foods to be taken with them, as well as instructions on where and when to do so ("anytime, anywhere, anyhow," Hamvas says), it is also Hamvas' musings on life, spirituality and atheism. And women, and how to properly appreciate them. For Hamvas, spirituality is not simply a matter of piety or ritual observance, but something contained very much in the pleasures and activities of life (one must be able to "see God in a ham," he writes). As such, Hamvas' spirituality seems to me to be very much in line with the "pagan" European attitude, which sees the sacred in HOW one lives rather than as a matter of form and obeisances. It seems a sort of spirituality for a traditionally-minded Westerner who is adrift in the modern, idolatrous world. Read this book and savor it, as one would a fine wine itself.
Unfortunately, this remains one of only two books available by Hamvas in English at present (and neither are easy to get). I hope we can get more Hamvas in English soon.
Unfortunately, this remains one of only two books available by Hamvas in English at present (and neither are easy to get). I hope we can get more Hamvas in English soon.
February 19, 2024
An arrogant and charmless essay dissing atheists for not acknowledging at least wine as a religion. Hamvas wants to show them that no one is religionless; only some have a bad religion, and some have a good one. And of the bad religions, atheism is the worst. It's stupidly sexist, too. 'If I were a woman, I would love to set the table' - what makes you ineligible if you are a man?
February 2, 2025
Tandara-mandara broć!
Read
September 12, 2011”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)
“Good Religion” and Wine
(an Epilogue by Antal Dúl for The Philosophy of Wine)
The Philosophy of Wine is an apology for the rare, solemn instants of life, of ease, play, and self-forgetting serenity. This is the world of dionysian, Mediterranean intoxication, the bee-master’s half-awake, half-dreaming meditation on an August afternoon, under the nut tree, the pure, glittering serenity of Orpheus: some of the rare, idyllic moments lived by Hamvas. It is precisely a glass of fiery Szekszárdi or green-golden Somlói that could make us aware of them.
In the summer of 1945, during a short holiday spent in Balatonberény, Béla Hamvas writes, practically in one breath The Philosophy of Wine. It expresses the first quiver of a people who, harrowed and starved, sorely tried by front lines, concentration camps, and bomb shelters, have just reached the sunlight; curiously, it expresses not despair over the ruins, but an exuberant joy of life.
Hamvas begins by saying that he is writing a prayer book for atheists. But what is atheism? “The sickness of abstract life.” It is also a religion, because the most obdurate sceptic, and even the materialist, has a religion. But a bad religion: a belief in negation, and a belief in the lowest level of consciousness. For Hamvas, atheism is not a question of Weltanschauung or confession; it is not even an abstract speculation as to whether God exists. And, if the answer is yes, it does not inquire how God exists and in what manner: in substantial unity with the world, or high above the created being? These questions concern atheists just as the negation of God does, and neither Jesus, Buddha, Lao-tse, nor Heraclitus was willing to speak about them. For the atheist is not only someone living in the religion of matt er, and not only the Cartesian fanatic of reason. The circle is much wider. The zealously praying, devout pietist or the daily communicant could be, to the same extent, an atheist. One can hardly provide an exhaustive list of all those – from the fanatics of Weltanschauung to the hypocritical overeater, from the mad worshippers of fame, rank, power, and money to the stone-hearted misers, from the obsessive advocates of hygiene to the indignant prudes, from the life-torturing ascetics to the alcohol addicts – who belong to this group. One thing is certain: the number of inanities is infinite, and normal existence is always the same. As Heraclitus put it: “The waking share one common world, but when asleep each man turns away to a private one.”
The infallible sign of bad religion is “existence without intoxication.” The cause is a stiff fear of life, penetrated deeply into the soul. Nothing is more difficult to achieve than liberation from this state.
Good religion (the vita illuminativa) means higher sobriety. The first sign of healing: seeing God in stones, trees, fruit, or stars. In love, food, and wine. He who does not know, says Béla Hamvas, that God is in the cooked ham will not understand anything of this book. “I understood that Brahman’s highest form is food.”
Whose religion is good? The religion of he who dares to live in an immediate manner and knows that the joy of life is not something forbidden. Not something forbidden but, as the Gospel says, a plus. Food, wine, and love are not the goal, but helpful means. This world is a place of crisis and separation, and everybody has to declare his intentions. But in whoever the order is re-established, he does not need laws, prohibition, and asceticism.
The Philosophy of Wine is not an inventory of Hungarian wine treasures. Neither is it that of botany nor gastronomy. As in his other writings, Hamvas always pays attention to the main features of human behavior, to the bases of life. Classification is the task of books on oenology. The concern of this book is altogether different. It prepares the reader to worship the Presence.
Source: http://hamvasbela.org/
“Good Religion” and Wine
(an Epilogue by Antal Dúl for The Philosophy of Wine)
The Philosophy of Wine is an apology for the rare, solemn instants of life, of ease, play, and self-forgetting serenity. This is the world of dionysian, Mediterranean intoxication, the bee-master’s half-awake, half-dreaming meditation on an August afternoon, under the nut tree, the pure, glittering serenity of Orpheus: some of the rare, idyllic moments lived by Hamvas. It is precisely a glass of fiery Szekszárdi or green-golden Somlói that could make us aware of them.
In the summer of 1945, during a short holiday spent in Balatonberény, Béla Hamvas writes, practically in one breath The Philosophy of Wine. It expresses the first quiver of a people who, harrowed and starved, sorely tried by front lines, concentration camps, and bomb shelters, have just reached the sunlight; curiously, it expresses not despair over the ruins, but an exuberant joy of life.
Hamvas begins by saying that he is writing a prayer book for atheists. But what is atheism? “The sickness of abstract life.” It is also a religion, because the most obdurate sceptic, and even the materialist, has a religion. But a bad religion: a belief in negation, and a belief in the lowest level of consciousness. For Hamvas, atheism is not a question of Weltanschauung or confession; it is not even an abstract speculation as to whether God exists. And, if the answer is yes, it does not inquire how God exists and in what manner: in substantial unity with the world, or high above the created being? These questions concern atheists just as the negation of God does, and neither Jesus, Buddha, Lao-tse, nor Heraclitus was willing to speak about them. For the atheist is not only someone living in the religion of matt er, and not only the Cartesian fanatic of reason. The circle is much wider. The zealously praying, devout pietist or the daily communicant could be, to the same extent, an atheist. One can hardly provide an exhaustive list of all those – from the fanatics of Weltanschauung to the hypocritical overeater, from the mad worshippers of fame, rank, power, and money to the stone-hearted misers, from the obsessive advocates of hygiene to the indignant prudes, from the life-torturing ascetics to the alcohol addicts – who belong to this group. One thing is certain: the number of inanities is infinite, and normal existence is always the same. As Heraclitus put it: “The waking share one common world, but when asleep each man turns away to a private one.”
The infallible sign of bad religion is “existence without intoxication.” The cause is a stiff fear of life, penetrated deeply into the soul. Nothing is more difficult to achieve than liberation from this state.
Good religion (the vita illuminativa) means higher sobriety. The first sign of healing: seeing God in stones, trees, fruit, or stars. In love, food, and wine. He who does not know, says Béla Hamvas, that God is in the cooked ham will not understand anything of this book. “I understood that Brahman’s highest form is food.”
Whose religion is good? The religion of he who dares to live in an immediate manner and knows that the joy of life is not something forbidden. Not something forbidden but, as the Gospel says, a plus. Food, wine, and love are not the goal, but helpful means. This world is a place of crisis and separation, and everybody has to declare his intentions. But in whoever the order is re-established, he does not need laws, prohibition, and asceticism.
The Philosophy of Wine is not an inventory of Hungarian wine treasures. Neither is it that of botany nor gastronomy. As in his other writings, Hamvas always pays attention to the main features of human behavior, to the bases of life. Classification is the task of books on oenology. The concern of this book is altogether different. It prepares the reader to worship the Presence.
Source: http://hamvasbela.org/
June 10, 2015
I wish I could say that I like this book, but unfortunately it consists entirely of pretentious rubbish. One star seems generous.
February 9, 2023
A strange book, which promotes "spiritual hedonism", Dyonisian attitude of "freedom".
It's in a way aimed to atheists in order to shake them out of their delusions, especially puritans, pietists and materialists.
Hamvas advocates indulgence in wine, strong food, cigarettes and "free" women, in order to appreciate life from a direct, participating sense to get away from abstractions. The point is seeing God in everything, so one should indulge in these pleasures of life and commune with God through it.
To me, this is a corruption of real spiritual life, an antithesis of it. A truly spiritual man is not a slave to hedonism and chasing for wordly pleasure. There's no need for intoxication and exotic dishes, since he's equally satisfied and thankful for any food or drink he consumes. He has no wishes for immorality, not because of judgement of society or fear, but because of radiating Essence, which purifies his Being from within. As St. Paul wrote: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."
That being said, I had my phase of enjoyment in food and drink, when I was young(er). Gluttony and crude pleasure-seeking did have some good sides for development of one's personality, but it's highest value is in being able to remember those times and compare them to today's state of being and seeing the pitifulness of that kind of life.
If one had no such experiences, there's a danger of succumbing to them later in life, while already on the spiritual path, God forbid, even while being a teacher to others!
I wanted to rate the book 2 out of 5, but it would be too harsh, it's an interesting book, Hamvas is an erudite and his writing is interesting. I also understand his philosophy, that a "good" man will not get corrupted by indulgence, but for me a spiritually mature man has no real wish for it.
I'd say that the principles of life outlined in the book are not of any use and would be harmful for the overwhelming majority of people.
It's in a way aimed to atheists in order to shake them out of their delusions, especially puritans, pietists and materialists.
Hamvas advocates indulgence in wine, strong food, cigarettes and "free" women, in order to appreciate life from a direct, participating sense to get away from abstractions. The point is seeing God in everything, so one should indulge in these pleasures of life and commune with God through it.
To me, this is a corruption of real spiritual life, an antithesis of it. A truly spiritual man is not a slave to hedonism and chasing for wordly pleasure. There's no need for intoxication and exotic dishes, since he's equally satisfied and thankful for any food or drink he consumes. He has no wishes for immorality, not because of judgement of society or fear, but because of radiating Essence, which purifies his Being from within. As St. Paul wrote: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."
That being said, I had my phase of enjoyment in food and drink, when I was young(er). Gluttony and crude pleasure-seeking did have some good sides for development of one's personality, but it's highest value is in being able to remember those times and compare them to today's state of being and seeing the pitifulness of that kind of life.
If one had no such experiences, there's a danger of succumbing to them later in life, while already on the spiritual path, God forbid, even while being a teacher to others!
I wanted to rate the book 2 out of 5, but it would be too harsh, it's an interesting book, Hamvas is an erudite and his writing is interesting. I also understand his philosophy, that a "good" man will not get corrupted by indulgence, but for me a spiritually mature man has no real wish for it.
I'd say that the principles of life outlined in the book are not of any use and would be harmful for the overwhelming majority of people.
April 11, 2025
“Thus, I ask the question: what is this restlessness, very similar to sickness, this irritated narrowmindedness, this hectic haste – called nervousness today – that is so characteristic of atheism? It is impossible to live without religion. This is an old and irrefutable statement. There is good religion and bad religion. That is all. People believe either in God or in surrogates. […] The name of today’s surrogate for religion: materialism. Why it calls itself with this name is a mystery. I am the materialist, my dear. It is I who prays to the stuffed green pepper and plum dumpling and dreams about the scents diffused by the parotid region of women’s necks, who adores precious stones, who lives in polygamy with all the stars and flowers, and who drinks wine. Wine. Do you hear it?”
“Let us drink wine! Again, I just say: drink wine. Afterwards, you will take delight in kissing, picking flowers, making friends, sleeping deep and well, laughing, and, in the morning, you will read poets instead of a newspaper.”
“Let us drink wine! Again, I just say: drink wine. Afterwards, you will take delight in kissing, picking flowers, making friends, sleeping deep and well, laughing, and, in the morning, you will read poets instead of a newspaper.”
March 2, 2021
A strange book.
Hamvas sets out to talk of wine as if it were a religion. He is of the traditionalist school of René Guénon and Julius Evola. Thus he believes in innate, primordial, universal truths that we can access through tradition, spirituality, religion and aesthetic experiences (such as drinking wine).
But, although a short text, the author takes his time before he gets to talking about wine in any detail. The preamble is a long condescending rant directed against atheists (or materialists, as he often interchanges the terms). He calls atheists all sorts of demeaning things and admits that his aim is to insult. He also lets the reader know that the title of the book is basically a ruse: he wants to tell atheists about religion but considers that they are too thick to seek out a book that has "religion" printed on the cover. (He follows this up by adding that even the word "metaphysics" is too loaded for the dim-witted materialist, but that "the Philosophy of" might just be secular enough for his level of intellect.)
So, the book is a verbose tirade against all those who do not see "the obvious truth" - that truth reveals itself not through science and rationality but through access to a higher realm via spirituality, tradition and direct, subjective experience. In order to convince the reader, Hamvas talks of esoteric links between certain numbers, days of the week, planets of the solar system and extinct ancient languages. What these supposed links might mean is not discussed, only presented as fact. If you believe this sounds a bit strange, wait until you get to the part where the author likens women to wine and proceeds to detail which parts of them he likes to taste.
So, what is the value of this book?
The book is at times so uncompromising and over the top that it ends up being quite funny. This might actually be by design, to the author's credit. Also, considering that this text was written in the 40s, the portrayed antagonism between people who believe in something transcendent and godless materialists take up an interesting political dimension.
Hamvas sets out to talk of wine as if it were a religion. He is of the traditionalist school of René Guénon and Julius Evola. Thus he believes in innate, primordial, universal truths that we can access through tradition, spirituality, religion and aesthetic experiences (such as drinking wine).
But, although a short text, the author takes his time before he gets to talking about wine in any detail. The preamble is a long condescending rant directed against atheists (or materialists, as he often interchanges the terms). He calls atheists all sorts of demeaning things and admits that his aim is to insult. He also lets the reader know that the title of the book is basically a ruse: he wants to tell atheists about religion but considers that they are too thick to seek out a book that has "religion" printed on the cover. (He follows this up by adding that even the word "metaphysics" is too loaded for the dim-witted materialist, but that "the Philosophy of" might just be secular enough for his level of intellect.)
So, the book is a verbose tirade against all those who do not see "the obvious truth" - that truth reveals itself not through science and rationality but through access to a higher realm via spirituality, tradition and direct, subjective experience. In order to convince the reader, Hamvas talks of esoteric links between certain numbers, days of the week, planets of the solar system and extinct ancient languages. What these supposed links might mean is not discussed, only presented as fact. If you believe this sounds a bit strange, wait until you get to the part where the author likens women to wine and proceeds to detail which parts of them he likes to taste.
So, what is the value of this book?
The book is at times so uncompromising and over the top that it ends up being quite funny. This might actually be by design, to the author's credit. Also, considering that this text was written in the 40s, the portrayed antagonism between people who believe in something transcendent and godless materialists take up an interesting political dimension.
September 21, 2023
Me ha encantado este breve librito (apenas son 100 páginas) sobre el vino. Lo recomiendo a todos los amantes de esta bebida. No le doy otra estrella porque se me ha hecho corto, quería seguir leyendo. Muy bueno.
“Y cuando beso a una mujer bella, me alimento de ella y ella de mí, y nos nutrimos el uno del otro, y nos enseñamos y nos hablamos el uno al otro; en general, nos decimos cosas para cuya profundidad la palabra se revela insuficiente”.
“Y cuando beso a una mujer bella, me alimento de ella y ella de mí, y nos nutrimos el uno del otro, y nos enseñamos y nos hablamos el uno al otro; en general, nos decimos cosas para cuya profundidad la palabra se revela insuficiente”.
January 29, 2018
Még nem olvastam Hamvas Bélától eddig semmit, de ezek után kedvet kaptam hozzá. Ez a humor, ez a stílus! Nagyon tetszett!
Nem voltam még Balatonberényben, de magam elé képzeltem, amit ő látott onnan. Megirigyeltem. Egyszer megnézem én is. :-)
Nem voltam még Balatonberényben, de magam elé képzeltem, amit ő látott onnan. Megirigyeltem. Egyszer megnézem én is. :-)
August 1, 2022
Csak annyit, hogy a számmal vagyok közvetlenül a világhoz nőve, és ebben a hozzánövésben három tevékenységem lehetséges: vagy adok, vagy veszek, vagy adok is, veszek is. A szó iránya kifelé, a táplálék iránya befelé, a csók iránya kifelé és befelé, vagyis a kör. Az egyik tevékenység persze a másik kettőt nem zárja ki, sőt alátámasztja, mert amikor a föld engem táplál, akkor hozzam beszél, illetve tanít, de meg is csókol, amikor a szép nőt meg csókolom, eszem belőle és ő belőlem, és mind a ketten táplálkozunk egymásból, és tanítjuk egymást és szólunk egymáshoz, legtöbbször olyasmit, aminek mélységhez a szó kevés.
Egy biztos. Az őrületek száma végtelen, a normális létezés mindig ugyanaz. Ahogy Hérakleitosz mondja, “az éberek világa egy és közös, álomvilága mindenkinek egyéni.”
Egy biztos. Az őrületek száma végtelen, a normális létezés mindig ugyanaz. Ahogy Hérakleitosz mondja, “az éberek világa egy és közös, álomvilága mindenkinek egyéni.”
August 19, 2024
Un manualet molt dionisíac.
September 1, 2024
Este cabró es va inventar lo del mediterráneo moral 70 anys abans de la moda
October 25, 2025
Introduced me into the world of symbolical thinking.
December 17, 2022
Minden nap meg kellene hallgatnia minden atesitának a bevezető gondolatokat. Igen ateista vagyok, és szeretettel hallgatom a magas lóról dobott gondolatokat. Ok tudom, hogy egy rendszer szintű (kommunista) álláspontot kritizál, de azt nem mondja ki. Minden esetre jó szembesülés a jelennel, mert ez az örök jelen. Ez az alapállás, és nem az amiről Hamvas beszél, aki hisz Istenben, magában hordozza a megvetést azokkal szemben aki nem, nincs nagyon mit szépíteni ezen, Jézus szavai hamvaiban szóródnak szét. Persze fordítva is fenn áll a helyzet, én mégis megpróbálom kivonni magam ebből a körből. :)
Ez talán Hamvas legjobb írása, 5 csillagot érdemel, ettől persze továbbra is egy idővel kinőhető gondolatfolyam, remélem senki sem ragad bele örökre.
Ez talán Hamvas legjobb írása, 5 csillagot érdemel, ettől persze továbbra is egy idővel kinőhető gondolatfolyam, remélem senki sem ragad bele örökre.
July 2, 2015
Огладнио сам читајући ову књигу!
January 11, 2026
This book inscribes itself within a longline of prophets who preached the spiritual crisis of Europe, somewhere between Husserl, Heidegger, Adorno and Horhkeimer. Here, though, the solution to increasingly materialist, capitalist, technological or, as Hamvas calls it, atheism the solution is wine. Or, rather, God.
Because God is wine and that's what makes this book actually very entertaining. Hamvas preaches God's love expressed through enjoyment of life. Though, at times, he may sound like he praises drunkness and gluttony, Hamvas is very clear - as long as those acts are mindful and rooted in true appreciation of life, they are good. The true via illuminativa can be found by laying under a walnut tree on a late summer afternoon taking in the beauty of the surrouding landscape drinking your favourite bottle of wine. That, to Hamvas, is where God is.
He talks at lenght of different Hungarian wines and for what occasions they are best. But unlike in a usual guide to wine, you will not find here aromas or tasting notes. Instead, you will learn what are starry wines and astral wines, summer and autumn wines, wines to be drunk together and in solutitude. Is wine still God?
I think I found it more profound by keeping in mind that it was written just as the Second World War has ended. Having studied post-war philosophy, which tends to be rather bleak and hopeless, this suprised me with its life affirming qualities.
Though, admittedly, I would have liked it more if such a big part of life affirming in this book wasn't through lusting over naked female bodies. The only excuse I find for the sexism in this essay is that sweet white Hungarian wines, who he compares to women, have been widely acclaimed as the best in the world.
Because God is wine and that's what makes this book actually very entertaining. Hamvas preaches God's love expressed through enjoyment of life. Though, at times, he may sound like he praises drunkness and gluttony, Hamvas is very clear - as long as those acts are mindful and rooted in true appreciation of life, they are good. The true via illuminativa can be found by laying under a walnut tree on a late summer afternoon taking in the beauty of the surrouding landscape drinking your favourite bottle of wine. That, to Hamvas, is where God is.
He talks at lenght of different Hungarian wines and for what occasions they are best. But unlike in a usual guide to wine, you will not find here aromas or tasting notes. Instead, you will learn what are starry wines and astral wines, summer and autumn wines, wines to be drunk together and in solutitude. Is wine still God?
I think I found it more profound by keeping in mind that it was written just as the Second World War has ended. Having studied post-war philosophy, which tends to be rather bleak and hopeless, this suprised me with its life affirming qualities.
Though, admittedly, I would have liked it more if such a big part of life affirming in this book wasn't through lusting over naked female bodies. The only excuse I find for the sexism in this essay is that sweet white Hungarian wines, who he compares to women, have been widely acclaimed as the best in the world.
November 10, 2025
Ha valaki valaha is kételkedett abban, hogy egy pohár borból ki lehet facsarni egy egész világnézetet, Hamvas Béla bebizonyítja: nemcsak lehet, hanem érdemes is. Ez a könyv nem egyszerűen a borról szól, hanem arról, hogy miként lehet az életet kortyolni — mértékkel, áhítattal és néha kissé fölényesen, mint aki tudja, hogy az igazság a palack alján ül, de nem sieti el, hogy megtalálja.
Hamvas úgy ír, mintha egyetlen nagy, soha véget nem érő vacsorán vennénk részt, ahol minden mondat mellé jut egy korty bölcsesség és egy szem irónia. A „bor mint szellemi létezés” gondolata egyszerre magasztos és mulatságos — főleg, amikor az ember és a szőlő közti kapcsolatot már-már metafizikai szintre emeli.
Az olvasó olykor elveszik a gondolatmenetekben, mint egy nehéz somlói juhfarkban, de aztán újra felszínre kerül, és mosolyog: mert rájön, hogy nem kell mindent érteni, elég élvezni. Hamvas szerint a bor a világ derűs rendjének kulcsa — és ebben, valljuk be, nem is téved sokat.
Egy korty Hamvas után minden kicsit fényesebbnek tűnik. Talán csak annyi hiányzik, hogy valaki időnként rászóljon: „na, Béla, most már öntsünk egyet, ne csak beszéljünk róla.”
Hamvas úgy ír, mintha egyetlen nagy, soha véget nem érő vacsorán vennénk részt, ahol minden mondat mellé jut egy korty bölcsesség és egy szem irónia. A „bor mint szellemi létezés” gondolata egyszerre magasztos és mulatságos — főleg, amikor az ember és a szőlő közti kapcsolatot már-már metafizikai szintre emeli.
Az olvasó olykor elveszik a gondolatmenetekben, mint egy nehéz somlói juhfarkban, de aztán újra felszínre kerül, és mosolyog: mert rájön, hogy nem kell mindent érteni, elég élvezni. Hamvas szerint a bor a világ derűs rendjének kulcsa — és ebben, valljuk be, nem is téved sokat.
Egy korty Hamvas után minden kicsit fényesebbnek tűnik. Talán csak annyi hiányzik, hogy valaki időnként rászóljon: „na, Béla, most már öntsünk egyet, ne csak beszéljünk róla.”
January 7, 2020
A mámor filozófiája megtévesztően indul, mintha Hamvas Béla valami ontológiát szerkesztene, olyan komolysággal mint Kant, de ez csak látszat, már az elején érezni, hogy átverés lesz. Olyan ez a könyv, mintha egy könyvtárból indulnál és egyszer csak ledől a díszlet és a Balaton parton találod magad nyáron, gond nélkül a parton iszogatva barátok és szerelmek közt. Téli estékre ajánlott. Élni, inni, bárhol, bármikor, bárhogy. “Mert a mámor az éberség kezdete.”
October 4, 2021
Si se lee con perspectiva, se trata de un halo de vitalidad, poniendo por delante el disfrute y la vida contemplativa.
Además, combina todo ello con el amor por su tierra, sus productos y sus gentes.
Entrañable e inspirador.
Se trata del primer libro de un escritor húngaro que llega a mis manos desde que estoy en Hungría. La lista de comidas y bebidas que he hecho tras leerlo es interminable 🤣.
Además, combina todo ello con el amor por su tierra, sus productos y sus gentes.
Entrañable e inspirador.
Se trata del primer libro de un escritor húngaro que llega a mis manos desde que estoy en Hungría. La lista de comidas y bebidas que he hecho tras leerlo es interminable 🤣.
November 8, 2022
Хамваш, и покрај сета почит која ја ужива кај поединци, во ова четиво искрено не ми остави ама баш никаков впечаток. Освен неколку изјави за виното и уживањето во животот, се останато беа квазирелигиски сфаќања типични за времето од инквизицијата. Дури и дваесетте страници додаток во кои се велича неговото пишување беа преусилен обид да се даде тежина на неговите мисли.
Некои ќе речат дека не сум ја сфатил суштината на неговата филосовска мисла. Па нека биде и така... Сеедно не ми се допадна.
Некои ќе речат дека не сум ја сфатил суштината на неговата филосовска мисла. Па нека биде и така... Сеедно не ми се допадна.
December 28, 2023
📚📖Filosofia vinului a fost pentru mine o ușoară dezamăgire, întrucât mi s-a părut că are puține argumentări filosofice, cuprinde mai multe recomandări gastronomice, mai ales din zona Ungariei(anumite soiuri de vinuri, iar dacă nu cunoști regiunea, ești total în ceață).
Mă așteptam la cu totul altceva, judecând după titlu. Nu eram tentată să știu soiuri de vin si rețete culinare ungurești,dar am zis totuși să termin lectura cât mai repede posibil. 😀
Îi acord 🌟/5.
Mă așteptam la cu totul altceva, judecând după titlu. Nu eram tentată să știu soiuri de vin si rețete culinare ungurești,dar am zis totuși să termin lectura cât mai repede posibil. 😀
Îi acord 🌟/5.
June 1, 2017
Este es un libro para no llevarse en serio... o si. Tiene un gran sentido del humor y un gran conocimiento sobre el arte de vivir.
En realidad, si lo tratas de leerlo con una copa de vino, que es como se debería, muchas de las cosas que parecen escritos en forma de broma cobran sentido. Vale mucho la pena leerlo, reírse y disfrutarlo. Tal cual como el vino.
En realidad, si lo tratas de leerlo con una copa de vino, que es como se debería, muchas de las cosas que parecen escritos en forma de broma cobran sentido. Vale mucho la pena leerlo, reírse y disfrutarlo. Tal cual como el vino.
March 2, 2024
Me'l vaig deixar a meitat, però mesos després el vaig reprendre i vaig trobar-li més substància del que pensava. És un llibre curt, però tanmateix es fa pesat de vegades. Hamvas és a estones insuportable i a estones adorable; si l'encetes un dia que no toca, te'l deixaràs (com jo). Però té algunes frases i idees que paguen la pena, al remat.
August 12, 2018
Nagyon élveztem ezt az írást, pedig nem is vagyok óriási borszakértő/rajongó. Nagyon érdekes, izgalmasnak tartottam ezt a filozofálatást, a szerzőnek a borról való asszociációit - érződik, mennyire lelkes a témában.
November 3, 2018
Philosophy on:
-wine: 3 stars (as there being more or less facts about wines)
-religion: 4 stars
-women (intertwined with wine): 5 stars
Short and fun read. You may like it or you may dislike it. Not much of a middle way.
-wine: 3 stars (as there being more or less facts about wines)
-religion: 4 stars
-women (intertwined with wine): 5 stars
Short and fun read. You may like it or you may dislike it. Not much of a middle way.
August 28, 2023
Lehetne ezt az írást mondatonként szétszálazni és kritizálni, de nem éri meg. Simán csak rossz.
Két dolog vigasztal: 1. hogy rövid volt; 2. hogy mostantól nyugodtan beszélhetek hülyeségeket bármikor, bármiről, ezt nem fogom tudni alulmúlni.
Két dolog vigasztal: 1. hogy rövid volt; 2. hogy mostantól nyugodtan beszélhetek hülyeségeket bármikor, bármiről, ezt nem fogom tudni alulmúlni.
December 12, 2024
Interesante cómo antes se escribía con tanta seguridad. Hamvas hace declaraciones inauditas y las presente como evidentes. En todo caso surge de este pequeño libro la cura para el ateísmo: beber vino. Y por eso digo ¡salud!
January 28, 2018
Megdöbbentő ahogyan az ateistákról ír. Túl sok a megvetés, a harag...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews