Discussion of the parallel characteristics of Petõfi and Eminescu is not new in the comparative history of East European literatures, but those who have investigated the problem failed to grasp the common Danubian peculiarities of these two great poets and thinkers. Their analyses were bound to fail, because they compared more or less isolated poetic details and purely literary resemblances or contrasts; in brief, they were limited to aesthetic considerations. Nobody has tried to present the whole personality, the whole human attitude, of the two eminent writers, although the most important aspects of their literary and political activities can be understood only by a thorough knowledge of their intellectual and emotional reactions. The aim of this study is, not only to fill this gap, but also to attract the attention of foreign readers to the parallel phenomena of Middle and East European cultural life.