“Do not say: “Why were the former days better than these?” Because you are not asking this out of wisdom” (Ecclesiastes, Ch. 7)

“The past offers alternatives to an unacceptable present. In the past we find what we lack today” (D. Lowenthal. The past is a foreign country. M., 2004. P. 101)

Ghosts of the past accompany humanity throughout its history. They exist in every culture and the further they go, the more their number multiplies. Usually this is a “golden age” in a variety of guises, less often - a “damned past” and even less often - a past devoid of emotional coloring. People tend to be dissatisfied with the present and transfer their idea of ​​how it could (should) be to the past. The image of the “golden age” is closely connected with the self-awareness of the culture that gave birth to it, and therefore, to study the mentality of a particular era, people or social group, it is important to analyze the phantoms of the past inherent in them. Every culture has several images of the past, but there is one that is most beloved. It’s the same in the life of an individual: he keeps memories of certain periods, but there is a time that he considers his “golden age.”

Nostalgia for the past in ancient societies is the main theme of M. Eliade’s works “The Myth of the Eternal Return” and “The Sacred and the Profane.” “Nostalgia for the Beginning is religious nostalgia,” the researcher noted. - Man wants to discover the active presence of the gods, he strives to live in a fresh, clean and “strong” World, in the way it came from the hands of the Creator (...). The desire to live in the presence of the divine, in a perfect world, corresponds to nostalgia for paradise.” In the mythology of the peoples of the world, M. Eliade believed, there are ideas about Sacred and Secular time. Sacred time is the time of Sacred history, when people constantly felt the presence of Higher powers, when the Heavenly Will was revealed directly and visibly. Worldly time is the recent past and the present, a time of dullness and decline, when the presence of the Divine is revealed only occasionally and vaguely. There is an insurmountable barrier between Sacred and Secular time; these are fundamentally different eras, but Sacred time periodically invades the Secular, miraculously transforming and illuminating it. This happens during holidays, when events from the lives of gods and heroes are not just remembered and celebrated - they are experienced as if they were happening in the present. This happens during rituals, when not just any actions are reproduced, but the very reality with which they were once associated. However, in traditional societies, any action, any event acquires meaning and significance due to its connection with a similar action or event in Sacred Time. Only then do they acquire the right to exist when they find their models, their prototypes in the Great Past. Thus, the present can be likened to Plato’s cave, where prisoners chained in chains languish, and the past can be likened to the only real, bright world of ideas, casting shadows on the walls of the cave.

But everything changes - the images of Sacred Time also change. Gradually they become secularized, losing their direct connection with religion, and instead of gods and heroes, “glorious ancestors” begin to fill them. However, the desire for reverent veneration of the past, the desire to seek and find in it justification for the present remain unchanged. Transplanted from the realm of myth to the realm of history Sacred Time becomes more plastic and changeable, and it turns out that it does not determine the present, but, on the contrary, the present adapts the images of the “Great Past” to itself - so that later it would be more convenient to follow the precepts of the “glorious ancestors”. Of course, this has always been the case. The images of the past have always been constructed by the present, however, the faster and more radically they changed, the more obvious this dependence became. It is not surprising that in the second half of the twentieth century a special direction appears in historical science - the history of memory, which studies not the real past, but the constantly changing memories of it. “The past is rethought from the point of view of a changing present. History in this sense is a game of the present and the past,” believed B.A. Uspensky. Similar ideas have been repeatedly expressed by other researchers of historical memory.

It is believed that the “golden age” (referred to as the golden race or generation) was first mentioned in Hesiod’s poem ( VIII - VII centuries BC) “Works and Days.” This is the time of the reign of Kronos, when people lived “like gods, with a calm and clear soul, / Not knowing grief, not knowing labor” (translated by V.V. Veresaev). In the literature of Ancient Rome, this image is enriched with new features. If Hesiod spoke mainly about the prosperous life of the people of the “golden age,” then Roman authors focus on their moral qualities and reasonable social life. The most complete picture of the “golden age” is in Ovid’s poem “Metamorphoses” (chap. 1, 15). In addition, his descriptions are contained in Ovid’s “Love Elegies”, Virgil’s “Bucolics” and “Georgics”, Juvenal’s satires, Seneca’s “Moral Letters to Lucilius” and other works. What, according to the Romans, were the main features of the “golden age”?

First, a simple and happy life in harmony with nature. During the “Golden Age,” people did not torment the earth, and it gave its children everything they needed without coercion. People did not encroach on its depths and did not engage in navigation. They were content with the bare essentials, without encroaching on the freedom of nature and other people. Secondly, there were no wars then, because people were not driven by the thirst for profit. Third, the Gilded Age people had no legal rules; they observed justice by following the natural law.

Along with the images of the mythical “golden age”, the historical image of the “golden age” appears at the end of the era of civil wars and the beginning of the Empire. This is the republican past. He was glorified by Guy Sallust Crispus (The Conspiracy of Catiline), Titus Livius (History from the Founding of Rome), Seneca, Horace, Juvenal and others. Its features, like those of the mythical “golden age,” are directly opposed to modernity.

First of all, this is a simple, natural life, devoid of luxury (as in the mythical “golden age”), which, according to many Roman authors, was the main guarantee of all other virtues of the ancestors. Listing them, they focus on the former unity and cohesion of the Roman people, self-sacrifice, altruism, disregard for personal well-being and devotion to state interests (“Everyone had modest incomes, but the common property increased,” writes Horace (translated by N. Shaternikova)) , strength of family ties, feminine virtue and respect for elders.

Thus, in Ancient Rome the main features of the “ideal past” were formed, which from century to century will be repeated in the culture of various peoples. Of course, these features will become more complex and multiply, but the essence of dreams of the “good old days” will remain unchanged.

For centuries, the favorite era in European culture was Antiquity. In the Middle Ages, love for her fights with fear (after all, Antiquity is paganism). During the Renaissance, it weakened, but did not completely disappear, sometimes breaking through (remember the success of Savonarola’s sermons among humanists and artists). IN XVIII century, the cult of Antiquity reached its apogee, for from now on it was not restrained by any religious doubts. However, at the turn XVIII - XIX centuries, at the beginning of the era of romanticism, it had a strong rival - the Middle Ages. What is the secret of his success?

The era of romanticism is characterized by the growth of national self-awareness, the desire to search for national identity and its origins. But where to find them? Antiquity is a common ideal of the past, a common treasury of aesthetic ideals, historical examples and lessons. The Middle Ages are a different matter. Everyone has their own, and it was in it that the romantics looked for their roots.

The love for the Middle Ages was also associated with the emergence of a new aesthetics. If the classicists insisted on the leading role of reason in the creation of works of art, then the romantics, having resurrected the ancient Greek idea of ​​​​the divine inspiration of creativity, emphasized its spontaneity, unconsciousness, and insubordination to reason. And in medieval art, the romantics were attracted to precisely what repulsed the classicists - the lack of a sense of proportion and the focus on infinity.

The death of many illusions XVIII century and, above all, the loss of faith in the omnipotence of reason and its ability to change the life of society for the better also contributed to the popularization of the bright images of the Middle Ages. The pure, unclouded, sincere faith of medieval people was contrasted with the skepticism and unbelief of their contemporaries; the kinship and personal ties of medieval society were contrasted with the formal legal and economic relations connecting modern people; the labor of the medieval artisan, who made his product from start to finish, was contrasted with the exhausting, monotonous work of the modern worker. However, the most important thing that, according to the romantics, distinguished the Middle Ages from the gray and prim modernity was the intensity and brightness of life, strong emotions, deep and sincere feelings.

The fascination with the Middle Ages in the era of romanticism was typical for everyone European countries, but it is especially noticeable in German and Russian cultures. This can be partly explained by the underdevelopment political life in the German lands and the Russian Empire, as a result of which the intellectual and creative efforts of the thinking part of society were turned to the past, opposed to the present. In part, the cult of the Middle Ages was associated with the strengthening of national consciousness associated with the fight against Napoleonic France. A significant role in its spread was played by the support of those in power, who saw the connection between admiration for the Middle Ages, strengthening patriotism and strengthening their dominance, rooted in the Great Past.

The first talented apologist of Ancient Rus' was Prince M.M. Shcherbatov (1733-1790), author of the book “On the Damage of Morals in Russia,” the full text of which was published only at the end XIX century. M.M. Shcherbatov does not at all idealize pre-Petrine Rus'. True, he speaks not without sympathy about the way of life of his ancestors, and his characteristics of ancient Rus' are subsequently found among European and Russian romantics, sighing about “their” Middle Ages. In particular, he writes about the simple way of life of representatives of the upper classes, about the holiness of family ties, about the firmness of religious foundations, but condemns the powerless position of women, localism, superstitions and prejudices. Peter's transformations I were, in the opinion of M.M. Shcherbatov, essentially reasonable and justified, and Russia achieved brilliant and rapid success in the field foreign policy and enlightenment, but these same transformations and successes ultimately led to disastrous results, namely to the vices and crimes of Catherine’s reign II . M.M. Shcherbatov's book is deeply pessimistic, and his historical logic is akin to Titus Livy. At one time, Titus Livy, telling about the victories of Roman weapons, showed that it was these successes that became the cause of misfortunes modern life(the expansion of the territory of the state led to the loss of unity, military spoils awakened a love of luxury and discord, etc.). Following these arguments, M.M. Shcherbatov, speaking with praise both about the “good old times” and about the reformer, showed the historical doom of the era close to his heart and of any, even the most necessary and reasonable reforms. However, M.M. Shcherbatov’s reasoning had no influence either on his contemporaries or on those of his compatriots who, half a century later, together with other European romantics, were looking for a “special path” for their country in the Middle Ages.

So, in the Middle Ages, Europeans and Russians saw the origins of their national identity, but nevertheless, their descriptions of this era often coincide. However, there are also differences. What Slavophiles perceive as the characteristics of the Russian people, European authors usually consider the characteristics of a medieval person (or simply a person from the “good old days”), without directly connecting them with his nationality. The images of the German and Russian Middle Ages have especially much in common. Among the most interesting sources that help to see some parallels are the works of Slavophiles (K.S. Aksakov “On the Basic Principles of Russian History”; I.V. Kireevsky “On the Nature of the Enlightenment of Europe and its Relation to the Enlightenment of Russia”; Khomyakov A.S. “Concerning the article by I.S. Kireevsky “On the nature of the enlightenment of Europe and its relation to the enlightenment of Russia””), “Fantasies about art” and “The heartfelt outpourings of a monk, an art lover” by W.-G. Wakenroder, a book by the famous sociologist F. Tönnies “Community and Society” and T. Mann’s “Observations of an Apolitical” written during the First World War, in which the similarity of German and Russian ideas regarding their past and present is especially clearly visible. Let us list the universal features of the images of the German and Russian Middle Ages. 1. Deep religiosity. Religion permeated the entire life of people, determining their worldview and actions. 2. The integrity of the nature of medieval man 3. The sanctity of family ties, marital fidelity, reverence for parents. 4. Kindness and simplicity (Wackenroder admires the “quiet, serious character” of the Germans XVI century). 4. Medieval society is a society of social harmony. 5. Only in the Middle Ages did the people fully possess their national character and their national, distinctive culture. 6. Apoliticality and “proud obedience” (in the words of T. Mann) in relation to state power, perceived as an inevitable evil, are one of the main features of the national character of the people, distinguishing them from their Western neighbors (for Russians this is Western Europe, for Germans - France). 7. The Middle Ages are not only a heritage of the past. It remained in the lives of ordinary people.

In the second half XIX century in Germany, interest in national paganism appeared, which was largely due to the work of Wagner. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it increased markedly, accompanied by increased nationalism, anti-Semitism, a weakening influence of Christianity and constant criticism of modern society, condemned for selfishness, individualism and inability to self-sacrifice. That is why many German intellectuals welcomed the outbreak of the First World War, seeing in it the purifying fire that would transform the self-centered lazy burgher into a hero worthy of their great ancestors and unite the people into a single whole. These illusions turned out to be surprisingly tenacious. They survived the First World War and became the prelude to a new, even more terrible catastrophe. However, wasn’t it about her that G. Heine wrote back in 1834: “Christianity (...) somewhat weakened the crude German belligerence, but could not eradicate it, and if the restraining talisman, the cross, is ever broken, then the savagery of the ancient fighters will break out again , mindless berserker fury (...). This talisman has weakened and the day will come when it will collapse (...). Then (...) the old stone gods will rise (...), and finally Thor will rise to his feet (...) and defeat gothic cathedrals. (...) A play will be performed in Germany, in comparison with which the French Revolution will seem only a harmless idyll.”

This is not only a unique prophecy in its accuracy. This is a reminder that any game, including with the past, if you get too carried away with it, can end tragically. And one more thing: historical and cultural heritage, in other words, “our past” is not only a “golden age”, a source of pride, admiration or tenderness. This is what A.S. Khomyakov wrote about in his poem “Don’t say: that past...”, this is a dark and heavy burden within every nation and person that must be understood and overcome.

Literature

1.Aksakov I.S. Regarding the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Russia // K.S. Aksakov, I.S. Aksakov. Selected works. M.:Rospen, 2010.

2. Aksakov K.S. On the basic principles of Russian history // Aksakov K.S., Aksakov I.S. Selected works. - M.: Rospen, 2010.

3. Wackenroder W.-G. A story about how old German artists lived, where Albrecht Durer and his father Albrecht Durer the Elder will be shown as an example // Wackenroder W.-G. Fantasies about art. - M.: Art, 1977

4. Time - history - memory. Historical consciousness in the space of culture. Ed. L.P. Repina. - M.: IVI RAS, 2007

5. Heine G. On the history of religion and philosophy in Germany. - M.: Progress, 1994

6. Dialogues over time. Memory of the past in the context of history. Ed. L.P. Repina. M.: IVI RAS, 2008

7. Karamzin N.M. Note on ancient and new Russia. M.: Nauka, 1991

8. Kireevsky I.V. On the nature of the enlightenment of Europe and its relation to the education of Russia //Kireevsky I.V. Spiritual foundations of Russian life. - M.: Institute of Russian Civilization, 2007

9. Lowenthal D. The past is a foreign country. - M., 2004

10. Peskov A.M. The German complex of Slavophiles // Russia and Germany: experience of philosophical dialogue. M., 1993

11. Tönnies F. Community and Society. - St. Petersburg: Vladimir Dal, 2002

12. Toman I.B. Images of the 18th century in the works of I.S. Turgenev // Turgenev collection. Issue 4. - M.: Turgenev Society, 2007. - P. 41-56

13. Toman I.B. Nostalgia for the “Golden Age” in Russian and German culture of the 19th century // Turgenev Readings. VI. M.: Knizhitsa, 2014. P.32-52

14. Toman I.B. Images of the “Golden Age” in the culture of Europe and Russia // Dialogue of Cultures: Russia - West - East. Materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Slavic Culture: Origins, Traditions, Interaction. XIV Cyril and Methodius Readings. Moscow - Yaroslavl: Redmer, 2013. pp. 83-89

15. Toman I.B. Images of the 18th century in European and Russian culture (late 18th - early 20th centuries) // Current issues in the study of spiritual culture in the context of the dialogue of civilizations: Russia - West - East. Materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Slavic Culture: Origins, Traditions, Interaction. XV Cyril and Methodius Readings.” May 13, 2014. M-Yaroslavl: Remder, 2014. - P.240-250

16. Toman I.B. From the history of the cult of ruins in Europe and Russia // Current issues in the study of spiritual culture in the context of the dialogue of civilizations: Russia - West - East. Materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference "Slavic Culture: Origins, Traditions, Interaction. XV Cyril and Methodius readings." May 19, 2015. Moscow-Yaroslavl: Redmer, 2015. pp. 192-206

17. Uspensky B.A. History and semiotics // Uspensky B.A. Sketches about Russian culture. - St. Petersburg, 2002

18. Khomyakov A.S. Regarding the article by I.S. Kireevsky “On the nature of the enlightenment of Europe and its relation to the education of Russia” // Khomyakov A.S. Selected articles and letters. - M.: Gorodets, 2004

19. Schlegel F. Travel to France // Schlegel F. Aesthetics. Philosophy. Criticism. T.2. M., 1983

20. Shcherbatov M.M. On the damage to morals in Russia // “On the damage to morals in Russia” by Prince M. Shcherbatov and “The Journey” by A. Radishchev. M., 1983

21. Axle O. Myth of the Middle Ages // Odyssey -1999. M., 1999

22. Eliade M. The Myth of Eternal Return; Sacred and profane // Eliade M. The myth of the eternal return. - M.: Ladomir, 2000

23. Mann Th. Betrachtungen eines Unpolitischen. - Frankfurt am Main, 1983

Toman Inga Brunovna, Ph.D. ist. Sciences, Associate Professor of the State Institute of Russian Language named after. A.S. Pushkin

But that's not all. According to research by a group of scientists led by Kathryn Moran from the University of Rhode Island (USA) and Jan Backman from Stockholm University, as well as Henk Brinkhuis from the University of Utrecht (Holland), the first signs of formation ice in the Arctic and ice sheets in Antarctica appeared in the late Eocene of the Paleogene period (45-42 million years ago).

Based on all of the above, we can conclude that during the Neogene and Quaternary periods, falling on the last 24-23 million years, and possibly also during the Oligocene era of the Paleogene period (34-24 million years ago), there were climatic zones similar to modern ones.To the north was an area with a cool seasonal climate. In winter, frosts often occurred here, snow fell, and the surface of the ocean was frozen in ice. In the south was the continent of Antarctica, part of which was always located near the south pole and was covered with glaciers. The rest of the territory of Antarctica during most of the Neogene, apparently, was located in the zone of temperate latitudes, where, just like in the north, a change of seasons occurred.

The Earth's climate over the past 24-23 million years, or even longer (since 34 million years ago), has been subject to the same basic laws as in our time. True, in the Neogene (24 or 23 - 1.6 million years ago) and even more so at the end of the Paleogene, it was warmer, and winters in the far north and far south were not as cold as they are now.

Nevertheless, During the Neogene and, probably, the end of the Paleogene periods, conditions for the “golden age” could exist only in equatorial, tropical and, partially, temperate latitudes.There is no reason to believe that in the far north and south apple trees bore fruit twice a year and mango, banyan and other trees of the tropical zone grew, as is described in the legends about the “golden age” and the Promised Land (and, and). Although, of course, there could be an exception. If, for example, volcanic and hydrothermal activity occurred on some northern islands. But in this case, we can only talk about the local, and not the planetary, occurrence of the “golden age”, as legends describe it.
This means that the “golden age” that Hesiod spoke about and which is described in legends could only have happened in the Paleocene and Eocene epochs of the Paleogene period (66-44, probably 34 million years ago).

Snake people and white gods are the blissful inhabitants of the “golden age”

In the works “Snake People - Contemporaries of the Cretaceous-Paleogene Catastrophe and the Great Flood”, “Vievichi”, “Nagas” I talked about the snake people who survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene catastrophe, who apparently waited it out in underground shelters. Snake people (they are also called snake demons) had a terrifying appearance and enormous size - in almost all legends they are characterized as giants or giants. For most of the Paleogene period - for more than 30 million years - they were one of the two main groups of intelligent creatures that inhabited the equatorial and tropical zones of our planet.
In the Paleocene and Eocene eras, animals were small in size (no more than 4-5 m). True giants appeared among them only in the Oligocene and the beginning of the Neogene period. In addition, at that time there were no real predators on Earth (but more on that in another work), and animals that were classified as omnivores were most likely herbivores.
All this suggests that the snake people who lived in the Paleocene and Eocene were almost not threatened, and they felt at ease during a period of time that was 15 thousand times longer than the time from the Nativity of Christ to the 21st century.
Despite their terrifying appearance, snake demons were most likely vegetarians and were content with vegetables, fruits and agricultural products in their diet. In legends they act as hereditary farmers (and here). This gives reason to assume that the snake people cultivated the land and collected from it "generous and plentiful" the harvest, that is, according to this criterion, fully corresponded to the inhabitants of the “golden age”.
Another group of intelligent beings who lived in the “golden age” were the “white gods” with European appearance, which apparently included those who landed on Earth at the end of the Mesozoic (66 million years ago) - “in the age of the dominance of the giant monsters of the Mesozoic period » when reptiles lived in abundance on Earth, "dragons of the deep, flying serpents, giant fish-birds and armor-headed serpents", which laid eggs, according to N.K. Roerich - Adityas/Svarozhichi and, probably, Gandharas-apsaras, Vidyadharas, Charanas and Siddhas. N.K. Roerich called them the Sons of Wisdom.
The civilization of the white gods originated and existed on the northern continent - Hyperborea (Svarga,Jambudvipa), which in the Paleocene (66-58, possibly 55 million years ago) era included the territories of the modern Queen Elizabeth Islands, Greenland, the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, the Norwegian, Greenland and Lofoten basins, the Spitsbergen Islands, Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya , Severnaya Zemlya, the New Siberian Islands, and also, apparently, most of Northern Europe and the European part of Russia. Most likely, in the Paleocene, Hyperborea occupied a significant part of Northeast Asia and North America (or vice versa), and its southern border ran along the then existing Tethys Ocean, which separated the continental margin of Asia from Hindustan.
In the Eocene era (58 or 55-34 million years ago), due to the subsidence of the interior regions of Hyperborea, Northern Europe and Northeast Asia, it was separated from most of Europe by a sea basin, and inside it a large closed sea was formed, the contours of which coincided with modern ones Greenland, Norwegian and Lafontaine basins. In the middle of the Eocene, this sea became a freshwater lake. The elevated peripheral parts of Hyperborea covered the territories of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Greenland, the Greenland-Scottish Ridge, Scotland, Scandinavia, Novaya Zemlya, apparently Kara Sea, Taimyr Peninsula and the islands of Severnaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land and Spitsbergen.

Readmy works "The Exodus of the White Gods. From Hyperborea to Easter Island" and "Industry, wars and ecology of the antediluvian Earth. From living in harmony with Nature to the development of mining and processing industries"

***

A powerful race of white gods or supermen coexisted with the snake people and shared our planet with them during the “golden age” and after its end. Due to the rapid rotation of the Earth in the Paleogene period and the different gravity at the poles and the equator, the habitat of the white gods was limited to the subpolar latitudes, where the gravity was close to modern and where eternal day continued. Snake-people, who were gigantic in size, lived in tropical and equatorial latitudes, where gravity was much less than now, and day gave way to night every 4-4.5 hours. Both of them were achievers the highest level development, who perfectly mastered the powers of siddhas, magicians, werewolves, long-livers or immortals... But all this, as well as the gradual decrease in the life expectancy of gods and people due to the destruction of the water-steam shell, are already the following stories that I told (or will tell again) in other articles.

I invite everyone to further discuss this material on the topic pages" " And " "

© A.V. Koltypin, 2010

Our ideas about the world of ideas of the Age of Enlightenment are quite complete and accurate, based on the classical works of Russian and foreign scientists. The 18th century, the century of great scientists and writers, Voltaire, Diderot, and encyclopedists, is rightfully considered the pinnacle of the Age of Enlightenment and at the same time its tragic end. And at the same time, we know that this world of ideas is essentially complex and contradictory. In addition, the 18th century is by no means limited to the Enlightenment; next to the ideas and creativity of the Enlightenment, other philosophical systems and artistic worlds exist and struggle with them. It was then that the great debate about the Enlightenment arose, which inevitably took on an eschatological overtones after the death of this era and many of its leaders in the fire of the Great French Revolution. This dispute is vitally important for Russian culture of that time, determines its achievements, capital ideas and historical destinies throughout the 19th century, and even today is far from over. In 1852, the Western philosopher P. Ya. Chaadaev, objecting to the Slavophile I. V. Kireyevsky, summed up some of the results of this dispute: “The general opinion was not limited to comparing Russian enlightenment with European enlightenment, but generally assumed that the essential difference between one enlightenment and another consists not in character, but in degree...” Leaving aside the historical details of the controversy, let us pay attention to the idea itself: the more enlightenment and the freedom inevitably associated with it, the better. When they reach their highest completeness, the Golden Age will begin for all humanity. Such Candidean optimistic unilinearity, generally characteristic of the age of Enlightenment and its leaders, excludes any historicism of views and any emotionally and philosophically substantiated eschatology, but the inevitable historical collapse of the beautiful theories based on it, the terrible, bloody forms that these theories suddenly accepted in the world real life and politicians at the turn of the century, give rise to tragic thoughts about the end of times and the death of humanity. Then such outstanding and mysterious works as those recorded by J.-F. appear. La Harpe prophecy of J. Cazotte, such thinkers as the merciless, persuasive and talented critic of the Age of Enlightenment and its leaders Joseph de Maistre were born. All these circumstances force us to look at the 18th century differently. Suddenly it turns out that in this difficult era there were several enlightenments, they argued with each other, based on completely different cultural traditions and philosophical systems. Cazotte and Maistre as thinkers and writers emerged before the Great French Revolution; they are Freemasons, followers of that original and completely artistic philosophy of life that was created by the Portuguese mystic Martinis Pasquales, who lived in France (he gave the name to Martinism) and his talented student L.K. de Saint Martin. The philosophy and aesthetics of the Order of Freemasons in various forms became widespread in Western Europe, especially in England and Germany. Freemasonry also arose in Russia and influenced its entire emerging new culture, and above all, fiction. It was here that fundamental, well-founded criticism of many ideas and values ​​of the 18th century was voiced in Masonic philosophical and literary works. Russian free masons also have their own name for the Age of Enlightenment, in which they live and do their secret “work”. Mason, translator of mystical books and poet A. F. Labzin speaks clearly: “... The False Enlightenment, which has spilled everywhere, is the river that seeks to swallow the Truth, which wants to give birth to us a courageous child and for that purpose runs from cities to deserts and steppes.” . Without the invective of the great master of the lodge “The Dying Sphinx”, Pushkin’s mysterious dying article “Alexander Radishchev” (1836), this most important document for the history of Russian Freemasonry, will not be fully understood, which directly and accurately says: “The whole French philosophy of his century was reflected in Radishchev: the skepticism of Voltaire, the philanthropy of Rousseau, the political cynicism of Diderot and Renal; but everything is in an awkward, distorted form, like all objects are reflected crookedly in a crooked mirror. He is a true representative of semi-enlightenment." These statements show that the problem is so serious that it is impossible to limit oneself to criticism here. Masonic philosophy was characterized not only as a fundamental denial of the straightforward enlightenment of the 18th century, but became a very consistent return to all pre-Masonic secret beliefs, traditions of world esotericism, ancient, eastern, Jewish and Christian, to Gnosticism and medieval mysticism, discarded after cultural revolutions, which occurred during the Renaissance and Enlightenment and along the way took away a lot from the rich spiritual everyday life of European man, offered their self-confident unilinear formulas to replace complex old ideas. It is clear that such philosophical criticism gives rise to a completely original eschatology, based on the baroque “Centuries” of Nostradamus, the writings of Jacob Boehme and John Pordage, and the poetry of the German Rosicrucians. The Masonic Golden Age is not only behind, but also ahead, in the post-historical future, where there will be no more time, in the eternal kingdom of light and universal brotherhood, and the “leaders” of the Masonic crowd strive to lead the “brothers” to a new paradise on earth, the Golden Age fair goddess Astraea. That is why the Freemasons were so interested in prehistoric times, and that is why the Englishman Milton’s poem “Paradise Lost” occupied a special place in their reading, translations and publishing activities (in an early Russian translation from French the poem received the characteristic name “ Ruined paradise"). It is no coincidence that the Russian poet-masons A.P. Sumarokov, V.I. Maikov and M.M. Kheraskov write baroque “philosophical odes” about the Last Judgment as punishment for the fall of man and the end of times. For when man fell spiritually, nature also fell, which, according to the Freemasons, became a low “nature,” material chaos, a labyrinth of dead things, where the unfortunate descendant of the bright first man Adam Kadmon got lost. Only “guides”, enlightened Masons of the highest degrees, can lead him out of this labyrinth: Masonic philosophy had an established view not only of nature and man, but also of history, of the society in which man lives. From this point of view, it turns out that autocrats, supreme rulers, priests, priests of any church are just usurpers who criminally encroached on the political and spiritual freedom common to all people. Freemasons have always been staunch opponents of wars, active supporters of the idea of ​​eternal peace (a treatise was written about this by V. F. Malinovsky, a freemason and the first director of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum), hence their enmity with Napoleon, hence the well-known pacifism of Karamzin and the reasoning of the young freemason A. S. Pushkin about "eternal peace". Their pseudo-internationalism was based on the need to unite peoples into world empire , led by an enlightened, “constitutional” Freemason leader. It is clear that such a philosophy of history is thoroughly eschatological, full of dark and gloomy prophecies, speaks of beginnings and ends, historical eves and world social catastrophes. Any national state from a Masonic point of view is an illegal entity that encroaches on the integrity of the world, for God gave man divine freedom; those who have limited it in one way or another are enemies of the divine order, therefore it is necessary to fight them secretly and mercilessly, up to the tacitly accepted killing of convinced dangerous enemies. “The universe is the fatherland of the mason,” says the Masonic charter. The Golden Age of Astrea appears to Freemasons as an age in which there will be no laws, power, nations, borders and property, i.e. This is a picture of a social paradise on earth, familiar to all of us from communist mythology, but in the Masonic interpretation it looks different, because it contains an essential point that is unacceptable for Marxists - the idea of ​​freedom of human will. “And therefore, as long as there is a will in a person, which, although it can be corrupted by its bad use, I will not cease to consider him free, although he is almost always enslaved,” writes the mason philosopher Saint-Martin, briefly mentioned in “Letters of a Russian Traveler” and yet, apparently, met with their author. And in the interpretations of the Holy Scriptures, written by Gamaleya, the will is spoken of as “the devil’s own in man”: “But just as she brought Adam out of paradise, she does not let any of his descendants in there until he decides to fulfill all possible fulfillment according to the Gospel, despite any human commandments and traditions.” The philosophers are echoed by their publisher, a practitioner of Masonic work, Novikov: “Good people say that to fall is human, but to know and to be in a fall is diabolical.” This is what attracted young Karamzin to Masonic teaching. In his notes to the translation of Haller’s poem “On the Origin of Evil” it is said: “Free will caused the fall of man, free will can only restore the fallen: it is the precious gift of the creator, imparted by him to the chosen creatures.” Karamzin expresses this idea because even in the enlightened 18th century, man was limited, suppressed, and was constantly being pressed into some kind of framework. Progressive, but too general abstractions arose, which quickly became a material force and limited rights and devalued a specific self-valued personality. The price of human life has dropped significantly. There was something to despair about and prophesy about the end of times and the Last Judgment. Masonic interest in the initially rich, mysterious, internally free soul of man, in self-knowledge, was curious and valuable for the young Karamzin; he saw here the possibility of his own spiritual healing and moving forward, finding a new meaning in life. Of course, he was also attracted by the practical side of Freemasonry - charitable and book publishing activities, pedagogy, organization of universities, boarding houses, seminaries, scientists and literary societies - i.e. the enlightenment of Russia, the symbol of which was Emperor Peter the Great, beloved by the Freemasons and the hero of their chants. The idea of ​​the dialectic of the soul proposed by the Freemasons has very little in common with the straightforward mechanical ideas of the Enlightenment, who interpreted man as a thinking machine completely dependent on external conditions and believed in correcting the non-ideal world by imposing on it the “correct”, progressive recipes for development. The Freemasons opposed the ideas of the kingdom of reason and progress with the eschatological doctrine of the damage to the mind and the fall of the once ideal man, who had complete knowledge. “Our mind, being refined by useless sciences and supported by pride, or hope in one’s abilities, increases the imagination, which conveniently leads a person to both perfect good and perfect evil,” said the spiritual leader of Russian Freemasonry, Professor I. G. Schwartz, in his lectures. The Masonic hymn says the same thing: It is no coincidence that the main “great” (or “mother”) lodge of Russian Freemasons always bore the name of Astraea, the ancient Greek goddess of justice, who ruled the happy world of ideal people in the Golden Age (see the works of L. Leighton and especially the book C Bera about the heavenly mythology of the Masons). In this and other lodges, the brothers sang in hymns the bright past: In their poetic ideas and artistic cosmology, a special place was occupied by the myth of the Golden Age, located in the prehistoric ideal past, where the bright pre-man Adam Kadmon, close to the Great Architect of the Universe, lived, worthy of those around him his harmonious world of universal harmony. “A single concept of the golden age can represent the features of true, social bliss. The more open one is in society, the happier it is; the less, the more unhappy,” said the translator of the Davidovs’ psalms, I. P. Turgenev. That is why the Masonic poets were so interested in Milton’s famous poem “Paradise Lost” and the myth of Cupid and Psyche, which in the 17th century gave a charmingly frivolous and graceful story, but in fact hiding deep philosophical thoughts, by La Fontaine, a writer close to the famous secret pre-Masonic The Society of the Holy Gifts and therefore attracted the attention of the Russians of his “brothers” - F. I. Dmitriev-Mamonov and I. F. Bogdanovich. The theme is the same - the wanderings of the human soul - Psyche, its love and exaltation, touching the bright eternal secret of the world and the inability to preserve this secret knowledge and follow it, leading to the fall and loss of light. He fell, lost his former harmony, his spiritual beginning, and clothed himself with a corruptible body, inert matter and vices. Nature also fell, “fallen nature,” which became wild material chaos, a dark labyrinth of dead things. But it is here that the possibilities for the spiritual revival of man and nature lie. The main Masonic work is the revival of the old, fallen, sinful man, divided into soul (the owner of the house) and body (the house, the instrument of the soul). This work is carried out by Masonic poetry, uniting the brothers who sang: “Let us form a chain, intertwining our hands.” Only in this way can the broken chain of nature be restored. Poetry should contribute to this. "There is a man in this chain connecting a spiritual being with matter; he is the last of spirits and the first of material beings,” said Schwartz. Only a reborn person can organize his spiritual and material activities, enlighten his mind, soul and faith, harmonize the unsettled world of inert dead matter and the petrified soul (“wild stone”), lead humanity, which has risen to a new life, into the Golden Age of Astraea, into the eternal kingdom of bliss and harmony. This is the highest reward directly named in the Masonic hymn for the order and each of its faithful “brothers” from the Great Architect of the Universe: the Masonic Golden Age appears ahead, in the post-historical future, the eternal kingdom of light. This is not only a time, but also a place. The Golden Age is located in the East, and the Masons call themselves travelers to the land of the East. The mythology of the order, as it were, forms a world ring, considering the history of mankind as a transition from one bright eternity to another through the darkness of improper existence and the wild chaos of inert matter and the lost and therefore also corruptible human soul. The symbol of this esoteric eschatology, found on the signs of lodges and in the prose of A. N. Radishchev, is a snake biting its own tail. It is clear what rich possibilities such mythology represents for philosophical poetry and prose. Freemasonry in this eschatological scheme appears as the chosen people of enlightened and just saviors of humanity that has deviated from the light and truth. The “drivers” of the Masonic crowd strive to return the “brothers” and other people to the lost paradise, to the Golden Age of Astraea. The plan for arranging a new life and processing the “wild stone” of a lost soul is contained in the Bible, which must be interpreted as a coded message from the Great Architect of the Universe (the principle of ancient Jewish Kabbalah), in the Gospel of John and Masonic “composite” mythology, part of which is the order’s poetry. This esoteric teaching explains, among other things, where the flow comes from and in what direction artistic ideas, symbols and images, feeding Masonic poetry and especially its eschatological themes. The hero of this poetry is “a person in general,” trying to understand and improve, educate himself, and find higher inner strengths and feelings within himself. Hence the repeated allegory of the traveler, the wanderer, going through trials and knowledge of the world to the bright, high truth. These are the wanderings of the soul, hence Lafontaine’s Psyche, its Russian “rehash” - “Love” by F. I. Dmitriev-Mamonov, “Darling” by I. F. Bogdanovich. Here is one of the most interesting, “glorious”, i.e. well-known and at the same time obscure, closed figures - Ippolit Fedorovich Bogdanovich (1744-1803), author of the famous poem “Darling” (1783), idylls, pastorals, love songs, an elegant, sensitive poet, “painter of graces” (M. N. Muravyov), seemingly far from any mysticism and solid philosophy. This modest native of Little Russia (he would later find himself in the same box with an influential fellow countryman, the last hetman of Ukraine K. G. Razumovsky), who belonged to a poor Polish noble family, is very indicative of the initial stage of the history of Masonic poetry. Moreover, this poet develops along with poetry, reflects its path in his work and becomes one of the best Russian poets of the 18th century. It is worth looking at Bogdanovich from this point of view and studying his real biography, and new features appear in the usual appearance of the gallant poet. In the biography of I.F. Bogdanovich, the basis of which is his autobiography, there are eloquent omissions and deliberately made factual errors, deliberate inaccuracies that hide the real facts. There is no accidental confusion in the official papers: Bogdanovich’s forms and service records contradict each other. Even in a petition addressed to Empress Catherine II, who personally knew the poet and patronized him, Bogdanovich does not name exact dates his career, although he asks for rewards for his merits. This man knew how to remain silent, to always be in the shadows, and it was no coincidence that his “brothers” chose the appropriate position for him: to be in the State Archive of Old Cases and eventually to become its chairman. Let us point out just one important detail: in his autobiography, Bogdanovich writes that he was hired as a translator by P.I. Panin in 1763 and immediately talks about the patronage of E.R. Dashkova, who invited him to participate in the magazine “Innocent Exercise.” Meanwhile, the poet’s official track record clearly states that he was assigned to Panin in 1761. It would seem that this is a trifle, a memory error of the next poet’s boss or clerical worker, not directly related to poetry. However, between these two dates a historical event occurred that determined a lot in Bogdanovich’s literary fate - the “revolution” of Catherine II, the coup of June 28, 1762, the main participants of which were the Panin brothers and Princess Dashkova. Inaccuracies and “blank spots” in this mysterious story there are many, but there are also obvious things, historical facts. In the 60s, a quiet official of the diplomatic department, Bogdanovich, became a confidant of N.I. Panin, one of the unofficial leaders of the emerging Russian Freemasonry, who lived for a long time in Sweden and brought from there order papers, charters and instructions, who maintained secret connections with the Swedish aristocracy, the princes of the blood who stood at the head of the order. It was not by chance that this nobleman was elected vice-master of the Grand Provincial Lodge of Russia. Not without his knowledge, the St. Petersburg lodges were later subordinated to the Grand Chapter of Stockholm. Panin and his influential like-minded people, relying on the growing Masonic organization in ruling and military circles, helped Catherine II seize the throne (note that the famous mystic and freemason Saint-Germain also took part here, who, according to some sources, came to the aid of the inexperienced Russians “brothers” and subsequently visited in Paris his St. Petersburg acquaintance, another trusted person of the Panins - D.I. Fonvizin), for a long time dictated terms to her, policy, primarily foreign, they sought to limit the autocratic power of the empress by introducing the highest co-government body of the nobility (read - Masonic) oligarchy, appropriately raised and set up her son, Tsarevich Paul, the legal heir of his murdered father Peter III. Soon an inevitable conspiracy matured against the obstinate, ungrateful empress who did not want to share the unlimited power of the empress with anyone in order to elevate Paul to the throne. The participants are the same: Panin, Dashkova, D.I. Fonvizin, Rosicrucian General N.V. Repnin, church hierarchs associated with the Freemasons, aristocrats, and guards officers. Somewhere next to them, in the shadow of the nobles, the graceful figure of the poet and archivist Bogdanovich was lost. The mindful and power-hungry empress could never forget and forgive all this, which explains N.I. Panin’s disgrace, the break with Dashkova and the later thoughtful and cruel defeat of Novikov’s Masonic organization. The Panins’ “Masonic work” was not limited to political projects and intrigues in the highest spheres: they prepared, clearly with the knowledge of the Empress, one of the most subtle and cruel provocations in Russian history - the murder of the unfortunate prisoner emperor Ivan Antonovich, which finally established the illegitimate Catherine II on the throne and which cost the life of the simple-minded Mason-performer Mirovich. Bogdanovich took part in these complex and dangerous political maneuvers and served N. faithfully. I. Panin. Together with his boss P.I. Panin, he was part of the leadership of the St. Petersburg lodge of the Nine Muses, where he served as master of ceremonies. By order of his patron, the poet wrote an ode to Catherine II for the new year 1763, which already contains a Masonic formula about the Astreine Age (“the golden age has been revealed”). However, the Panins, feeling the empress’s growing displeasure with their secret policy, began to prepare her successor - their pupil, the heir to the throne, Pavel Petrovich. The modest official Bogdanovich was assigned to his small opposition court in 1764. Here his wonderful poetic gift was finally put to use. The Tsarevich hoped that the poet would become the new Lomonosov and sing about his future reign, and, after listening to Lomonosov’s ode to the capture of Khotin, he said: “Maybe Bogdanovich will be like that.” However, Bogdanovich wrote odes mainly for Catherine (see also his “Stanzas”, “Poems to the Great Monarch”, “Poems to the Muses in Sarskoe Selo”, “Inscriptions”), although as a court poet of the heir he regularly sang his praises and responded to his a wedding, a visit to the Academy of Sciences and other events, and once, in laudatory verses, he publicly wished the unbalanced and suspicious Tsarevich “peace of mind.” Living in 1765 in Tsarskoye Selo, beloved by the Empress, Bogdanovich created for her son not an ode, but a work completely different in spirit and genre - a very strange didactic-philosophical poem for that time, “Supreme Bliss,” which was soon shortened and reworked by the author and called “Bliss.” peoples" (1765). It contained not only Masonic mythology, but also serious historical prophecies that came true during Paul’s lifetime and predicted his tragic end. Subsequently, Karamzin, who not by chance wrote the preface to the collected works of the author of “Dushenka” and, due to his deep knowledge of the order’s “royal science”, understood the Masonic allegories and symbols of Bogdanovich’s poem much better than us, called its topic “an important subject.” Indeed, this rhetorical work has nothing or very little in common with the gallant “Darling”; the author turned to the august pupil and last hope of N.I. Panin, who was losing influence (he, according to the testimony of S.A. Poroshin, very much praised Bogdanovich’s poem presented by the author to the heir) with a teaching allegory about a perfect and free man who lived in the golden age of Astraine, the happy Adam, who did not know passions, wars, property, state and slavery. All people were fed by the “inseparable nourisher” - the earth; sciences and arts were elevated to the highest level. In the Golden Age there was not only no gold (i.e., self-interest and profit), but also iron, weapons and, consequently, war. It was not by chance that Bogdanovich later chose to translate the famous project about the eternal peace of the Abbot Saint-Pierre. In his “Historical Image of Russia” he condemned the war and followed the Masonic teaching here: “The war created political unnatural mixtures and divisions among peoples, which cause violence to nature, which in its time perceives its rights.” This initial happiness was violated, for which the Enlightenment philosophers, in particular, are accused: What follows is a description of personified passions, characteristic of teaching order poetry - hatred, pride, flattery, pretense. Only an ideal monarch and a perfect man, standing at the head of a world empire and possessing the highest degrees of Masonic knowledge, can save humanity, which has fallen into sins and passions, - that is, the same disgraced Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich, whom the Panin brothers and other Freemasons wanted to make “constitutional” ( we somehow forget that such concepts as “constitution” and “intelligentsia” were introduced into our political vocabulary by the Freemasons), i.e. chosen king executing the constitution, i.e. the legally expressed and approved will of the order, the noble elite united by it, formalized as “oligarchic law”, the highest morality: Here Bogdanovich uses Masonic symbolic formulas and allegories (“I accept the new world”), defines the purpose of the poet - serving the order: Paying attention to everything we will see these words-“signals” and other eloquent “signs” hidden from the uninitiated, as in early work a talented poet, completely devoted to Panin and other older “brothers” in the lodge, a very serious, purely Masonic work is written, which remains unnoticed and misunderstood by the majority of readers and researchers, and this does not in the least prevent Bogdanovich from subsequently creating in his favorite “easy” genre, reaping laurels author of the all-Russian famous “Darling”, occupy important government positions, receive ranks, rings, monetary incentives and decorations from the Empress. Nothing, it would seem, betrays in this prosperous court poet the master of ceremonies of the lodge of the “Nine Muses” and the right hand of the Panins, invested with considerable power, although, for example, in the later “Stanzas to L.F.M.” (1784) there are purely Masonic dark prophecies in the spirit of Nostradamus:

"Golden age"

It is believed that the “Golden Age” is a state of a primitive society, free from private property and class antagonisms and supposedly not knowing economic, environmental and political crises. The bright and figurative term first appeared in the works of ancient thinkers and writers, who, in accordance with the mythological tradition, distinguished several centuries in the history of mankind.

The earliest is called “golden”, because at that time people lived in peace and harmony under the wise rule of the god Saturn. Then came the “Silver Age”, when Zeus came to power in the ancient pantheon. By that time, life had changed dramatically for the worse, but the Thunderer quickly restored order with his lightning arrows. The gods were still closer to the earth and people, which is why life in general flowed calmly. Then came the “Copper Age,” which brought discord among the gods and divided people. In the “Iron Age,” the existence of the human race deteriorated sharply: people lost their fear of the gods and became embittered. The world order began to be determined by war.

During the “Silver Age”, the head of the Greek pantheon of Olympian gods was the Thunderer Zeus

Many scientists and philosophers of the 18th–19th centuries, not without the influence of the early enlighteners D. Diderot, J.-J. Rousseau and others gave the prehistoric era the romantic name of the “golden age” because they sincerely believed that primitive man lived in harmony with himself, the world and those around him. Modern science has proven the unreality of the “golden age” during the primitive communal system, although many humanist philosophers and historians still persist in their established views. It is not difficult to name the reasons why primitive life cannot be considered ideal.

Inequality also existed in primitive society, which means the presence of mechanisms of oppression. The most important institution of power and oppression was the chiefdom, that is, the undivided dominance of the leaders who distributed food and work, established laws in the form of taboos, and administered justice. In terms of property, everyone was equal, but this was inevitable in conditions where the only source of food was hunting and gathering. A male hunter had to eat well to maintain his strength, and no leader had the right to take food from hunters, because every game hunter was accountable.

Property equality took on ugly forms. In some tribes, every item found was immediately torn to shreds so that everyone would get a piece. The item became absolutely useless, although it could have been used usefully in relation to at least one person. This person could be a sick relative, a newborn, an old man.

The primitive court causes indignation among a civilized person. All ideas about justice during the time of the tribal system came down to the principle of talion: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It is curious that one of the typical forms of punishment for many offenses was ostracism (expulsion), equivalent to death, since primitive man could not survive alone. Another, less frequent, but common form of particularly cruel punishment is zombification. This is the transformation of unwanted people into zombies (the living dead) or damage, that is, provoking illness or death of unwanted people through suggestion. The sorcerers deftly used the reckless faith of their fellow tribesmen in the omnipotence of magic and easily dealt with any problematic person, subduing his consciousness.

There are numerous cases of predatory wars in the primitive era, especially with the beginning of the Iron Age, when the first fortified settlements appeared. Domestic archaeologists are aware of the military conflicts of the Dyakovo tribes, who inhabited the Moscow region in the Iron Age and also built fortifications. By the way, the “Iron Age” in archeology means the real age of metal, identified by modern scientists and lasting from 2500 years ago until the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. e.

Blood sacrifice and cannibalism flourished almost everywhere in prehistoric times. Over time, some sacrifices took shape into cults of ritual murder that were horrifying in their cruelty. No less famous are the sacrifices associated with funeral rites. At the funeral of a tribal king or other representative of the nobility, large numbers of domestic animals and people, primarily the wives of the deceased, were slaughtered in order to pour blood abundantly onto the pitiful bones. The ancient Slavs preserved as a legacy from those times the ritual of funeral feasts (sacrificing a horse at the grave of the deceased owner).

Cannibalism became widespread in primitive times. Neanderthals and early Cro-Magnons supposedly did not disdain human flesh at all and saw nothing reprehensible in eating their sick or old relative or child. Eating corpses, that is, dead people, flourished for a long time. Eating enemies took on the character of a ritual and received a mythological explanation: this is a necessary action, since the cannibal receives from the eaten enemy all his advantages - strength of the arms, speed of the legs, vigilance of the eyes, etc.

In the harsh conditions of the primitive system, the attitude towards women as a burden prevailed, inevitable in a lifestyle where the main thing economic function was hunting. A woman could not hunt, so strong men occupied more high position in a team. There was also artificial maintenance of the low status of women. From childhood they were assigned extremely labor-intensive work. Often the work of women was primitive, and therefore led to their mental underdevelopment and intellectual degradation.

In primitive society, women performed the most labor-intensive work

Primitive matriarchy was indeed observed among some tribes, but the philosophers of the 19th century are believed today to have explained this phenomenon incorrectly. Women's power was limited to performing those functions in household management that men refused to perform. The men themselves were absorbed in military raids on neighboring villages and other matters, neglecting the economy of their own village.

In primitive society, women were often traded between villages, and the price of one “unit of goods” was less than the price of meat and equal to a bunch of bananas or something similar. Kidnapping of women flourished when it was impossible to buy them. Such theft led to military clashes between tribes.

The most typical consequences of belittlement social role women undergo ritual defloration and clitoridectomy. Ritual defloration is the initiation of girls, a holiday in honor of their entry into adulthood. The ritual involved deflowering, which was carried out by all men of the tribe, after which the young woman was given to her husband. According to modern ideas, this is an act of violence, but during the “golden age” such things were the norm. Clitoridectomy - ritual surgical removal of married woman clitoris with the aim of turning her into an insensitive machine for childbirth, incapable of sexual reactions.

As for the fantastic health of primitive people, this is fiction. They suffered from a host of diseases - colds, syphilis, skeletal defects. Metabolic disorders and other consequences of malnutrition were especially severe. Stress was also very common, since prehistoric man had to constantly deal with cave lions, saber-toothed tigers, leopards and other dangerous predators.

Primitive man was afraid of lightning, hurricanes, eclipses and other natural phenomena that modern man has no fear of. Our ancestor was in captivity of the grossest superstitions. As a result of numerous shocks and trials, the average life expectancy of ancient people decreased, which was approximately 25 years.

Hence the easy attitude towards child mortality: “the gods gave, the gods took.” High mortality among children was inevitable in the absence of hygiene and basic medical knowledge. Infanticide (infanticide) was also widely practiced for various reasons - cult sacrifice, child illness, unwanted child. More often than not, girls were unwanted. The tribe needed boys as future hunters, but women were considered a burden.

Ethnographers who studied modern tribes with a traditional way of life, infanticide is described as follows. The mother gave birth to the child, secluded in the forest and, of course, without the help of a midwife. If a girl was born, for whom permission was not given from the council of elders, the mother killed the daughter by smashing her head against a tree. Then she waited for some time, so as not to provoke her husband’s anger, and returned to the village.

The harmony of primitive man with nature is completely fictitious. Modern rich paleontological material very clearly shows how death followed the Cro-Magnon man who conquered the continents. Prehistoric people caused by overharvesting environmental crisis, which led to the complete disappearance of the mammoth fauna and other large mammals and birds. Giant sloths, glyptodont armadillos, saber-toothed tigers, bison, northern saigas, cave bears, giant lemurs, moa ostriches and about 40 other species of large animals were completely exterminated by prehistoric people.

The moa ostrich often became prey for primitive man.

At the same time, the life of a primitive society cannot be considered a series of violence and thoughtless cruelty. Prehistoric man knew how to love, sympathize, and have compassion for his neighbors. Primitive people painted on cave walls, drawing inspiration from the natural world. These people solemnly buried the dead, held merry celebrations as a sign of a successful hunt, and prayed to the gods. Our ancestors were often distinguished by their generosity and simplicity. Altruism, that is, the willingness to help, was actually the driving force of human evolution.

Even Charles Darwin categorically stated: “...those societies that had the largest number of members sympathetic to each other should have flourished more and left behind more numerous offspring.” Darwin reasoned simply and sensibly. There is no way a person can survive alone in the wild, which is why we are collective creatures. Natural selection destroyed groups with weak internal connections. If there was not enough understanding and participation within the team, then it inactively defended itself from the influence of extreme environmental conditions, because people’s actions were not coordinated.

Strong groups with friendly relations stood firm against nature, because in these societies the rule of the three musketeers prevailed - “one for all and all for one.” Naturally, children born in these groups survived more often. Over time, the descendants of strong societies replaced weak societies. Genes responsible for social skills were fixed in new generations.

The English evolutionary theorist J. Haldane once expressed the opinion that among these genes, “altruism genes” played an important role. Genetics have not yet found such genes, but almost all modern scientists are convinced that one of the factors in the development of man was altruistic inclinations, since they provided their owners with an advantage in the collective struggle for survival.

Hence, ancient man He was not only familiar with humanity and altruism, but also survived largely thanks to them. In the same way, today there is a place for both evil and good. Unfortunately, there never was a “Golden Age”. But the good news is that there never was an “Iron Age”.