Antioch Cantemir: biography. The works of Antioch Dmitrievich Cantemir

Antioch Dmitrievich Cantemir - one of the most prominent figures of the culture of the syllabic era (the period of the flowering of literature before the reforms Lomonosov). He was a fully developed personality, engaged not only in literary, but also political activities: he held diplomatic posts under Catherine I. Let's get to know his creativity and biography.

Antioch Cantemir: brief biography

Antiochus was born in 1708, in a princely family with Romanian roots. His father, Dmitry Konstantinovich, was the ruler of the Moldavian principality, and his mother, Kassandra, belonged to the ancient and noble family of the Cantaculuses. He was born and spent his first years in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), and in the spring of 1712 the family moved to the Russian Empire.

In the family, Antiochus Cantemir was the youngest. There were 6 children in total: 4 sons and 2 daughters (Maria, Smaragda, Matvey, Sergey, Constantine and Antiochus). All of them received a wonderful home education, but only our hero took advantage of the opportunities and continued his studies at the Greco-Slavic Academy. Thanks to diligence and craving for knowledge, Prince Antiochus Cantemir became one of the most enlightened and advanced people of the 18th century!

After graduation, the young Antiochus entered the service in the Preobrazhensky regiment, and in a very short time rose to the rank of ensign. During the same years (1726-1728) he attended university lectures of Bernoulli and Gross at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The first works of the writer

The beginning of the writer's creative path came in those years when in society there was a painful reaction to the suspension of the reforms of Peter I. Antioch himself was an adherent of Petrine legends, so in 1727 he joined a group of people headed by Feofan Prokopovich. His works were influenced by these public moods.

His very first work was written as a practical guide to biblical verses and psalms, she was called "Symphony to the Psalter." In 1726 he presented his manuscript to Catherine I as a sign of respect and reverence. Tsaritsa liked his sayings very much, and the manuscript was printed in more than 1,000 copies.

The most famous book of Cantemir

A little later he began to translate various foreign works, mainly - these are translations from French. The most famous work, which confirmed him as an excellent interpreter, is the translation of Fontenelle. Antiochus Cantemir not only performed a competent retelling of the book "Conversations about the diversity of the worlds", but also supplemented each section with his own thoughts and comments. Despite the relevance of the book in many European countries, in Russia his writings were banned by the empress, because, allegedly, they contradicted the basics of morality and religion.

Antiochus Cantemir: works of satire

Antiochus is considered the founder of this kind of literature, like satire. His first versification revealed the detractors of science. One of the most famous works is "To blaspheming teachings. To his own mind," in this work he ironically refers to those who consider themselves "wise men", but "They will not understand in Zlatoust."

The most flourishing of his creative activity fell on 1727-1730. In 1729 he created a series of satirical versifications. In total he wrote 9 satires, here are the most famous of them:

• "The envy of the nobles of the evil" - mocks the nobles, who managed to lose their original goodwill and are far behind the 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 ministers were exposed.
• "On true bliss" - in this work the writer Antioch Dmitrievich Cantemir discusses the eternal questions of existence and answers "only that one is blessed in this life, who is content with little and lives in silence."

Feature of works

In many ways, the satirical works of the prince were due to his personal convictions. Prince Antiochus 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 was infinitely respected for his efforts in the development of enlightenment. All his thoughts are openly stated in his works. The main feature of his poems and fables lies in the softness of exposures, his works are not rude and full of sad empathy about the decline of many undertakings of the great Peter I.

Some note that Antiochus Cantemir, whose biography is also connected with state activities, was able to create such profound political satires only thanks to the experience of the Ambassador in England. It was there that he gained great knowledge about the structure of the state, got acquainted with the works of great Western enlighteners: the works of Horace, Juvenal, Boileau and Persia had a huge impact on his works.

State activities of Antiochus Cantemir

Cantemir Antioch Dmitrievich (whose biography is closely intertwined with turning points in the history of the Russian Empire) was a supporter of the reforms of Peter I, so in 1731 he opposed a bill that proposed granting political rights to the nobles. However, he enjoyed the favor of Empress Anna Ioannovna, she greatly contributed to the dissemination of his works.

Despite his youth, Antiochus Cantemir was able to achieve great success in public affairs. It was he who helped the empress to take her rightful place when the representatives of the Supreme Council planned to organize a coup. Antiochus Cantemir collected many signatures of officers and other employees of various ranks, and then personally accompanied Trubetskoi and Cherkassky to the palace of the empress. For his services, he was generously endowed with money and appointed diplomatic ambassador in England.

Diplomatic ranks

At the beginning of 1732, at the age of 23, he went to London to serve as a diplomatic resident. Despite his ignorance of the language and lack of experience, he was able to achieve great achievements in defending the interests of the Russian Empire. The English themselves speak of it as an honest and highly moral policy. An interesting fact: he was the very first Russian ambassador in the western country.

The post of ambassador in 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 Kantemir, many issues were resolved by peaceful negotiations.

Destiny of works

In all, 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 its major translations have been lost. There are suspicions that they were deliberately destroyed.

For example, the fate of the manuscripts Epictetus, Persian Letters, and many other translations of articles from French into Russian are still unknown.

Some of his works Antioch Cantemir signed under the name Khariton Makentin, which is an anagram of his name and surname. He was proud of his work, but they did not see the light: practically all pages of manuscripts were lost.

His literary heritage is more than one and a half hundred works, including 9 satirical versifications, 5 songs (ode), 6 fables, 15 epigrams (3 of which are called "The author of yourself", and represent three parts of a single work), about 50 translations, 2-3 large translations of works from the French language, whose authors were contemporaries of Cantemir.

What contribution did Antioch make to Russian literature?

Its importance in the history of the development and formation of the Old Russian, and modern literature, is difficult to overestimate. After all, the issues raised in his works are relevant to this day: an appeal to government officials, illegal actions of officials and their family members, etc. Cantemir is the forefather of this kind of literature, like satire. A question may arise: how could the titled prince be displeased, and why did he write the 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 invented by Cantemir himself!

The post of ambassador in Paris had a negative impact on his health, which was already weak due to a smallpox disease that was borne in childhood. Unfortunately, Kantemir had to endure a long and painful death. He died in Paris, in 1744 at the age of 37 years. Buried in the St. Nicholas Greek Monastery, which is located in Moscow.