s bears a dated watermark, though that proves little. Marginally more reliable is the fact that the censor's stamp had to appear on any work to be published, but this simply indicates the latest possible date. His friends and relatives sometimes tell us when poems were produced. Post-1847 lyrics sometimes appear in letters. These, therefore, are generally more easily datable, though not always definitely so. Tyutchev's letters and those written by members of his family and close friends are an extremely important source of information. We can be fairly sure about the dates of poems written for special occasions and those with a political theme. He was especially keen on having the latter published, for they are often statements intended for the authorities and the reading public. Style is of minimal help. Once Tyutchev casts aside the neo-classical medium, his style and limited vocabulary change little. As a reader comes to know this writer, intuition begins to play a large part, but, of course, one commentator's intuition is different to another's. It is, ultimately, probably true to say that there is a consensus about the chronology established by Soviet scholarship. With the broadest range of readers in mind, not all of whom will have a knowledge of European history and literature nor of the Classics, I offer and explain a wide variety of literary and historical references. My possibly unattainable aim is to satisfy both specialists in various fields and the educated reader with a love of Russian literature but no knowledge of its language. I rarely delve into the intricacies of rhyme, metre and structural characteristics. In any case, such a job has recently been done by A. Liberman (A:19) I completed the best of my work and published a small portion of it early in 1983 and neither he nor I came into contact with each other till early in 1998. I have attempted to include as much material of interest as space will allow in order to give the widest possible picture of Tyutchev and his background. Clearly this is a bottomless pit and if certain matters seem to be dealt with skimpily, it is only to make room for others which seem to me more important or interesting. The first entry in each note is the date or postulated date of the Tyutchev poem. A number in square brackets after the name of a work is its number in the collection I have used, e.g. Pascal's Pensees [163], and, in the case of a Tyutchev poem, its number in this book. Extracts from letters are followed by the date of the letter. ABBREVIATIONS NE Written no earlier than NL Written no later than LET.DAR Letter to Darya LET.ERN. Letter to Ernestine (INDEC)/(...) Indecipherable/doubtful word or phrase TR A translation of Months are generally abbreviated, and other abbreviations are of the standard type (i.e. "vol." for "volume"). 1. Probably 1813 or 1814. The poet's father, Ivan (1776-1846), was "a reasoning man with a calm, common sense approach to things ... unusually good-hearted, mild-mannered and placid with a rare moral sense ... neither intellectually sharp nor talented". (A:1/19) 2. Late Dec. 1815-early Jan. 1816. The twelve-year old Tyutchev experiments by adapting Horace (65-8 BC), by whom he was much influenced at this early stage of his writing life. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, born in Venusia in south-eastern Italy, having unwisely sided with Brutus, escaped the rout of Philippi. His poetry earned him the attention of Vergil among others and he was introduced to the great arts patron, Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, who admitted the young writer to his circle of friends in 38 BC. Maecenas and Horace became friends and the former gave the poet the small country estate he had always craved. Horace worked about ten years before producing the first three books of his eighty eight carmina/odes. This poem will be the same as one entitled Vel'mozha. Podrazhanie Goratsiyu/The Grandee. An Imitation of Horace and read by A. Merzlyakov (1778-1830) at a session of the Society of Lovers of Russian Letters on February 22nd. 1818. Professor Merzlyakov was one of a generation of imitative writers of meagre talent whose contribution to the development of Russian literature in this period it would be uncharitable to ignore, for he genuinely loved poetry and, if forgotten now, enthused many young writers with his own passion for writing. Together with heavy neo-classical works he wrote skilful songs in a folk style. A large proportion of Tyutchev's poem deals with the unmasking of a shamelessly hard-hearted noble, this theme elbowing aside the new year one. The poem contains echoes of a whole range of Russian poets of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, such as M. Lomonosov (1711-1765), N. Gnedich (1784-1838) and Merzlyakov, as well as some of the more innovative and important ones, for example G. Derzhavin (1743-1816) and N. Karamzin (1766-1826). Tyutchev was taught Latin by his tutor, Semyon Raich (1792-1855), and his reading of Horace and other Roman poets is evident in certain works. Chronos: the youngest son of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Mother Earth). Often mistakenly regarded as Time personified. Memphis: the Egyptian city named in honour of this daughter of Nilus, god of the Nile. Ilion: Troy. Cocytus: one of the rivers of Hell, extremely cold and running parallel to the Styx. It formed part of the expanse of water to be crossed by the souls of the dead on the path to Hades. Eumenides: the Furies. 3. Dec. 4th. 1816. Addressee unknown. The reference in l.2 is to the martyr St. Barbara, on whose day the poem appears to have been written. The konets/end of l.14 is probably intended to be nakonets/at last. 4. May 8th. 1818. Tyutchev possessed a copy of Abbe Jacques Delille's two-volume translation of the Aeneid, in which Delille levels unflattering criticism at Voltaire's Henriade (published 1805). Reworking some verses of I. Dmitriev (1760-1837) addressed to M. Kheraskov (1733-1807), Tyutchev appears to accuse Delille of envy. The lines are written on a copy of the Henriade. Kheraskov wrote two vast epics, Rossiada/The Rossiad and Vladimir the former modelled on La Henriade and dealing with the taking of Kazan by Ivan IV ("The Terrible"), the latter with Prince, later Saint Vladimir's introduction of Christianity into Russia. Both were immensely popular at the time. Dmitriev was a Karamzinian, writing elegant verse and rejecting the epic norm. One of the founders of the Russian Sentimental school, he translated and adapted French poets. He wrote several Nadpisi/Inscriptions to accompany portraits and the following is clearly the inspiration for Tyutchev's epigram: Puskai ot zavisti serdtsa zoilov noyut; Kheraskovu oni vreda ne nanesut: Vladimir, Ioann shchitom yego pokroyut I v khram bessmert'ya provedut. *** Let the hearts of zoiluses be tormented by envy, they'll do no harm to Kheraskov. Vladimir and John (Ivan IV - FJ) will protect him with their shield and lead him into immortality's temple. Zoilus: a Greek grammarian who, thanks to his attacks on Homer, gave his name to carping, bitter criticism. 5. NL Feb. 1819. TR Horace. A variation on a theme of Ode 29 (Book III). Tyrrhena regum progenies, tibi non ante verso lene merum cado cum flore, Maecenas, rosarum et pressa tuis balanus capillis. .......... iamdudum apud me est. eripe te morae, nec semper udum Tibur et Aefulae declive contempleris arvum et Telegoni iuga parricidae. .......... fastidiosam desere copiam et molem propinquam nubibus arduis; omitte mirari beatae fumum et opes strepitumque Romae. .......... Plerumque gratae divitibus vices mundaeque parvo sub lare pauperum cenae sine aulaei et ostro sollicitam explicuere frontem. .......... iam clarus occultum Andromedae pater ostendit ignem, iam Procyon furit et stella vesani Leonis, sole dies referente siccos: .......... iam pastor umbras cum grege languido rivumque fessus quaerit et horridi dumeta Silvani, caretque ripa vagis taciturna ventis. .......... tu civitatem quis deceat status curas et Urbi sollicitus times quid Seres et regnata Cyro Bactra parent Tanaisque discors. .......... prudens futuri temporis exitum caliginosa nocte premit deus, ridetque si mortalis ultra fas trepidat. quod adest memento .......... componere aequus; cetera fluminis ritu feruntur, nunc medio alvio cum pace delabentis Etruscum in mare, nunc lapides adesos .......... stirpesque raptas et pecus et domos volventis una non sine montium clamore vicinaeque silvae, cum fera diluvies quietos .......... irritat amnis. ille potens sui laetusque deget, cui licet in diem dixisse 'vixi: cras vel atra nube polum Pater occupato .......... vel sole puro; non tamen irritum, quodcumque retro est, efficiet neque diffinget infectumque reddet, quod fugiens semel hora vexit.' .......... Fortuna saeva laeta negotio et ludum insolentem ludere pertinax transmutat incertos honores, nunc mihi, nunc alii benigna. .......... laudo manentem; si celeris quatit pennas, resigno quae dedit et mea virtute me involvo probamque pauperiem sine dote quaero. .......... non est meum, si mugiat Africis malus procellis, ad miseras preces decurrere et votis pacisci ne Cypriae Tyriaeque merces .......... addant avaro divitias mari. tunc me biremis praesidio scaphae tutum per Aegaeos tumultus aura feret geminusque Pollux. *** Tyrrhenian offspring of kings, for thee there is mellow wine in an unbroached cask, with the flower of roses, Maecenas, and pressed-out unguent for your hair. .......... Now for a while with me. Snatch yourself from delaying; neither be gazing always at Tibur the well-watered, nor at Aefula's sloping field, and the hill of the parricide, Telegonus. .......... Leave abundance, the bringer of weariness, and your mass (of masonry) approaching the steep clouds. Cease to marvel at the smoke and riches and noise of blessed Rome. .......... For the rich, a change is often pleasant, and neat suppers in the small house of the poor, without drapes of purple, have smoothed their anxious brow. .......... Now the bright father of Andromeda shows his hidden fire, now Procyon rages and the star of the furious lion, as the sun brings on the dry days. .......... Now the tired shepherd with his languid flock seeks the shade, and the stream, and shaggy Silvanus's grove; and the silent river-bank lacks wandering breezes. .......... You are concerned for what condition may best suit the state, and on the city's behalf you are anxious what the Seres are preparing, and Bactria ruled over (once) by Cyrus, and the factious Tanais. .......... The prudent god keeps Don in dark night, the outcome of future time, and he laughs if a mortal is anxious beyond measure. That which is present, remember to govern properly. .......... The rest in a river's manner is carried along, which at one time peacefully slips down in the midst of its channel to the Etruscan sea, at another time .......... rolling along water-smoothed stones and tree-trunks it has scratched away and beasts and houses, not without noise (echoed) from the mountains and the neighbouring wood when the wild flood .......... excites the great river. That man rules himself and lives happy who can say each day "I have lived: tomorrow, let the Father occupy the pole with a black cloud .......... or with the bright sun, he will make not make to be in rain what lies behind; nor will he undo or render unreal what the fleeting hour once brought along". .......... Fortune is happy in her cruel work and persists in playing (her) insolent game. She transforms uncertain honours, and now to me, now to another is kind. .......... I praise her while she stays. If she flaps her swift wings, I surrender what she gave me, and in my virtue I wrap myself, and an honest poverty I seek that has no dowry. .......... It is not my way, if the mast creaks with African gales, to fly to wretched prayers and to make bargains with vows, lest (my) Cyprian or Tyrian cargo .......... should add riches to the greedy sea. (Even) then, the breeze and the Heavenly Twins will bear me, with the help of a two-oared boat, safe through the tumults of the Aegean Sea. Castalian maidens: the Muses. Penates: the household gods of a Roman family. Cyrus: once ruled Bactria, near the Aral Sea. 6. Probably 1815-20. The manuscript bears the words, "A translation by F.T...v". The source has yet to be located. Tyutchev's lines are early evidence of his knack of being able to produce snappy, limerick-like verses, a talent which stood him in good stead during his years as a government official whenever he felt the need to deliver poetic slaps to the faces of those in power who incensed him by their stupidity. In its tongue-in-cheek, colloquial tone it joins a handful of early works such as [10,16,17], which owe little to the predominantly neo-classical, odic style of these years and are evidence of the poet's sense of humour. 7. NL June 1820. The influences are too numerous to mention. It is characteristic of poems of the time which were read aloud at solemn university gatherings. Most were poetically unremarkable. Merzlyakov's Khod i uspekhi izyashchnykh iskusstv/The Progress and Successes of the Fine Arts is a good example. There are echoes of Karamzin's Poeziya/Poetry, M. Muravyov's (1796-1866) Khram Marsa/The Temple of Mars and Schiller's (1759-1805) Die Kunstler/The Artists. On the other hand, brief lyrical interludes lighten the turgid bulk of this work, early hints of the more intimate, succinct Tyutchev soon to emerge. Urania: one of the nine Muses, sometimes called "Pierides". Normally the muse of astronomy, here she is divine beauty incarnate. Mnemosyne: mother of the nine muses. Charites: The Graces, goddesses of feminine beauty who also bestowed a love of nature upon human and divine hearts. Aquilon: god of the northern wind. Pharos: the lighthouse on the island of Pharos near Alexandria. Pharos was also the boatman who brought Helen and Mecenatus back from Troy. He died of a snakebite on the island of a Nile estuary which bore his name. Persepolis: the ancient capital of Persia. Perseus was the son either of Odysseus and Musicaa or of Telemachus and Polycaste, daughter of Nestor. Memnon: son of Eo (Dawn). Through the gigantic statue, one of those raised by Amenhotep III, Memnon is said to have greeted his mother with harmonious sounds each morning. Pallas: also Athene and various others. The myrtle was, in fact, dedicated to Aphrodite, goddess of love, whose other plant was the rose. the blind singer: Homer, Ares: the Greek god of war. the swan of Mantua: the Roman poet Vergil (Publius Vergilius Maro, 70-19 BC) was born in Mantua. the eagle of Ferrara: the Italian poet Torquato Tasso (1544-1595). He spent several happy years at the court of Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara. His masterpiece was Gerusalemme liberata/Jerusalem Liberated, a heroic epic in twenty cantos. Afflicted by a persecution mania which resulted in seven miserable years in gaol, he ended his days a wreck of a man. In European literature he became a symbol of misunderstood genius. Like other literary and historical figures of interest to Tyutchev, he bestrode two ages, in his case that of the high Italian Renaissance shortly before the Council of Trent (1554-63) convened to combat the Reformation and, in his mature years, the period of the Counter Reformation. Tajo and Guadalquivir: Spanish rivers. the young singer: the Portuguese poet, Luiz Vaz de Camoes (1524[?]-1579/80). Camoes wrote Os Lusiadas/The Men of Portugal, a heroic, nationalistic epic extolling the exploits of the young Portuguese nation, based on the Aeneid. Portugal was at the time of the poem conscious of its aspirations to taking a substantial share of maritime trade. the two geniuses: John Milton (1608-74) and the German poet Friedrich Klopstock (1724-1803). Klopstock wrote Der Messias/The Messiah. He was influenced by Horace, Milton and Edward Young (1683-1765). the Russian Pinder: Mikhail Lomonosov (see [285]). Lomonosov was a pioneer in the techniques of analytical chemistry and a founder of and professor at Moscow university. He also wrote on the subject of Russian grammar, contributing to the simplification of Russian. His Russian grammar appeared in 1775. He conducted astronomical observations and, while not officially credited with the discovery, which like much of his scientific work went unnoticed, was the first to announce, on May 26th. 1761, that Venus had an atmosphere. He wrote neo-classical poetry and was one of Russia's first serious, modern intellectuals. One of his greatest achievements was his contribution to the development of a new, more supple Russian language. He defined the relationship between Old Church Slavonic and Russian, rid the language of many barbarisms, yet used foreign words where they were useful. In 1739 he wrote, "I cannot rejoice enough at the fact that our Russian language is not only not inferior to the Greek, the Latin and German in vigour and heroic sonority but also like them is capable of versification, but with its own natural and peculiar genius". (B:24/164) father and hero-tsar: Peter I ("The Great"). the singer of Felitsa: Gavriil Derzhavin. Derzhavin was the first major Russian poet to break away from the imitative neo-classical eighteenth century and bridge the gap between it and the early days of the golden age of Russian literature. Lines 172-195: a glorification of Alexander I. The expression na trone chelovek/(Be) a man on the throne is borrowed from Derzhavin's Na rozhdenie v severe porfirorodnogo otroka/On the Birth of a Youth Born in Purple in the North (1779): Bud' strastei tvoikh vladitel', Bud' na trone Chelovek! *** Be the master of your passions, on the throne be a Man! Janus: Jupiter's equal in Rome. During times of war, the doors to his temple remained open, closing in peace time. The reference here is to the Napoleonic invasion of Russia in 1812 and to the campaigns which Russia subsequently carried on beyond her borders up till 1814. 8. Sept. 14th. 1820. Addressed to Tyutchev's close friend and tutor, the poet-translator, Semyon Raich (born Amfiteatrov). This poem refers to Raich's completion of his translation of Vergil's Georgics (Virgilevy Georgiki. Perevod A.R., published 1821). For a long time Tyutchev was the only one allowed to read Raich's work on the Roman poet. Another of Tyutchev's friends, M. Pogodin (1800-75), wrote unkindly of Raich: "Tyutchev possesses rare and brilliant talents, but sometimes takes a lot on himself and makes extremely badly founded and biased judgements; for example, he says that Raich translates Vergil's Eclogues better than Merzlyakov does. Every single one of Raich's verses is constructed around the same metre. There is no nuance. They are all identical. He would be better translating not Vergil but Delille. That would be a more suitable task for him". (A:20, vol. 2/13) Apollo's tree: the laurel. 9. Nov. 1820. Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) wrote Vol'nost'. Oda/Freedom. An Ode in 1817 shortly after leaving school, a youthfully uncompromising poem in comparison with Tyutchev's rather lame plea to would-be revolutionaries to soften their approach. Here we encounter Tyutchev's inability to accept fundamental upheaval when discussion and diplomacy might always work. The reader will encounter many images suggesting that change in any shape or form perturbs Tyutchev. Stanza 1 of Pushkin's work contains the following lines: Pridi, sorvi s menya venok, Razbei iznezhennuyu liru... Khochu vospet' Svobody liru, Na tronakh porazit' porok. *** Come, tear the garland from me, smash my effeminate lyre. I want to sing on the lyre of Freedom, to strike the shame which sits on thrones. In the odes of the Greek poet Alcaeus (fl. 600 BC) there are many anti-tyranny motifs. He was a rebel and terrorist and the source of some of Horace's political odes. The writer and historian, M. Pogodin, a student friend of the poet, mentions in his diary that he and Tyutchev discussed Pushkin, "... his ode, Freedom, the free, noble spirit of the thought which for some time now has made itself known to us". (Nov. 1st. 1820) 10. Nov. 1820. Tyutchev was a renowned scribbler and is alleged to have produced several epigrams during Kachenovsky's lectures at Moscow University. Gregg points out that Tyutchev's constant chatter once drew a "baleful stare" from the professor. (A:14) Unfortunately only this epigram has survived. The Professor of Archaeology and the Theory of Fine Arts was an opponent of anything new and sharply criticised Pushkin in the pages of Vestnik Evropy/The Messenger of Europe, which he edited at the time. The epigram may have been prompted by Kachenovsky's attack on Pushkin's newly published poem, Ruslan i Lyudmila/Ruslan and Lyudmila. It is easy to imagine several such epigrams aimed at the lecturer by his students. Pushkin wrote the following in 1821: Klevetnik bez darovan'ya, Palok ishchet on chut'yom, I dnevnogo propitan'ya Ezhemesyachnym vran'yom. *** A talentless slanderer, he seeks out the cane by scent, and his daily nourishment by his monthly lies. The "monthly lies" refers to The Messenger of Europe. Charon: the ferryman responsible for the transfer of souls from the land of the living to Hades. 11. NE 1820-NL first half of March 1822. TR Lamartine (1790-1869): L'Isolement/Solitude, [1] of Meditations Poetiques/Poetic Meditations (1820). Souvent sur la montagne, a l'ombre du vieux chene, Au coucher du soleil, tristement je m'assieds; Je promene au hasard mes regards sur la plaine, Dont le tableau changeant se deroule a mes pieds. .......... Ici, gronde le fleuve aux vagues ecumantes, Il serpente, et s'enfonce en un lointain obscur; La, le lac immobile etend ses eaux dormantes Ou l'etoile du soir se leve dans l'azure. .......... Au sommet de ces monts couronnes de bois sombres, Le crepuscule encor jette un dernier rayon, Et le char vaporeux de la reine des ombres Monte, et blanchit deja les bords de l'horizon. .......... Cependant, s'elancant de la fleche gothique, Un son religieux se repand dans les airs, Le voyageur s'arrete, et la cloche rustique Aux derniers bruits du jour mele de saints concerts. .......... Mais a ces doux tableaux mon ame indifferente N'eprouve devant eux ni charme, ni transports, Je contemple la terre, ainsi qu'une ombre errante: Le soleil des vivants n'echauffe plus les morts. .......... De colline en colline en vain portant ma vue, Du sud a l'aquilon, de l'aurore au couchant, Je parcours tous les points de l'immense etendue, Et je dis: Nulle part le bonheur ne m'attend. ......... Que me font ces vallons, ces palais, ces chaumieres? Vains objets dont pour moi le charme est envole; Fleuves, rochers, forets, solitudes si cheres, Un seul etre vous manque, et tout est depeuple. .......... Que le tour du soleil ou commence ou s'acheve, D'un oeil indifferent je le suis dans son cours; En un ciel sombre ou pur qu'il se couche ou se leve, Qu'importe le soleil? Je n'attends rien des jours. .......... Quand je pourrais le suivre en sa vaste carriere, Mes yeux verraient partout le vide et les deserts; Je ne desire rien de tout ce qu'il eclaire, Je ne demande rien a l'immense univers. .......... Mais peut-etre au-dela des bornes de sa sphere, Lieux ou le vrai soleil eclaire d'autres cieux, Si je pouvais laisser ma depouille a la terre, Ce que j'ai tant reve paraitrait a mes yeux? .......... La, je m'enivrerais a la source ou j'aspire, La, je retrouverais et l'espoir et l'amour, Et ce bien ideal que toute ame desire, Et qui n'a pas de nom au terrestre sejour! .......... Que ne puis-je, porte sur le char de l'aurore, Vague objet de mes voeux, m'elancer jusqu'a toi, Sur la terre d'exil pourquoi reste-je encore? Il n'est rien de commun entre la terre et moi. .......... Quand la feuille des bois tombe dans la prairie, Le vent du soir s'eleve et l'arrache aux vallons; Et moi, je suis semblable a la feuille fletrie: Emportez-moi comme elle, orageux aquilons! *** Often on a mountain, in the shade of an old oak, at sunset, I sit sadly down; I let my gaze wander across the plain, whose changing picture unfolds at my feet. .......... Here the river's foaming waves growl. It meanders, drowning in the dark distance; there, the motionless lake extends its sleeping waters where the evening star rises in the blueness. .......... On these peaks, crowned with dark woods, dusk still throws a final ray, and the misty chariot of the queen of shadows rises, already whitening the horizon's edge. .......... However, leaping from the gothic spire, a sacred sound spills into the air. The traveller stops, and the village bell mingles its sacred sounds with the day's final noise. .......... But my soul remains indifferent to these soft images, experiencing neither charm nor delight. I contemplate the land, as would a wandering shade: the sun of the living no longer warms the dead. .......... Vainly glancing from hill to hill, from south to north, from dawn to sunset, I cover all points of the immense expanse, and I say, "Happiness awaits me nowhere". .......... What are these valleys, palaces, thatched cottages to me? Pointless things whose charm for me has vanished; rivers, rocks, forests, dear places of solitude, it takes only one person to be absent, and the whole world is depopulated. .......... Let the sun start or finish its path, I follow it indifferently across the sky; whether it sets or rises in a clear or dark sky, what's the sun to me? I expect nothing of the days. .......... If I could follow it on its immense journey, everywhere my eyes would see emptiness and deserts; I ask nothing of anything it illuminates I ask nothing of the vast universe. .......... But perhaps beyond the boundaries of its orbit, places where the true sun lights up other skies, if I could leave my shell here on earth, what I've dreamed of so much would appear to my eyes? .......... there, I should be intoxicated at the spring where I breathe, there I should find once more hope and love, and this fine ideal which every soul desires, and which has no name on its earthly sojourn! .......... Why can I not, born on dawn's chariot, indistinct object of my desires, impel myself to you? Why do I remain on this land of exile? Earth and I have nothing in common. .......... When the leaf from the woods falls onto the plain, evening's wind rises and swirls it off to the valleys. I am just like that withered leaf. Bear me off as you go, stormy northern winds! One of the leading French Romantic writers of the 1820s, Alphonse de Lamartine became an influential politician, heading the Provisional Government after the 1848 revolution. The religious and sentimental character of the Poetic Meditations made the small group of poems extremely popular during a period in France when intuition was ousting reason as a means to self-knowledge. There is a strong pantheistic streak in the work of many writers of the time. The first major treatment of Tyutchev's links with French literature is (A:32, 111/148-167), in which Surina points out that images in some of Tyutchev's original poems can be traced to Solitude. 12. NL Apr. 1821. Tyutchev's vocabulary changes little over the years. A significant number of words, formulae and images in this mediocre poem are repeated in later lyrics of genius. Examples are the favourite obveyat'/to winnow, fan; pri pervom ... svete/at (the) first light; and the child at the end of the poem who also appears, in adolescent guise, in [75]. 13. Dec. 13th. 1831. Dedicated to A. Muravyov (1806-74). A former pupil of Raich. Muravyov's earlier years were characterised by rationalist views, giving way in later life to an adherence to Orthodoxy and church ritual. (See [345]). Tyutchev's thoughts echo those of Raich as expressed in the latter's thesis on didactic poetry. Expounding his theory of ancient man, Raich wrote that the ancients "observed nature at a distance which favoured the imagination and through the veil which covered it; today, people study it close at hand and, as it were, armed with spectacles. Certain of them, describing objects, present us with living, laughing, attractive scenes, and still more often with statues; other draw landscapes which are often dead. The most pleasant location without living beings, especially man, can afford us no lasting pleasure; we want to see ourselves in everything and everywhere. The ancients did not like a soulless nature, and their imagination often peoples it with living creatures. In brooks they saw Naiads; beneath the bark of a tree beat the heart of a Dryad; in valleys, Nymphs weaved round-dances. This is why the ancients' descriptions are always short, living. They had no need to seek innumerable nuances to describe an object; all they had to do was personify it and the reader saw before him breathing imagines, spirantia signa (B:33/250-251). Raich might well be describing the best of Tyutchev's nature lyrics here, where an undoubted sense of living nature contains the conviction that any rationalist view of nature, such as Pascal's "Par la pensee, je le comprehends" is misguided. 14. Jun. 1822. TR Schiller: Hektors Abschied/Hector's Farewell from Gedichte/Poems (pt. 1, 1804). An earlier edition was entitled Abschied Andromachas und Hektors/The Farewell of Andromache and Hector. A slightly different version is sung by Amalia in the drama Die Rauber/The Robbers, II, 2 (1781). Andromache Will sich Hektor ewig von mir wenden, Wo Achill mit den unnahbar'n Handen Dem Patroklus schrecklich Opfer bringt? Wer wird kunftig deinen Kleinen Lehren Speere werfen und die Gotter ehren, wenn der finstre Orkus dich verschlingt? Hektor Teures Weib gebiete deinen Tranen, Nach der Feldschlacht ist mein feurig Sehnen, Diese Arme schutzen Pergamus. Kampfend fur den heil'gen Herd der Gotter Fall ich, und des Vaterlandes Retter Steig' ich nieder zu dem styg'schen Flu?. Andromache Nimmer lausch' ich deiner Waffen Schalle, Mu?ig liegt dein Eisen in der Halle, Priams gro?er Heldenstramm verdirbt. Du wirst hingeh'n wo kein Tag mehr scheinet, Der Cocytus durch die Wusten weinet, Deine Libe in dem Lethe stirbt. Hektor All mein Sehnen will ich, all mein Denken, In des Lethe stillen Strom versenken, Aber meine Liebe nicht. Horch! der Wilde tobt schon an den Mauern, Gurte mir das Schwert um, la? das Trauern, Hektors Liebe stirbt im Lethe nicht. *** Andromache Does Hector want to turn away from me forever, where the unapproachable hands of Achilles make a terrible sacrifice to Patroclus? Who in the future will teach the little one to throw the javelin and honour the gods if the dark Orkus devours you? Hector Dear wife, control your tears, my fiery longing is for the field of battle. These arms protect Pergamum. Fighting at the hearth of the gods I fall, and, saviour of the fatherland, I will go down to the river Styx. Andromache Never more shall I hear the sound of your weapons as the iron lies idly in your hall. Priam's great line will be ruined. You must go where day no longer shines. The Cocytus sobs in its desolation. Your love will perish in the Lethe. Hector All my longing, all my thoughts will I drown in the Lethe's still waters but not my love. Listen! The maniac is raging at the walls. Strap on my sword, leave your tears. Hector's love will not die in the Lethe. Schiller was renowned for his sense of high seriousness and his belief that literature was a civilising force with a capacity to alter the ways of individuals and societies. The above poem comes from a play in which Karl Moor indulges in what appears to be indiscriminate brigandage and murder as he leads a band of friends against tyrants, for personal and social reasons. Pergamum: Troy. the little one: Astyanax. the maniac: Achilles. 15. The 1820s. Raich defended his master's degree on April 29th. 1822. The date of the poem has been postulated by Pigaryov as 1822. Korolyova considered 1827-28 more likely as at this time Raich published his translation of Jerusalem Liberated. Raich's balladic metre created heated argument. Tyutchev's poem imitates this metre and he could have been firmly on his friend's side in the debate although, equally, he was his own man when he felt like being so. 16. Early 1820s. A quotation from a Lenten prayer by Efrem Sirim (Ephraim the Syrian, c. 306-378). Ephraim's mystical and poetical works are used in the Syrian liturgy. 17. Early 1820s. Tyutchev's hedonistic views of this period are in good company with this and the previous [16] humorous lines of the free-thinking, extremely confident and self-possessed young man whose belief in himself and the comfortable world around him had yet to be shaken. 18. Jan. 1823. Dedicated to Tyutchev's first cousin, Aleksei. Sheremetev served as lifeguard in the horse artillery. He proceeded to an appointment as aide-de-camp to Count P. Tolstoy who commanded the Fifth Infantry Corps, billeted in Moscow where Sheremetev's mother and sister were in residence. ...who has spirit and serfs: Tyutchev employs an untranslatable pun on dusha, one of his favourite words, which can mean "soul", "heart", "feeling", as well as "serf". In this line he uses two difference cases of the same noun to suggest the liveliness and "spirit" of the young girl as well as the "serfs" who would come with her estate. The most famous use of the noun in this sense is, of course, in Gogol's (1809-52) Myortvye dushi/Dead Souls. The word dusha takes on a predominantly spiritual sense in a number of later poems. Nadezhda Sheremeteva (1775-1850) was Tyutchev's aunt. She corresponded with Gogol and Zhukovksy. Her son-in-law, I. Yakushkin, was sentenced to twenty years hard labour for his open involvement in the Decembrist movement. The hero-agronomist is Count Pyotr Tolstoi, one of the foremost figures of the Moscow Agricultural Society. 19. Feb. 1823. TR Schiller: An die Freude/To Joy, from Part 2 of the Poems. Freude, schoner Gotterfunken, Tochter aus Elisium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum. Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt, Alle Menschen werden Bruder, Wo dein sanfter Flugel weilt. Chor Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Ku? der ganzen Welt! Bruder - uberm Sternenzelt Mu? ein lieber Vater wohnen. .......... Wem der gro?e Wurf gelungen, Eines Freundes Freund zu sein, Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, Mische seinene Jubel ein! Ja - wer auch nur eine Seele Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle Weinend sich aus diesem Bund! Chor Was den gro?en Ring bewohnet Huldige der Simpathie! Zu de Sternen leitet sie, Wo der Unbekannte thronet. .......... Freude trinken alle Wesen An den Brusten der Natur, Alle Guten, alle Bosen Folgen ihrer Rosenspur. Kusse gab sie uns and Reben, Einen Freund, gepruft im Tod, Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, Und der Cherub steht vor Gott. Chor Ihr sturzt nieder, Millionen? Ahndest du den Schopfer, Welt? Such ihn uberm Sternenzelt, Uber Sternen mu? er wohnen. .......... Freude hei?t die starke Feder In der ewigen Natur. Freude, Freude treibt die Rader In der gro?en Weltenuhr. Blumen lockt sie aus den Keimen, Sonnen aus dem Firmament, Spharen rollt sie in den Raumen, Die des Sehers Rohr nicht kennt! Chor Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen, Durch des Himmels pracht'gen Plan, Laufet Bruder eure Bahn, Freudig wie ein Held zum siegen. .......... Aus der Wahrheit Feuerspiegel Lachelt sie den Forscher an. Zu der Tugend steilem Hugel Leitet sie des Dulders Bahn. Auf des Glaubens Sonnenberge Sieht man ihre Fahnen wehn, Durch den Ri? gesprengster Sarge Sie im Chor der Engel stehn. Chor Duldet mutig Millionen! Duldet fur die bess're Welt! Droben uberm Sternenzelt Wird ein gro?er Gott belohnen. .......... Gottern kann man nicht vergelten, Schon ist's ihnen gleich zu sein. Gram und Armut soll sich melden, Mit den Frohen sich erfreun. Groll und Rache sei vergessen, Unserm Todfeind sei verziehn. Keine Trane soll ihn pressen, Keine Reue nage ihn. Chor Unser Schuldbuch sei vernichtet! Ausgesohnt die ganze Welt! Bruder - uberm Sternenzelt Richtet Gott, wie wir gerichtet. .......... Freude sprudelt in Pokalen, In der Traube gold'nem Blut Trinken Sanftmut Kannibalen, Die verzweiflung Heldenmut -- Bruder fliegt von euren Sitzen, Wenn der volle Romer kreist, La?t den Schaum zum Himmel spritzen: Dieses Glas dem guten Geist! Chor Den der Sterne Wirbel loben, Den des Seraphs Hymne preist, Dieses Glas dem guten Geist, Uberm Sternenzelt dort oben! .......... Festen Mut in schwerem Leiden, Hulfe, wo die Unschuld weint, Ewigkeit geschwor'nen Eiden, Wahrheit gegen Freund und Feind, Mannerstolz vor Konigsthronen - Bruder, galt' es Gut and Blut - Dem Verdienste seine Kronen, Untergang der Lugenbrut. Chor Schlie?t den heil'gen Zirkel dichter, Schwort bei diesem goldnen Wein: Dem Gelubde treu zu sein, Schwort es bei dem Sternenrichter! *** Oh, Joy, you beautiful, divine spark, daughter of Elysium, drunk with excitement, we enter your shrine, oh heavenly one. Your magic reunites whatever convention has divided. Under your soft wings, all men become brothers. Chorus Millions, embrace! I want to kiss the whole world! Brothers, above the firmament a dear father must dwell. .......... Let those who have the good fortune to be a friend, those who have won a lovely woman, join in the exultation! Yes, whoever can call one soul on earth his own! Those who have never managed this skulk away in tears. Chorus Let all who inhabit the universe pay homage to sympathy! It leads to the stars where the Unknown has his throne. .......... All brings drink joy from the breasts of nature, all, be they good or bad, follow its trail of roses. Joy gave us kisses and the vine, a friend proving friendship through death. Even a worm can feel lust and cherubs enjoy the presence of God. Chorus Are you prostrating yourselves, oh millions? Oh world, do you know your Creator? Look for him above the firmament, he must dwell above the stars. .......... Joy is the powerful force behind eternal nature. It is joy that moves the cogs of the universe's great clock. It entices the flowers out of their buds and the suns from the firmament. It spins heavenly bodies in spaces never plumbed by the astronomer's telescope. Chorus If you want to fly happily like its suns across the sky's magnificent plain, brother