Antioch Dmitrievich Kantemir is one of the prominent cultural figures of the syllabic era (the heyday of literature before the reforms by Lomonosov). He was a comprehensively developed personality, engaged in not only literary, but also political activity: he held diplomatic posts under Catherine I. Let's get to know more closely his work and biography.
Antioch Cantemir: a brief biography
Antioch was born in 1708, in a princely family with Romanian roots. His father, Dmitry Konstantinovich, was the ruler of the Principality of Moldova, and his mother, Kassandra, belonged to the ancient and noble family of Kantakuzinov. He was born and spent the first years of his life in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), and in the spring of 1712 the family moved to the Russian Empire.
In the family of Antiochus, Cantemir was the youngest. There were 6 children in total: 4 sons and 2 daughters (Maria, Smaragda, Matvey, Sergey, Konstantin and Antioch). All of them received excellent home education, but only our hero took advantage of the opportunities and continued his studies at the Greco-Slavic Academy. Thanks to the zeal and thirst for knowledge, Prince Antioch Cantemir became one of the most enlightened and advanced people of the 18th century!
After graduation, the young Antiochus entered the service of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, and very soon he rose to the rank of ensign. In those same years (1726-1728), he attended the university lectures of Bernoulli and Gross at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The first works of the writer
The writer's creative career began in those years when a painful reaction was observed in society to the suspension of the reforms of Peter I. Antioch himself was an adherent of Peter the Great's traditions, so in 1727 he joined a group of individuals led by Feofan Prokopovich. His works were greatly influenced by precisely these public moods.
His very first work was written as a practical guide to bible verses and psalms, it was called the "Psalm Symphony." In 1726, he presented his manuscript to Catherine I as a sign of respect and reverence. The tsarina very much liked his sayings, and the manuscript was printed with a circulation of more than 1000 copies.
Cantemir's most famous book
A little later, he began to translate various foreign works, mainly, these are translations from French. The most famous work that approved him as an excellent translator is the translation of Fontenel. Antioch Cantemir not only completed a competent retelling of the book "Talking about the Diversity of Worlds", but also supplemented each of its sections with his own thoughts and comments. Despite the relevance of the book in many European countries, in Russia his works were banned by the Empress, because, allegedly, they contradicted the foundations of morality and religion.
Antioch Cantemir: works of satire
Antiochus is considered the founder of this type of literature as satire. His first poems denounced the detractors of science. One of the most famous works is "On the blasphemous doctrines. To his own mind," in this work he speaks with irony of those who consider themselves to be "wise men", but "They will not understand in the chrysostom."
The heyday of his creative activity fell on the years 1727-1730. In 1729, he created a series of satirical verses. In total, he wrote 9 satyrs, here are the most famous of them:
- "To the envy of the evil nobles" - taunts the nobles, who managed to lose their original well-being and are far behind culture.
- “On the difference of human passions” - this was a kind of message to the archbishop of Novgorod, in which all the sins and passions of high-ranking church servants were exposed.
- "On true bliss" - in this work, the writer Antioch Dmitrievich Kantemir discusses the eternal questions of being and gives the answer "only he is blessed in this life who is content with little and lives in silence."
Feature of the works
In many ways, the satirical works of the prince were due to his personal convictions. Prince Antioch Cantemir was so devoted to Russia and loved the Russian people that his main goal was to do everything for their well-being. He sympathized with all the reforms of Peter I, and the king himself endlessly respected for his efforts in the development of education. All his thoughts are openly expressed in his works. The main feature of his poems and fables is the softness of convictions, his works are devoid of rudeness and full of sad empathy about the decline of many of the beginnings of the great Peter I.
Some note that Antiochus Cantemir, whose biography is also associated with state activities, was able to create such deep political satire only thanks to the experience of working as ambassador to England. It was there that he acquired great knowledge about the structure of the state, got acquainted with the works of the great Western enlighteners: the works of Horace, Juvenal, Boileau and Persia had a huge impact on his works.
State activities of Antioch Cantemir
Kantemir Antioch Dmitrievich (whose biography is closely intertwined with the turning points in the history of the Russian Empire) was a supporter of the reforms of Peter I, so in 1731 he opposed the bill, which proposed to assign political rights to the nobles. However, he enjoyed the favor of Empress Anna Ioannovna, she greatly contributed to the spread of his works.
Despite his youth, Antioch Cantemir was able to achieve great success in public affairs. It was he who helped the empress to take her rightful place when representatives of the Supreme Council planned to organize a coup. Antioch Cantemir collected many signatures of officers and other employees of various ranks, and then personally accompanied Trubetskoy and Cherkassky to the Empress’s palace. For his services, he was generously endowed with cash and appointed diplomatic ambassador to England.
Diplomatic ranks
In early 1732, at the age of 23, he went to London to act as a diplomatic resident. Despite not knowing the language and lack of experience, he was able to achieve great achievements in upholding the interests of the Russian Empire. The British themselves speak of him as an honest and moral policy. An interesting fact: he was the very first Russian ambassador to a western country.
The ambassador to England served him as a good diplomatic school, and after 6 years of service in London, he was transferred to France. He managed to build good relations with many French figures: Maupertuis, Montesquieu and others.
The 1735-1740s were very difficult in Russian-French relations, various contradictions arose, but thanks to the efforts of Cantemir, many issues were resolved by peace negotiations.
The fate of the works
In total, he wrote about 150 works, among which there are satirical poems, fables, epigrams, odes and translations from the French language. They have survived to this day, but several of his major translations have been lost. There are suspicions that they were destroyed intentionally.
For example, the fate of the manuscripts Epictetus, Persian Letters, as well as many other translations of articles from French into Russian is still unknown.
Antioch Cantemir signed some of his works under the name Hariton Mackentin, which is an anagram of his name and surname. He was proud of his works, but they did not see the light: almost all pages of manuscripts were lost.
His literary heritage is more than one and a half hundred works, including 9 satirical verses, 5 songs (odes), 6 fables, 15 epigrams (3 of which are called "The author about himself", and represent three parts of a single work), about 50 translations, 2-3 large translations of works from the French language, the authors of which were contemporaries of Cantemir.
What contribution did Antioch make to Russian literature?
It is difficult to overestimate its significance in the history of the development and formation of Old Russian, and indeed modern literature. After all, the questions raised in his works are relevant to this day: appeal to government officials, illegal actions of officials and their family members, etc. Kantemir is the forefather of such a kind of literature as satire. The question may arise, why could the titled prince be dissatisfied, and why did he write satire? The answer lies in his writings, in which he admits that only the true feeling of a citizen gives him the courage to write such piercing satirical works. By the way, the word "citizen" was coined by Cantemir himself!
The post of ambassador in Paris adversely affected his health, which was already weak due to a smallpox illness that he had suffered in childhood. Unfortunately, Cantemir had to experience a long and painful death. He died in Paris in 1744 at the age of 37. Buried in the St. Nicholas Greek Monastery, which is located in Moscow.