Translated material
So said Alexander Sergeevich
Pushkin about women, unicorn and beating journalists with sticks
For almost three years, Gorky has been conducting the “Survival Instructions”, in which we collect the most interesting, contradictory and simply absurd thoughts of our favorite writers. Suddenly we were dawned on us that during all this time we somehow did not touch the saint himself-Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. We make up for this gap.About women
They complain about the indifference of Russian women to poetry believing this reason for ignorance of the domestic language; But which lady will not understand the verses of Zhukovsky, Vyazemsky or Boratynsky? The fact is that women are the same everywhere. Nature, gifting them with a subtle mind and sensitivity, of the most irritable, almost refused them a feeling of elegant. Poetry slides along their hearing, without reaching the soul; They are insensitive to her harmony; Note how they sing fashion romances, how they distort poetry, the most natural, upset the measure, destroy rhyme. Listen to their judgments, and you will be surprised at the curvature and even rudeness of their concepts ... Exceptions are rare.
***
In some Asian people, men every day, rebelled from sleep, thank God, who created them not women.
Mohammed challenges the ladies of the soul.
In France, in the earth glorified by its courtesy, grammar solemnly proclaimed the male family to the noblest.
The poeticist gave his tragedy to be considered by known criticism. The manuscript was a verse:
I am a man and went through the ways of delusions.
The critic emphasized the verse, accelerating if a woman can be called a man. This resembles a glorious decision attributed to Peter I: a woman is not a person, a chicken is not a bird, the ensign is not an officer.
Even people who give themselves as a zealous admirers of the fair sex do not imply in women a mind equal to ours, and, adapting to the weakness of their concepts, scientists are published for ladies, as if for children; etc.
***
Break men in general, analyze all their vices, not one will think to intercede. But touch the fair sex satirically - all women will rebelly on you unanimously, they make up one people, one sect.
***
One lady told me that if a man begins to talk with her about the insignificant objects, as if adjusting to the weakness of the female concept, then in her eyes he immediately exposes his ignorance of women.
In fact: is it funny to read women who so often amaze us with the speed of concepts and the subtlety of feelings and mind, the creatures are lower in comparison with us! This is especially strange in Russia, where Catherine II reigned and where women are generally more enlightened, more read, more follow the European course of things than we, the proud god know why.
About egoism
The more cold, prudent, careful, the less we are attacked by ridicule. Egoism can be disgusting, but it is not ridiculous, for it is perfectly prudent. However, there are people who love themselves with such tenderness, are surprised at their genius with such enthusiasm, think about their well -being with such tenderness, about their displeasure with such compassion that in them, selfishness has a ridiculous side of enthusiasm and sensitivity.
About unsuccessful aphorisms
Un Sonnet Sans Défaut Vaut Seoul Un Long Poème. A good epigram is better than a bad tragedy ... What does that mean? Is it possible to say that a good breakfast is better than bad weather?
About homeland and patriotism
It is not only possible to be proud of the glory of their ancestors, but also should; Do not respect it is shameful cowardice. “The state rule,” says Karamzin, “puts respect for the ancestors in the dignity of a citizen educated.” The Greeks in their very humiliation remembered their glorious origin and thereby already worthy of their liberation ... Can there be a vice in a private person what is revered by virtue in the whole people? The prejudice of this, approved by the democratic envy of some philosophers, serves only to the spread of low egoism. The disinterested thought that the grandchildren will be respected for the name, we transferred to them, is the noblest hope of the human heart? Mes Arrière-Newux Me Devront Cet Ombrage!
***
Some people do not care about the glory or the disasters of the Fatherland, their history is known only from the time of Prince. Potemkina, have a certain concept of statistics only of the province in which their estates are located, with all that they revere themselves by patriots, because they love Botvini and that their children run in a red shirt.
***
Only a revolutionary head, similar to Mirabeau and Peter, can love Russia as a writer can only love its language.
Everything should be created in this Russia and in this Russian language.
***
Foreigners who claim that in our ancient nobility there was no concept of honor (Point d'Honneur) are very mistaken. This honor, consisting in the readiness to sacrifice everyone to maintain some conditional rule, is visible in all the splendor of its madness in our ancient localism. The boyars went to disgrace and execution, subjecting Tsarov to the Tsarovy trial their genealogy ramps. The young Theodore, having destroyed this proud noble opposition, did what neither the possible John III decided on, nor his impatient grandson, nor the secretly evil Godunov.
***
The humiliated Sweden and destroyed Poland, here are the great rights of Catherine to the gratitude of the Russian people. But over time, history will appreciate the influence of her reign on morals, reveal the brutal activity of her despotism under the guise of meekness and tolerance, the people oppressed by the governors, the treasury, plundered by lovers, will show her important mistakes in political economy, insignificance in legislation, disgusting fidgetism in relations with the philosophers of her century - and then the voice of the deceived Voltaire will not relieve its glorious memory from the glorious memory of Curses of Russia.
About criticism and critics
If everything is already said, why are you writing? To say beautifully what was said simply? Miseful occupation! No, we will not slander the human mind of human, inexhaustible in considerations of concepts, as a language inexhaustible in consideration of words. In this sense, a happy joke of Prince Vyazemsky is completely fair; He, justifying the excess of epithets that make Russian poems so lethargic, said very funny that all nouns were said and that we have to reduce them again by adjectives. Conscientious people thought and importantly began to prove that both verbs and participles and other parts of speech have long been said.
***
We have become common between writers who have earned a power of attorney and respect for the public, not to object to critics. Rarely, one of them will give a voice, and then not for themselves. The habit is harmful to literature.
***
This is not new, it was said - this is one of the most ordinary accusations of criticism. But everything has already been said, all concepts are expressed and repeated for centuries: what follows from this? That the human spirit is already producing nothing new? No, we will not slander him: the mind is inexhaustible in the consideration of concepts, as a language inexhaustible in combining words. All words are in the vocabulary; But books that appear, not the essence of the repetition of a lexicon. The thought is never a new one, it never represents anything new; Thoughts can be diverse to infinity.
***
They will say that criticism should only engage in works that have visible dignity; I don't think. Another composition itself is negligible, but wonderful in its success or influence; And in this respect, moral observations are more important than the observations of literary.
***
Many are unhappy with our journal critic for its bad tone, ignorance of decency, etc. The displeasure is the most unjust. A scientist busy with his own affairs, immersed in thought, may not have time to appear in society and acquire the skill of vain education, like the idle resident of the big world. We must be condescending to his simple -minded rudeness - the collection of conscientiousness and love for truth. Pedantism has its own good side. It is only then funny and disgusting when petty thought and ignorance are expressed by the language of a drunken seminarist.
***
We have literature, but there is no criticism yet. Our journalists are in the name of the romantic, as the old women are scolding nales and nozzles - no idea about Voltaire or Franmasion.
***
Vanyusha, the son of a parish clerk, was a terrible hut. He spent the whole day on the street with the boys, lying with them in the mud and his lord of his festive dress. When their decent person passed by, Vanyusha showed him his tongue, ran after him and shouted with all his might: “A drunkard, a freak, a lecher! Grindul, scribble! Atheist, nihilist! " - and threw mud at him. Once, a sedate man, lugged for him, was angry and, caught him by Vikhor, painfully beat him with a cane. Vanyusha in tears ran to complain to his father. The old clerk told him: “He is right to you, scoundrel; God grant health to someone who did not disdain to teach you. " Vanyusha became very sad, felt his guilt and recovered.
***
Reading the analysis of the most hostile, I dare to say that I always tried to enter the way of thinking of my critic and follow his judgments, without refuting them with a proud impatience, but wanting to agree with them with all kinds of author’s confirmation. I did not notice the misfortune that for the most part we did not understand each other. As for the critical articles written with one goal to offend me in any way, I will only say that they were very angry at least in the first minutes, and that the investigators can be satisfied.
On Education and Enlightened
Nothing could be more complicated than poetry, as the philosophy with which the XVIII century gave its name. It was directed against the dominant religion, the eternal source of poetry among all peoples, and its beloved instrument was cold and cautious and the mockery of rabid and venerable. Voltaire, the giant of this era, took possession of verses as an important industry of human mental activity. He wrote the epic, with the intention of denigrating caporyism. For 60 years, he filled the theater with tragedies in which, not caring about the credibility of characters or the legality of the funds, he forced his faces to express the rules of his philosophy by the way. He flooded Paris with lovely trinkets, in which philosophy spoke in general and joking language, one rhyme and meter different from prose, and this ease seemed the height of poetry; Finally, he, once in his life, becomes a poet when his entire destructive genius poured out with all his freedom in a cynical poem, where all the high feelings, precious to humanity, were sacrificed to the demon of laughter and irony, the Greek antiquity of Lockyan, the shrine of both covenants of the hoop ...
***
The stomach of an enlightened person has the best qualities of a good heart: sensitivity and gratitude.
***
In Radishchev, the whole French philosophy of his century was reflected: Voltaire's skepticism, Russo's philanthropy, political cynicism of Diderot and Renal; But all in a awkward, distorted form, like all objects crookedly are reflected in a crooked mirror. He is a true representative of the half -education. Ignorant contempt for everything past, demented amazement before his age, blind addiction to novelty, private superficial information, outright accurate to everything, is what we see in Radishchev. He seems to try to annoy the supreme power with his bitter malice; Wouldn't it be better to point out the good that she is able to create? He reproaches the power of the Lord as a clear lawlessness; Wasn't it better to introduce ways to the government and smart landowners to a gradual improvement in the state of the peasants; He is angry with the centers; Is it not better to talk about the rules that the legislator should be guided by, so that on the one hand the class of writers would not be oppressed by the thought, the sacred gift of God, was not a slave and the victim of a meaningless and wayward council, and on the other, so that the writer did not use this divine gun to achieve a low or criminal goal? But all this would be simply useful and would not produce neither noise nor temptation, because the government itself not only did not neglect the writers and did not oppress them, but also required their complicity, summoned their activities, listened to their judgments, took their advice - it felt the need to promote people of enlightened and thinking, not frightening their courage and not insulting their sincerity. What was the goal of Radishchev? What exactly did he want? He could hardly answer these questions satisfactorily. His influence was negligible. Everyone read his book and forgot it
***
The scientist without talent is like the poor mullah who cut and ate the Qur'an, thinking of fulfilling the spirit of Magometov.
About most people
It should try to have a majority of votes on your side: do not insult the fools.
***
Milton used to say: “I have enough readers from me and a small number of readers, if only they were worthy of understanding me.” This proud desire of the poet is sometimes repeated and in our time only with a slight change. Some of our contemporaries obviously and under the hand try to reason us that "there are enough readers from them, if only there were a lot of buyers."
***
The stupidity of condemnation is not as noticeable as stupid praise; The fool does not see any dignity in Shakespeare, and this is attributed to the understandingness of his taste, strangeness, etc. The same fool admires the novel of Ducher-Dumenil or the “story” of G. Polevoi, and they look at him with contempt, although in the first case his stupidity was expressed clearer for a thinking person.
***
Time changes a person both in physical and spiritually. The husband, with a sigh, il with a smile, rejects dreams that worried the young man. The youthful thoughts, like a youthful face, always have something strange and funny. The fool one does not change, because time does not bring him development, and experiments do not exist for him.
About the difference between a gun and a unicorn
Do you know the difference between a gun and a unicorn? The gun itself, and the unicorn itself.
About the main thing in verses
They say that in verses - poetry is not the main thing. What is the main thing? prose? It should be exterminated in advance by the persecution, whip, stakes, songs on the voice “One sitting in the company” and that under the <feck ”.
Travelers' Council
At each station, I advise you to throw an empty bottle out of the stroller; Thus, you will have some kind of lesson from boredom.
About journalists
The Le Furet newspaper is published from Beijing that some mandarin ordered to beat some journalist with sticks. The publisher notices that the tangerine is ashamed, and the journalist is great.
About why we read notes of great people
One of the reasons for the greed with which we read the notes of great people is our pride: we are glad if we are coming up with a wonderful person of anything, opinions, feelings, habits - even weaknesses and vices. Probably, we would have found more similarities with opinions, habits and weaknesses of people completely insignificant if they left us their works.
About yourself
When I was the king, I would call Alexander Pushkin and told him: "Alexander Sergeyevich, you compose poems perfectly."