Posthumous work by Kozma Prutkov. Online reading of books by Kozma Prutkov biographical information

Works by Kozma Prutkov

Biographical information about Kozma Prutkov

Sources:

1) Personal information.

2) Works of Kozma Prutkov.

The works of Kozma Prutkov were first published exclusively in magazines. "Contemporary" 1851, 1853–1854 and 1860–1864. (in 1851, only three of his fables were placed there, without a signature, in “Notes of a New Poet”). Subsequently, in the first 1860s. several (mostly the weakest) of his works were published in journals. "Spark"; and in 1861 it was placed in the journal. “Entertainment”, No. 18, his comedy “Love and Silin”. Then in 1881 it was printed for the first time in gas. “New Time”, No. 2026, fable “The Star and the Belly”. Here are all the publications in which the works of Kozma Prutkov were published.

The present Complete Works of Kozma Prutkov includes everything that he ever published, except for the following: a) poems: “Return from Kronstadt”, “To Friends after Marriage”, “To the Crowd”, an epigram about Diogenes, the same about Lysimache and the fable “Inopportune Heels”, b) several aphorisms, c) several “excerpts from the grandfather’s notes”, d) the comedy “Love and Silin” and e) the project: “On the introduction of unanimity in Russia.” Of these, not included in this edition of K. Prutkov’s works, his grandfather’s poems, aphorisms and stories were excluded by him from the collection of his works being prepared due to their weakness; com. “Lyubov and Silin” was excluded by him because it was published without his knowledge, before its final finishing; and the project “on unanimity” was excluded by the publishers because it constitutes official, and not literary work K. Prutkova. But, in addition to the previously published works of Kozma Prutkov, this edition includes many that have not yet been published.

3) “Obituary of Kozma Petrovich Prutkov,” in the journal. "Contemporary", 1863, book. IV, signed by K. I. Sherstobitov [In the “St. Petersburg Gazette” of 1876, fictitious information about Kozma Prutkov was published, incorrectly signed also with the name of K. I. Sherstobitov]

4) “Correspondence” of Mr. Alexey Zhemchuzhnikov, to gas. “St. Petersburg Gazette”, 1874, No. 37, regarding the “Anthology for Everyone” published by Mr. Gerbel. 5) Articles: “Protecting the memory of Kozma Prutkov,” in gas. “New Time”, 1877, No. 892 and 1881, No. 2026, signed: “An indispensable member of Kozma Prutkov.” 6) Letter to the editor of the magazine “Vek” from Vladimir Zhemchuzhnikov, in the newspaper: “Voice”, 1883, No. 40 and “New Time”, 1883, No. 2496. 7) Article: “The origin of the pseudonym Kozma Prutkov” A. Zhemchuzhnikova, published in “News”, 1883, No. 20.

Kozma Petrovich Prutkov spent his entire life, except for the years of childhood and early adolescence, in public service: first for the military department, and then for the civilian department. He was born April 11, 1803; died January 13, 1863

In the Obituary and other articles about him, attention was drawn to the following two facts: Firstly that he marked all his printed prose articles with the 11th day of April or other month; and secondly, that he wrote his name: Kozma, not Kuzma. Both of these facts are true; but the first of them was interpreted erroneously. It was believed that, by marking his works with the 11th, he wanted to commemorate his birthday each time; in fact, with such a mark he commemorated not his birthday, but his wonderful dream, which probably only coincided by chance with his birthday and had an influence on his entire life. The content of this dream is described below, from the words of Kozma Prutkov himself. As for the way he wrote his name, in reality it was not even written “Kozma”, but Kosma, like his famous namesakes: Kosma and Damian, Kosma Minin, Kosma Medici and a few others like that.

In 1820 he joined military service, only for the uniform, and spent only a little over two years in this service, in the hussars. It was at this time that he had the above-mentioned dream. Namely: on the night of April 10, 1823, returning home late from a comradely drinking party and barely laying down on his bed, he saw in front of him a naked brigadier general, in epaulettes, who, lifting him from the bed by the hand and not allowing him to get dressed, He dragged him silently along some long and dark corridors, to the top of a high and pointed mountain, and there he began to take out various precious materials from the ancient crypt in front of him, showing them to him one after another and even placing some of them on his chilled body. Prutkov awaited with bewilderment and fear the outcome of this incomprehensible event; but suddenly, from the touch of the most expensive of these materials, he felt a strong electric shock throughout his body, from which he woke up covered in perspiration. It is unknown what importance Kozma Petrovich Prutkov attached to this vision. But, often talking about him later, he always became very excited and ended his story with a loud exclamation: “That same morning, as soon as I woke up, I decided to leave the regiment and resigned; and when my resignation came, I immediately decided to serve in the Ministry of Finance, in the Assay Office, where I will remain forever!” - Indeed, having entered the Assay Office in 1823, he remained in it until his death, that is, until January 13, 1863. His superiors recognized and rewarded him. Here, in this Tent, he was honored to receive everything civil ranks, up to and including actual state councilor, and the highest position: director of the Assay Office; and then - the Order of St. Stanislav 1st degree, who always seduced him, as can be seen from the fable “The Star and the Belly.”

In general, he was very pleased with his service. It was only during the period of preparing the reforms of the previous reign that he seemed at a loss. At first it seemed to him that the ground was disappearing from under him, and he began to grumble, shouting everywhere about the prematureness of any reforms and that he was “the enemy of all so-called questions!” However, later, when the inevitability of reforms became undeniable, he himself tried to distinguish himself with transformative projects and was very indignant when these projects rejected him for their obvious inconsistency. He explained this by envy, disrespect for experience and merit, and began to become despondent, even despairing. At one of the moments of such gloomy despair, he wrote a mystery: “The Affinity of World Forces,” published for the first time in this edition and quite accurately conveying the then painful state of his spirit [In the same state of mind, he wrote the poem “Before the Sea of ​​Life,” also published for the first time in this edition]. Soon, however, he calmed down, felt the same atmosphere around him, and the same soil beneath him. He again began to write projects, but in a shy direction, and they were accepted with approval. This gave him reason to return to his former complacency and expect a significant promotion. A sudden nervous shock that befell him in the director's office of the Assay Office, just as he was about to leave for duty, put an end to these hopes, ending his glory days. This edition contains for the first time his “Dying” poem, recently found in the secret file of the Assay Office.

But no matter how great his career successes and merits were, they alone would not have given him even a hundredth part of the fame that he acquired through his literary activities. Meanwhile, he remained in public service (counting the hussarship) for more than forty years, and acted publicly in the literary field for only five years (in 1853-54 and in the 1860s).

Until 1850, precisely before his accidental acquaintance with a small circle of young people, consisting of several Zhemchuzhnikov brothers and their cousin, Count Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Kozma Petrovich Prutkov had never thought about literary or any other public activities. He understood himself only as a zealous official of the Assay Office and dreamed of nothing further than career success. In 1850, Count A.K. Tolstoy and Alexei Mikhailovich Zhemchuzhnikov, not foreseeing serious consequences from their undertaking, decided to assure him that they saw in him remarkable talents for dramatic creativity. He, believing them, wrote under their leadership the comedy “Fantasy”, which was performed on stage with. - St. Petersburg Alexandria Theater, in the highest presence, January 8, 1851, at a benefit performance of the then public favorite, Mr. Maksimov 1st. That same evening, however, it was removed from the theatrical repertoire, by special order; this can only be explained by the originality of the plot and the poor acting of the actors. It is being published for the first time only now.

There is a certain mysterious classic in Russian literature. His complete collection of works (with the obligatory appendix of a portrait) is constantly republished, his biography has been thoroughly studied; Reputable literary works have been devoted to him. The address in St. Petersburg is also known: Kazanskaya, 28 (at Soviet era- Plekhanov), in the building of the Assay Office of the Mining Department of the Ministry of Finance (now here is the Assay Supervision Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation). Famous writer occupied a government apartment of eighteen rooms in this house, since he was the director of the said government institution. Kazanskaya Street originates from the Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky Prospekt. Consequently, we are talking about the very center of the capital of the empire. It is high time to install a memorial plaque on the house. Obviously, the only thing holding him back is that this writer never existed. Many have probably already guessed that we are talking about Kozma Petrovich Prutkov.

This name first appeared in print in 1854. But even earlier, as follows from the biography attached to the complete collected works, Kozma Prutkov wrote a lot “on the table”, without dreaming of literary fame. He was prompted to publish his works by a chance acquaintance with four young people: Alexei Tolstoy and his cousins ​​- Vladimir, Alexander and Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov. The circumstances of their rapprochement are extremely interesting and require a detailed story.

In 1850, Kozma Petrovich Prutkov took a long vacation with the intention of going abroad (of course, first of all, to Paris). After some thought, he decided, in order to save money, to find himself a companion who owned foreign languages. The corresponding announcement was placed in the Northern Bee. That same night, at about four o'clock, he was awakened by his valet, who reported that some young men (two of them in court uniforms) were demanding a general. I had to get out of bed and, in a dressing gown and nightcap, go out into the hallway, where strangers were indeed waiting for Kozma Petrovich: a tall hero in an embroidered gold uniform introduced himself as Count Tolstoy, the rest as the Zhemchuzhnikovs. One of them inquired whether he had read an advertisement from the venerable owner of the house in the newspaper today. Kozma Prutkov confirmed that it was him. In response, the young man stated that they had come specifically to say that none of them at the moment cannot go abroad. After these words, the visitors politely bowed and left.

It is clear that Kozma Petrovich had no time to sleep. In the morning he remembered that Count Tolstoy was the closest friend of the heir to the throne, and the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers were the sons of a senator and a privy councilor. However, that same evening all four came to him with apologies for their prank. It’s just that the night before they were at a court ball and could not part, until Alexander Zhemchuzhnikov remembered an advertisement in the “Northern Bee” that accidentally caught his eye. Kozma Petrovich invited the young people into the living room and read them several of his poems over tea. They were enthusiastically received. The young people unanimously began to assure Kozma Petrovich that it was simply criminal to bury such talent in the ground.

It is immediately worth noting that the director of the Assay Tent always called himself Kozma (even Kosma), and not, as is customary, Kuzma. By this he seemed to emphasize that he was from the same breed as Saints Cosmas and Damian or Cosmas Minin.

One of the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers, Alexey Mikhailovich, later (like Tolstoy) became a famous poet, but “did not become a classic poet.” The other brothers - Alexander and Vladimir - also wrote poetry, but this was just a tribute to their youth. In the history of Russian literature, they remained the only “creators of Kozma Prutkov.” Subsequently, Vladimir Zhemchuzhnikov wrote to the famous historian and literary critic Alexander Nikolaevich Pypin:

“We were all young then, and the “mood of the circle” in which Prutkov’s creations arose was cheerful, but mixed with a satirical-critical attitude towards modern literary phenomena and the phenomena of modern life. Although each of us had his own special political character, we were all closely united by one common feature: the complete absence of “official” in ourselves, and, as a result, great sensitivity to everything “official”. This trait helped us - at first, independently of our will and quite unintentionally - to create the type of Kozma Prutkov, who is so official that neither his thoughts nor his feelings are accessible to any, the so-called topic of the day, if attention is not paid to it from the official point of view . He is funny because he is completely innocent. He seems to say in his creations: “everything human is alien to me.” Later, as this type became clearer, his official character began to be emphasized. So, in his “projects” he is a deliberately official person.”

It must be said that for their hoax, the young people made, one might say, a brilliant find. Assay business (determining impurities in precious metals and applying special marks to them) was established by decree of Peter I of February 13, 1700. A duty was charged for the stamp, which was what the Assay Office was supposed to do. The famous economist A. N. Guryev once explained why such a comic character as Kozma Petrovich Prutkov could take the place of the head of this institution:

“In the old ministerial system, only directors of departments were appointed; they were not ‘fools’. The Prutkovsky company needed an “authoritative fool,” and it was remarkably correct and witty that they chose the director of the Assay Tent. The very verbal composition of this name detracts in the eyes of the reader from the “tent director,” but for people familiar with bureaucratic institutions, it struck not the eyebrow, but the eye. The fact is that in almost every ministry, in addition to the institutions that were part of the central administration, there were also special institutions, also of a central nature, but with purely executive functions. They were not engaged in the most important task of ministries (and, therefore, department directors) - drafting laws, but were conducting business as usual. In the Ministry of Finance, such institutions were the Assay Office and the Commission for the Repayment of Public Debts. Both institutions were located on Kazanskaya Street in government buildings, with huge apartments for the commanding generals. The directors of these institutions were made of honored fools who could not be allowed to become department directors. General rank, large salary and huge apartment eighteen rooms, of course, made these honored fools very authoritative.”

So, the expression “Prutkov’s company” has already appeared, but in literary criticism it is more customary to talk about the “Prutkov’s circle”; We will adhere to this definition further. The “Prutkovsky circle” was a kind of “cheerful union” of four young people. Many anecdotes were told about their antics, most of which have survived to this day (of course, thanks to the fame of Kozma Prutkov). In fact, such a circle was quite consistent with the spirit of the first half of the 19th century, when talented noble youth “played tricks” and thus found an outlet for their young, unspent energies. In the 1820s, Pushkin, Anton Delvig and Pavel Nashchokin played pranks, in the 1830s - Lermontov and Alexey Stolypin-Mongo. Close friends of great poets are remembered today as reckless daredevils, ready at any moment to take part in any risky adventure. In the Perovsky family, the tendency to “pranks” could be said to be hereditary. An attentive witness of the era, Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky, recalled in the “Old Notebook”:

“Alexey Perovsky (Pogorelsky) was... a successful hoaxer. He once assured his colleague (who later became famous for several historical works) that he was the great master of some Masonic lodge and, by his authority, included him among its members. Here he invented various funny tests, through which the new convert obediently and willingly went through. Finally he made him sign that he had not killed the beaver.

Perovsky wrote amphigouri, comic, cheerful nonsense. Here are some verses from it:

Avdul-vizier

Bubble on forehead

And cares and cherishes;

And Papi's son.

Taking an orange

I don’t remember what he makes of it anymore. But about a dozen couplets were written in such verses. He brings them to Antonsky, then rector of the university and chairman of the Society of Literature Lovers, introduces him to his work and says that he wants to read his poems at the first public meeting of the Society. We must not forget that at that time Count Alexei Kirillovich Razumovsky was a trustee of Moscow University or already the Minister of Public Education. One can imagine the embarrassment of the timid Antonsky. He, blushing and stammering, says: “Your poems are very sweet and intricate; but it seems that this is not the place to read them in a learned meeting.” Perovsky insists that he wants to read them, assuring that there is nothing anti-censorship in them. The explanations and arguments continued for half an hour. Poor Antonsky turned pale, blushed, and almost fainted.

And here's another Perovsky leprosy. His friend was the groom. The bride's stepfather was a so-so man. Perovsky assured him that he, too, was passionately in love with his friend’s fiancée, that he was not responsible for himself and was ready for any desperate trick. The stepfather, touched and frightened by such a confession, exhorts him to come to his senses and overcome himself. Perovsky indulges even more in his lamentations and passionate rantings. His stepfather does not leave his side, guards him, does not let him out of his sight in order to prevent any trouble in time. Once the whole family was walking in the garden. The stepfather walks arm in arm with Perovsky, who continues to whisper to him his complaints and desperate confessions; finally escapes from his hands and throws himself into the pond they were walking past. Perovsky knew that this pond was not deep, and was not afraid of drowning; but the pond was dirty and covered with green mud. It was necessary to see how he crawled out of it like a mermaid and how Mentor looked after his ill-fated Telemachus: he dressed him in his robe, gave him warm chamomile, and so on and so forth.”

Vyazemsky quotes from memory only one verse (and even that is incorrect) from a rather large poem by Alexei Perovsky. It sounds like this in full:

Abdul Vizier

Bubble on forehead

He cares and cherishes his own.

Bayle geometer.

Taking a thermometer,

He sows wheat in the field.

And Bonaparte

With a deck of cards

He's in a hurry to go to Russia.

Sitting in the balloon,

He's for Boston

He invites dad.

But Daddy's son

Taking an orange

He throws it at the priest's nose.

And there's a whale in the sea

looks at them

And he picks his nostrils.

Here is Mohammed

Putting on a corset

And we are tormented by thirst,

Water heating

And sitting down next to them,

He finishes them off with tea.

That's in vain, mosquito

To the samovar

Jumping up, sweating in the heat.

Selena is here

Taking the tourniquet in my hands,

It warms his thighs.

Camp of flies,

Bracing my spirit,

They clap their hands,

And Epictetus,

To change

Dance, put on galoshes.

Minister Pete

Sits in the corner

And he plays the buzzer.

But pop comes in

And, taking off his cloak.

He curtsies politely.

Voltaire is an old man.

Having taken off my wig,

Beats eggs in it,

And Jean Racine,

Like a good son

Crying out of pity.

It seems that it was from these verses that “Prutkovshchina” entered Russian poetry. But its initiator should be recognized not as Alexei Perovsky, but as the famous Moscow wit Sergei Alekseevich Neyolov. He responded orally in poetry to any event that happened in Moscow. Neyolov poured out impromptu remarks everywhere - at the English Club, at balls, and at bachelor feasts. His poems were sometimes “not for publication” and were rarely written down. They were often parodies of popular works famous poets. Pushkin and Vyazemsky paid tribute to his polished language. Neyolov’s true followers were Sergei Sobolevsky and especially Ivan Myatlev, whose poem “Sensations and Remarks of Mrs. Kurdyukova Abroad” was widely read in the 19th century. Pushkin's friend Sobolevsky entered the history of Russian literature with his oral epigrams. Myatlev was a master of the so-called “macaronic verse,” which was equally bilingual; Foreign (most often French) words and phraseological units were inserted into Russian poems. This produced a great comic effect, since, as in the poem about the Tambov landowner Mrs. Kurdyukova, the poems were put into the mouth of a person who did not really know either language.

The main ringleader of the “Prutkov circle” was Alexander Zhemchuzhnikov. Subsequently, he rose to high ranks, but until the end of his life he remained a caustic wit and joker, who did not ignore any of the absurdities that he encountered. Here are examples of his pranks, which Prince Vladimir Meshchersky cites in his memoirs (objects of buffoonery young man there were all-powerful ministers of justice and finance - Viktor Nikitich Panin and Fyodor Pavlovich Vronchenko):

“Every day on Nevsky Prospect, at five o’clock in the afternoon, one could meet a tall old man, straight as a pole, in a coat, a top hat on a small long head, with glasses on his nose and with a stick always under his arm. This walk is all the more interesting because everyone saw Count Panin, but he never saw anyone, looking straight ahead into space: the whole world did not exist for him during this walk, and when someone bowed to him, the count mechanically raised his hat, but not turning and not moving his head, he continued to look into the distance in front of him. Hence, at that time, a joke began to circulate about the famous comedian Zhemchuzhnikov, who once dared to decide to break the monotony of Count Panin’s walk: seeing him approaching, he pretended to be looking for something on the sidewalk, until Count Panin reached him and, expecting an obstacle, he was suddenly stopped in his progress and, of course, bent over, threw himself over Zhemchuzhnikov, who then, as if nothing had happened, took off his hat and, respectfully apologizing, said that he was looking for a dropped pin on the panel.

No less comical is the anecdote about Zhemchuzhnikov, concerning the daily walks of Finance Minister Vronchenko. He walked along Palace Embankment every day at 9 o’clock in the morning. Zhemchuzhnikov had the fantasy of also taking a walk at this time, and, passing by Vronchenko, whom he did not know personally, he stopped, took off his hat and said: Minister of Finance, the spring of activity - and then walked on.

He began to do this every morning, until Vronchenko complained to Chief of Police Galakhov, and Zhemchuzhnikov, under pain of deportation, was ordered not to disturb the Minister of Finance anymore.”

The above story about the first acquaintance of the “Prutkovsky circle” with the director of the Assay Tent is extremely reminiscent of their venture, the victim of which was the famous military writer and court historiographer Alexander Ivanovich Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky (by the way, a good friend of the father of the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers). One day, late at night, they lifted him out of bed and announced that they had arrived from the palace in order to inform him that Nicholas I demanded that a copy of the “History” be presented to him by the time he left tomorrow morning. Patriotic War 1812"; and this must be performed by the author himself (that is, Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky).

Another time, one of the “Prutkovites” in the uniform of an aide-de-camp went around to all the famous St. Petersburg architects with an order to appear in the Winter Palace in the morning, since St. Isaac's Cathedral had collapsed and the emperor was in terrible anger.

Here's another anecdotal incident. “Prutkovites” came to the performances of the visiting German troupe with huge dictionaries and during the performance they rustled the pages noisily, as if looking for an incomprehensible word. Sometimes one of them shouted at the top of his voice in the direction of the stage “Warten Sie”: (wait. - V.N.). In general, the Germans especially suffered. At night, naughty people would go around the German bakers and wake them up with the question: do they have pecked bread? Having heard an affirmative answer, they thoughtfully said that this was wonderful, since many people were generally deprived of a piece of bread.

Chronologically, Kozma Prutkov’s first work, included in his complete works, is the one-act buffoon play “Fantasy,” which even happened to see the stage lights of the imperial stage. “Fantasy” is the fruit of the joint creativity of Alexei Tolstoy and Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov (who has already brought his “comedy from high society life” “Strange Night” to the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater).

For A.K. Tolstoy this was by no means the first experience of such writing. In 1837–1838, he included in letters from Krasny Rog to his friend Nikolai Adlerberg a whole series comic dramatic scenes with numerous hints of big light, now indecipherable. In one letter, he even asks “to destroy these lines after reading them, because I can make enemies for myself among the most prominent families of the empire.”

According to Alexey Zhemchuzhnikov, they wrote “Fantasy” in one room for different tables. The co-authors divided the play into equal number scenes; Tolstoy took the first half for himself, Zhemchuzhnikov took the second. The latter recalled:

“The matter was not without difficulties. Imagine that during the reading, two phenomena, one of which belonged to Tolstoy and the other to me, turned out to be inconvenient for staging. You remember, of course, in Fantasia there is a short intermission, when the stage remains empty for some time, clouds and a thunderstorm roll in, then a pug runs across the stage, the storm subsides and the characters appear on stage. This intermission was made due to the fact that for Tolstoy the phenomenon ended with the departure of everyone characters, while my subsequent appearance began with the appearance on stage of them all together again. We thought for a long time about what to do, and finally came up with this intermission.” The ending of the play (probably the final monologue of Kutilo-Zavaldaisky) was added by Vladimir Zhemchuzhnikov.

Apparently, it was at this time that the pseudonym of the “author team” arose. Alexey Zhemchuzhnikov continues his memories:

“When we had already finished writing everything, we didn’t know what pseudonym to sign this common play of ours. At that time Kuzma Frolov, a wonderful old man, served as our valet; we all loved him very much. So my brother Vladimir and I tell him: “You know what, Kuzma, we wrote a book, and you give us your name for this book, as if you wrote it... And everything that we get from the sale of this book, we will give you.” . He agreed. “Well,” he says, “I guess I agree, if you really want it... But,” he says, “let me ask you, gentlemen, is this book smart or not?” We all burst out laughing. "Oh no! We say: the book is stupid, very stupid.” Look, our Kuzma frowned. “And if,” he says, “the book is stupid, then I,” he says, “don’t want my name to be signed under it.” I don’t need your money, he says...” Eh? How do you like it? When brother Alexey (Count A. Tolstoy) heard this answer from Kuzma, he almost died of laughter and gave him 50 rubles. “Here,” he says, “this is for your wit.” Well, then the three of us decided to take the pseudonym not of Kuzma Frolov, but of Kuzma Prutkov. Since then, we began to write all sorts of jokes, poems, aphorisms under one common pseudonym, Kuzma Prutkov. Here is the origin of our pseudonym."

At first glance, it seems that this is just a “literary legend.” So, it is not entirely clear why, if a play was written, then we are talking about a book. (One can assume that the “Prutkovites” already had far-reaching plans.) However, Kuzma Frolov is a real person. He is mentioned in the diary of Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov. In addition, in the memoirs of Sofia Khitrovo, the niece of Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy, known only in fragments, this old valet, who together with Vladimir Zhemchuzhnikov stayed in Krasny Rog in the winter of 1865, is spoken of precisely as Kuzma Prutkov.

Fantasia was hastily created in December 1850. On December 23, the play was submitted to the directorate of the imperial theaters, on the 29th it was approved by the censor, handed over to director Kulikov, and on January 8 of the following year it was staged. In these times, the pace is dizzying!

The performance ended in a scandal. Nicholas I, who was present in the theater, as soon as the dogs began to run on stage, defiantly rose from his seat and left. When he came out, he told the director of the imperial theaters A.M. Gedeonov that he had never seen such nonsense before, although he had to deal with a lot of nonsense. After the emperor left, there was a hubbub in the auditorium. The situation was saved by the public's favorite Alexander Martynov, who delivered the final monologue (by the way, those present took it for an actor's improvisation and saw Martynov off with applause). Be that as it may, “Fantasia” was immediately removed from the repertoire.

More than thirty years later, Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov spoke about what happened in his diary: “Sovereign Nikolai Pavlovich was at the first performance of “Fantasy,” written by Alexei Tolstoy and me. This play was performed at Maksimov's benefit performance. Neither Tolstoy nor I were in the theater. That evening there was some kind of ball to which we were both invited and to which we should have been. There were Tolstoy’s mother and my father and my brothers in the theater. Returning from the ball and curious to know how our play went, I woke up Brother Lev and asked him about it. He replied that the audience booed the play and that the sovereign, while dogs were running around the stage during a thunderstorm, got up from his seat and left the theater. Having heard this, I immediately wrote a letter to director Kulikov that, having learned about the failure of our play, I ask him to remove it from the poster and that I am confident that Count Tolstoy agrees with my opinion, although I am turning to him with my request without prior communication. . Tolstoy meeting. I gave this letter to Kuzma, asking him to take it to Kulikov early tomorrow. The next day I woke up late, and the answer from Kulikov had already been received. It was short: “The play is yours and gr. Tolstoy has already been banned by the Highest command." Let us note that the valet Kuzma Frolov also appears in this story.

There were many reasons for the failure. First of all, the poor acting of the actors, who did not know their roles and relied on a prompter. Kulikov was an experienced director, but he considered “Fantasia” to be just a trifling vaudeville, of which dozens passed through his hands; so we rehearsed once or twice, no more. But most importantly, “Fantasy” turned out to be an evil and apt, albeit crude, parody of the dramatic production of that time, based on numerous absurdities of positions and faces. In Fantasia everything was brought to the point of absurdity, although every single phenomenon repeated what could easily be found in successful vaudevilles. But the theater audience wanted to see just such vaudevilles on stage, and therefore a parody of them was doomed to indignant whistles and hisses.

As was customary at the time, Fantasia was presented along with other vaudeville acts; there were five of them and the play by the Prutkovites was the fourth in a row. The first three vaudevilles fully met the taste of the public, and naturally, after them, “Fantasia” seemed utter stupidity. Nicholas I's demonstrative departure from the theater was a signal for an explosion of indignation. Perhaps it would have been even more deafening if the audience had realized that the authors were deliberately laughing at them; but they were considered simply mediocrities.

Again, the ill-fated “Fantasy” was staged only on April 23, 1909 by Nikolai Evreinov on the stage of the V. F. Komissarzhevskaya Theater in St. Petersburg. The performance was designed in the style of elegant grotesque and this time completely satisfied the audience. It is characteristic that the poster announced: “Live dogs will run on stage.” There were no more (as far as we know) attempts to stage Fantasia, but despite its unsuccessful stage fate, this parody play had the opportunity to play a role similar to the role of other banned works of Russian literature. A.K. Tolstoy and A.M. Zhemchuzhnikov were the first to ridicule the then ridiculous repertoire of the Russian stage and, with caustic jokes, raised the serious question of the need to update it.

The first poems of Kozma Prutkov appeared on the pages of Nekrasov’s Sovremennik in the fall of 1851. These were the fables “Forget-me-nots and heels”, “The conductor and the tarantula”, “The heron and the racing droshky”. It must be said that the fables were published in the text of an article by one of the editors of the magazine, Ivan Panaev, “Notes of the New Poet on Russian Journalism.” Panaev wrote that from among the numerous poems received by the editors, he especially singled them out as truly remarkable works. The fables were composed by the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers in the summer of the same year at the Pavlovka estate in the Oryol province. At first, Alexander Zhemchuzhnikov burst out with the fable “Forget-me-nots and heels,” considering it just an ordinary joke; the rest have already become the fruits of collective creativity. Nobody thought about printing. But the “Prutkovites” were included in the Sovremennik circle, where they were repeatedly recited to the general admiration. The fables evoked Homeric laughter and naturally asked to appear on the pages of the magazine. It became a common joke that someone said that Zhemchuzhnikov’s fables were superior to Krylov’s fables. But, of course, not the fables of the great Krylov! By this time, the fable genre had degenerated and became the lot of minor poets who did not shine with talent. Myatlev’s fables stand apart; they are completely “Prutkovsky”.

Then there was a break for three years. Vladimir Zhemchuzhnikov recalled in a letter to Alexander Nikolaevich Pypin:

“These fables have already given rise to some thoughts that later developed in my brother Alexei and in me to the personality of Prutkov; namely: when the mentioned fables were written, it was jokingly said that they proved the excess of praise for Krylov and others, because the fables now written are no worse than those. This joke was repeated upon our return to St. Petersburg. and soon brought me with bro. Alexey and gr. A. Tolstoy (brother Alexander was in the service in Orenburg at that time) to the idea of ​​writing from one person, capable of all types of creativity. This thought attracted us, and the type of Kozma Prutkov was created. By the summer of 1853, when we again lived in the Yelets village, we had already accumulated quite a lot of such works; and in the summer they added the comedy “Blondes,” written by brother. Alexander with the assistance of bro. Alexey and mine. In the fall, by agreement with A. Tolstoy and br. my Alexei, I began to finally edit everything that had been prepared and handed it over to Yves. Iv. Panaev for publication in Sovremennik.”

Throughout 1854, Kozma Prutkov’s opuses were published in this most popular magazine in Russia from issue to issue, not only poetry, but also “Fruits of Thought” and “Excerpts from the Notes of My Grandfather.” The success exceeded all expectations. Russian literature knows no other example of such an amazing creative union of writers who were able to subordinate their individualities to a single goal.

Kozma Prutkov appeared at the right moment, when Benediktov (today this poet is rarely remembered and almost always as the epigone of romanticism) overshadowed Pushkin with his popularity. Something amazing happened. Nowadays, the objects of Kozma Prutkov’s parodies have long been forgotten; they are mentioned only in the comments. But Prutkov’s poems themselves live and are perceived as an imperishable literary monument. Addressing the readers, the director of the Assay Tent was offended by critics who claimed that he was composing parodies. No, answered Kozma Prutkov, I write the same thing as others, and if they are poets, then I am a poet. Kozma Prutkov became an equal among the mediocre poets of his time, but they also shaped the literary process. However, let's make a reservation. Kozma Prutkov was far from equal in their ranks; he surpassed them. It is not for nothing that Alexey Zhemchuzhnikov, at the end of his life, complained that the creations of Kozma Prutkov sold much better than his own works.

Almost half of the entire Prutkov corpus was published in five issues of Sovremennik for 1854 in the section “Literary Jumble” under the heading “Leisures of Kozma Prutkov.” In Nekrasov's circle, the last seven years of the reign of Nicholas I (1848–1855) were perceived as an era of timelessness. After the European revolutions of 1848, nothing happened to the Petrashevites social issues it was impossible to discuss, even what was freely discussed several years ago. All that remained was to slander him in his rather narrow circle. But the prevailing gloomy mood could not be permanent; it was inevitably interrupted by jokes and pranks, which most often took the form of poetry. A whole handwritten library of such “pranks” has been created. The creations of Kozma Prutkov came in handy.

A legitimate question is inevitable: how great is A.K. Tolstoy’s contribution to the collective compendium? Among the poems he completely owns: “Epigram No. 1 (“Do you like cheese”...)”, “Junker Schmidt”, “Letter from Corinth”, “Ancient plastic Greek”, “Memory of the past”, “My portrait”, “Philosopher” in the bathhouse." Together with Alexey Zhemchuzhnikov they wrote: “The Siege of Pamba”, “Valiant Studios”, “The Desire to Be a Spaniard”, “Star and Belly”; with Vladimir Zhemchuzhnikov - “On the Seaside”. In short, all the most artistic of Kozma Prutkov’s poems. As for the parodies modern poets, then A.K. Tolstoy parodies only the half-forgotten “Greek from the banks of the Dnieper” Nikolai Shcherbina; Most of the other opuses (including the famous “Junker Schmidt”) are “imitations” of numerous Russian provincial epigones of Heinrich Heine. The play “Fantasy” has already been mentioned earlier.

Apparently, A.K. Tolstoy came up with the idea of ​​the series “Excerpts from the Notes of My Grandfather.” Most likely, it was he, a wonderful master of stylization, who wrote most of the “Extracts”. It must be said that this parody of the outdated style of “notes of the past” was also topical at that time. Similar “historical materials” retrieved from dusty chests filled the magazine “Moskvityanin”, published by Mikhail Pogodin. The venerable historian simply adored them. By the way, when first published in the fourth issue of Sovremennik in 1854, “Excerpts from the Notes of My Grandfather” were dedicated to Pogodin.

It is difficult to say whether Fyodor Dostoevsky knew about the creative collaboration of A.K. Tolstoy and the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers and whether he was privy to the secret of the works of Kozma Prutkov; but he paid tribute to this writer in “Winter Notes on Summer Impressions”:

“We now have one wonderful writer, the beauty of our time, a certain Kuzma Prutkov. His entire shortcoming lies in his incomprehensible modesty: he has not yet published a complete collection of his works. Well, since he published “Notes of My Grandfather” in a mixture in Sovremennik a very long time ago. Imagine what this stout, seventy-year-old Catherine’s grandfather, who had seen the world, who had been to the kurtags and near Ochakov, could have written down then, returning to his patrimony and starting to write down his memories. That must have been interesting to write down. Something man has never seen before! Well, it all consists of the following anecdotes:

„ A witty reply from the Chevalier de Montbazon. Once upon a time, one young and very pretty girl of the Chevalier de Montbazon, in the presence of the king, calmly asked: “My lord, what is attached to what, the dog to the tail or the tail to the dog?” But this gentleman, being very skillful in rebuke, was not at all confused, but , on the contrary, answered in a constant voice: “No one, madam, can take a dog by the tail, as well as by the head.” This answer caused great pleasure to this king, and the gentleman was not without a reward for it.”

You think that this is a hoax, nonsense, that there has never been such a grandfather in the world. But I swear to you that I myself, in my childhood, when I was ten years old, read a book from Catherine’s time, in which I read the following anecdote. I then memorized it - that’s how it lured me in - and haven’t forgotten it since then.

„ A witty response from the Chevalier de Rohan. It is known that the Cavalier de Rohan had a very bad breath. One day, being present at the awakening of the Prince de Condé, the latter said to him: “Move away, Chevalier de Rohan, for you smell very bad.” To which this gentleman immediately responded: “This is not from me, most gracious prince, but from you, for you are just getting out of bed.”

That is, imagine this landowner, an old warrior, perhaps still without an arm, with an old landowner, with a hundred servants, with the Mitrofanushki children, going to the bathhouse on Saturdays and steaming to the point of self-oblivion; and here he is, with glasses on his nose, importantly and solemnly reading such jokes from place to place, and even taking everything for the real essence, almost as a duty of service. And what a naive belief in the practicality and necessity of such European news at that time... They put on silk stockings, wigs, hung skewers - that’s a European. And not only did all this not interfere, but I even liked it. In fact, everything remained the same: in the same way, putting de Rohan (about whom, however, all they knew was that his breath smelled very bad) to the side and taking off his glasses, they dealt with their servants, and treated their servants in the same patriarchal manner. family, they also fought a small-scale neighbor in the stable if he was rude, and they also behaved inappropriately in front of a higher person.”

At the first salvos Crimean War Kozma Prutkov fell silent for almost five years. Its creators had no time for jokes and literary games.

Later, Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy was carried away by new ideas. He actually moved away from the “Prutkov circle”. Among the works of Kozma Prutkov, which appeared at the turn of the 1850s and 1860s, there is no longer - except for two or three small poems - anything significant that could be attributed to the pen of A.K. Tolstoy; everything else belongs to the Zhemchuzhnikovs.

Quote by: Zhukov D. A. Kozma Prutkov and his friends. M., 1983. P. 313.

See the proverb: “Killing a beaver means no good will come.”

Vyazemsky P. A. Old notebook. M., 2000. pp. 206–207.

Meshchersky V. P. Memories. M., 2001. P. 52.

Quote by: Zhukov D. A. Kozma Prutkov and his friends. M., 1983. P. 184.

Quote by: Zhukov D. A. Kozma Prutkov and his friends. M., 1983. pp. 213–214.

See: Lukyanov S. M. Vl. Solovyov in his young years. Pg., 1921. Book. III. Vol. 1. P. 238.

Alexander Evgrafovich Martynov (1816–1860) - an outstanding actor who played on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater in vaudevilles, plays by A. N. Ostrovsky, I. S. Turgenev and others; is considered one of the founders of the Russian school of stage realism. - Approx. ed.

Quote by: Zhukov D. A. Kozma Prutkov and his friends. M., 1983. pp. 185–186.

Kozma Petrovich Prutkov spent his entire life, except for the years of childhood and early adolescence, in public service: first in the military department, and then in the civil service. He was born April 11, 1803; died January 13, 1863

In the "Obituary" and in other articles about him, attention was drawn to the following two facts: firstly, that he marked all his printed prose articles with the 11th day of April or other month; and secondly, that he wrote his name: Kozma, not Kuzma. Both of these facts are true; but the first of them was interpreted erroneously. It was believed that, by marking his works with the 11th, he wanted to commemorate his birthday each time; in fact, with such a mark he commemorated not his birthday, but his wonderful dream, which probably only coincided by chance with his birthday and had an influence on his entire life. The content of this dream is described below, from the words of Kozma Prutkov himself. As for the way he wrote his name, in reality it was not even written “Kozma”, but Kosma, like his famous namesakes: Kosma and Damian, Kosma Minin, Kosma Medici and a few others like that.

In 1820, he entered military service, only for the uniform, and remained in this service for only a little over two years, in the hussars. It was at this time that he had the above-mentioned dream. Precisely: on the night of April 10-11, 1823, returning home late from a comradely drinking party and barely laying down on his bed, he saw in front of him a naked brigadier general in epaulettes, who, lifting him from the bed by the hand and not allowing him to get dressed, He dragged him silently along some long and dark corridors, to the top of a high and pointed mountain, and there he began to take out various precious materials from the ancient crypt in front of him, showing them to him one after another and even placing some of them on his chilled body. Prutkov awaited with bewilderment and fear the outcome of this incomprehensible event; but suddenly, from the touch of the most expensive of these materials, he felt a strong electric shock throughout his body, from which he woke up covered in perspiration. It is unknown what importance Kozma Petrovich Prutkov attached to this vision. But, often talking about him later, he always became very excited and ended his story with a loud exclamation: “That same morning, as soon as I woke up, I decided to leave the regiment and resigned; and when my resignation came, I immediately decided to serve in the Ministry of Finance, in the Assay Office, where I will remain forever!”

Indeed, having entered the Assay Office in 1823, he remained there until his death, that is, until January 13, 1863. His superiors recognized and rewarded him. Here, in this Tent, he was honored to receive all civil ranks, up to and including full state councilor, and the highest position: director of the Assay Tent; and then - the Order of St. Stanislav 1st degree, who always seduced him, as can be seen from the fable “The Star and the Belly.”

In general, he was very pleased with his service.

It was only during the period of preparing the reforms of the previous reign that he seemed at a loss. At first it seemed to him that the ground was disappearing from under him, and he began to grumble, shouting everywhere about the prematureness of any reforms and that he was “the enemy of all so-called questions!” However, later, when the inevitability of reforms became undeniable, he himself tried to distinguish himself with transformative projects and was very indignant when these projects rejected him for their obvious inconsistency. He explained this by envy, disrespect for experience and merit, and began to become despondent, even despairing. At one of the moments of such gloomy despair, he wrote a mystery play: “The Affinity of World Forces,” which was published for the first time in this edition and quite correctly conveys the then painful state of his spirit 1
In the same state of mind, he wrote the poem “Before the Sea of ​​Life,” also published for the first time in this edition

Soon, however, he calmed down, felt the same atmosphere around him, and the same soil beneath him. He again began to write projects, but in a shy direction, and they were accepted with approval. This gave him reason to return to his former complacency and expect a significant promotion. A sudden nervous shock that befell him in the director's office of the Assay Office, just as he was about to leave for duty, put an end to these hopes, ending his glorious days. This edition contains for the first time his “Dying” poem, recently found in the secret file of the Assay Office.

But no matter how great his career successes and merits were, they alone would not have given him even a hundredth part of the fame that he acquired through his literary activities. Meanwhile, he remained in public service (counting the hussarship) for more than forty years, and acted publicly in the literary field for only five years (in 1853–54 and in the 1860s).

Until 1850, precisely before his accidental acquaintance with a small circle of young people, consisting of several Zhemchuzhnikov brothers and their cousin, Count Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Kozma Petrovich Prutkov had never thought about literary or any other public activities. He understood himself only as a zealous official of the Assay Office and dreamed of nothing further than career success. In 1850, Count A.K. Tolstoy and Alexei Mikhailovich Zhemchuzhnikov, not foreseeing serious consequences from their undertaking, decided to assure him that they saw in him remarkable talents for dramatic creativity. He, believing them, wrote under their leadership the comedy “Fantasy,” which was performed on the stage of the St. Petersburg Alexandria Theater, in the highest presence, on January 8, 1851, at a benefit performance of the then favorite of the public, Mr. Maximov 1st. That same evening, however, it was removed from the theatrical repertoire, by special order; this can only be explained by the originality of the plot and the poor acting of the actors.

It is being published for the first time only now.

This first failure did not cool the aspiring writer either towards his new friends or towards the literary field. He obviously began to believe in his literary talents. Moreover, the mentioned Alexey Zhemchuzhnikov and his brother Alexander encouraged him, inducing him to start writing fables. He immediately became jealous of the glory of I. A. Krylov, especially since I. A. Krylov was also in public service and was also a holder of the Order of St. Stanislav 1st degree. In this mood he wrote three fables! “Forget-me-nots and heels”, “The conductor and the tarantula” and “The heron and the racing droshky”; they were published in the magazine. “Contemporary” (1851, book XI, in “Notes of a New Poet”) and the public really liked it. Famous writer Druzhinin published a very sympathetic article about them, it seems, in the magazine “Library for Reading”.

Taking these first steps in literature, Kozma Petrovich Prutkov, however, did not think of surrendering to it. He only obeyed the persuasion of his new acquaintances. He was pleased to be convinced of his new talents, but he was afraid and did not want to be known as a writer; That's why he hid his name to the public.

He presented his first work, the comedy “Fantasia,” on the poster as having written some “Y and Z”; and he published his first three fables, named above, without any name. This was the case until 1852; but this year a radical revolution took place in his personality under the influence of three persons from the mentioned circle: Count A.K. Tolstoy, Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov and Vladimir Zhemchuzhnikov. These three persons took possession of him, took him under their wing and developed in him those typical qualities that made him known under the name of Kozma Prutkov. He became self-confident, smug, harsh; he began to address the public “as one in power”; and in this new and final image of his, he talked with the public for five years, in two sessions, namely: in 1853 - 54, placing his works in the magazine. “Contemporary”, in the “Jumble” department, under the general title: “Leisure of Kozma Prutkov”; and in 1860 - 64, published in the same magazine in the “Whistle” section, under the general title “Down and Feathers (Daunen und Federn).” In addition, during his second appearance before the public, some of his works (see about this in the first section of this essay) were published in the journal. "Iskra" and one in the magazine. “Entertainment”, 1861, No. 18. The intervening six years between Kozma Prutkov’s two appearances in print were for him those years of languid embarrassment and despair mentioned above.

In both of his brief appearances in print, Kozma Prutkov turned out to be amazingly diverse, namely: a poet, a fabulist, a historian (see his “Excerpts from the Notes of his Grandfather”), a philosopher (see his “Fruits of Meditation”), and a dramatic writer . And after his death, it was discovered that at the same time he managed to write government projects, like a brave and decisive administrator (see his project: “On the introduction of unanimity in Russia,” published without this title, at his obituary, in Sovremennik, 1863, book IV). And in all types of this versatile activity, he was equally sharp, decisive, and self-confident. In this respect, he was a son of his time, characterized by self-confidence and disrespect for obstacles. That was, as you know, the time of the famous teaching: “zeal overcomes everything.” Perhaps it was not even Kozma Prutkov who was the first to formulate this doctrine in the aforementioned phrase, when he was still in minor ranks? At least, it is in his “Fruits of Meditation” under No. 84. True to this teaching and excited by his guardians, Kozma Prutkov did not doubt that he only had to apply diligence to take possession of all knowledge and talents. The question arises, however: 1) to what does Kozma Prutkov owe that, despite his low qualities, he so quickly acquired and still retains fame and public sympathy? and 2) what guided his guardians in developing these qualities in him?

To resolve these important issues it is necessary to delve into the essence of the matter, “to look at the root,” in the words of Kozma Prutkov; and then the personality of Kozma Prutkov will turn out to be as dramatic and mysterious as the personality of Hamlet. They both have commentary and they both inspire sympathy, although for different reasons. Kozma Prutkov was obviously a victim of the three mentioned persons, who arbitrarily became his guardians or minions. They treated him like “false friends”, displayed in tragedies and dramas. They, under the guise of friendship, developed in him qualities that they wanted to ridicule publicly. Under their influence, he adopted from other people who had success: courage, complacency, self-confidence, even arrogance, and began to consider his every thought, every writing and saying to be a truth worthy of publication. He suddenly considered himself a dignitary in the field of thought and began to smugly expose his limitations and his ignorance, which otherwise would have remained unknown outside the walls of the Assay Office. From this it is clear, however, that his guardians, or “false friends,” did not give him any new bad qualities: they only encouraged him and thereby brought out such qualities of him that were hidden before the incident. Encouraged by his minions, he himself began to demand that they listen to him; and when they began to listen to him, he showed such a self-confident lack of understanding of reality, as if there was a label over his every word and work; “Everything human is alien to me.”

Kozma Prutkov’s self-confidence, complacency and mental limitations were expressed especially clearly in his “Fruits of Thought,” i.e., in his “Thoughts and Aphorisms.” Usually the form of aphorisms is used to convey the conclusions of worldly wisdom; but Kozma Prutkov used it differently. In most of his aphorisms, he either speaks with the importance of “official” vulgarities, or breaks into open doors with force, or expresses such “thoughts” that not only have no relation to his time and country, but seem to be outside of any time and whatever the area. At the same time, in his aphorisms one often hears not advice, not instruction, but a command. His famous "Bdi!" resembles a military command: “Fire!” And in general, Kozma Prutkov spoke out so smugly, boldly and persistently that he made us believe in his wisdom. According to the proverb: “the city takes courage,” Kozma Prutkov won literary fame for himself with his courage. Although mentally limited, he gave advice of wisdom; not being a poet, he wrote poetry and dramatic works; Believing to be a historian, he told jokes, having neither education nor even the slightest understanding of the needs of the fatherland, he composed management projects for him. - “Diligence overcomes everything!..”

The aforementioned three guardians of Kozma Prutkov carefully developed in him such qualities that he turned out to be completely unnecessary for his country; and, next to this, they mercilessly robbed him of everything that could have made him even a little useful. The presence of the former and the absence of the latter are equally comical, and since Kozma Prutkov retained a deep, innate good nature, making him innocent in all his antics, he turned out to be funny and likable. This is the drama of his situation. Therefore, he can rightly be called a victim of his guardians: he unconsciously and against his will amused, serving their purposes. If it weren’t for these guardians, he would hardly have decided, while he was only in the position of director of the Assay Office, to expose himself so openly, self-confidently and complacently to the public.

But is it fair to reproach Kozma Prutkov’s guardians for making him look funny? After all, only through this did they bring him fame and sympathy from the public; and Kozma Prutkov loved fame. He even rejected in print the validity of the opinion that “glory is smoke.” He confessed in print that he “wants fame,” that “fame pleases a person.” His guardians guessed that he would never understand the comedy of his fame and would childishly enjoy it.

And he truly enjoyed his fame with enthusiasm, until his death, always believing in his extraordinary and varied talents. He was proud of himself and happy: the most well-meaning guardians could not have given him more than this.

The fame of Kozma Prutkov was established so quickly that in the very first year of his public literary activity (in 1853), he had already begun preparing a separate edition of his works with a portrait. For this purpose, three artists were then invited by him, who drew and redrawn his portrait on stone, printed in the same 1853, in a lithograph by Tyulin, in a significant number of copies 2
These artists were then students of the Academy of Arts, who studied and lived together: Lev Mikhailovich Zhemchuzhnikov, Alexander Egorovich Veideman and Lev Feliksovich Lagorio. Their original drawing is still preserved by L. M. Zhemchuzhnikov. The lithograph by Tyulin mentioned here was located in St. Petersburg on Vasilyevsky Island on the 5th line, opposite the Academy of Arts

For some reason, the censorship of that time did not allow the release of this portrait; As a result, the entire publication did not take place. The following year it turned out that all the printed copies of the portrait, except for five, which were retained by the publishers immediately after printing, disappeared, along with the stone, when the premises of Tyulin's lithograph were changed in 1854 to a new lithography premises. Subsequently, some individuals acquired these missing copies by purchasing them at Apraksin Yard; That is why this edition contains a photohyalotype copy, in a reduced format, from one of the surviving copies of that portrait, and not original prints.

Treasuring the memory of Kozma Prutkov, one cannot help but point out those details of his appearance and clothing, which he attributed to the artists as a special merit for conveying in the portrait; namely: skillfully curled and tousled, brown, gray-tinged hair; two warts: one at the top right side forehead, and the other at the top of the left cheekbone; a piece of black English plaster on the neck, under the right cheekbone, in the place of his constant razor cuts; the long, sharp ends of a shirt collar protruding from under a colored scarf tied around the neck with a wide and long loop; an almaviva cloak with a black velvet collar, one end picturesquely thrown over the shoulder; his left hand, tightly covered with a white suede glove of a special cut, exposed from under the almaviva, with expensive rings on top of the glove (these rings were granted to him on various occasions).

When the portrait of Kozma Prutkov was already painted on the stone, he demanded that a lyre be added below, from which rays emanate upward.

The artists satisfied this desire of his, as far as possible in the already completed portrait; but in the reduced copy from the portrait attached to this edition, these poetic rays, unfortunately, are barely noticeable.

Kozma Prutkov never abandoned his intention to publish his works separately. In 1860, he even announced in print (in the Sovremennik magazine, in a footnote to the poem “Disappointment”) about their upcoming publication; but circumstances have prevented the fulfillment of this intention until now. Now it is being carried out, among other things, to protect the type and literary rights of Kozma Prutkov, which belong exclusively to his literary educators named in this essay.

In view of the erroneous indications in the press of the participation of various other persons in the activities of Kozma Prutkov, it seems worthwhile to repeat information about their cooperation:

Firstly: literary personality Kozma Prutkov was created and developed by three people, namely: Count Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Alexey Mikhailovich Zhemchuzhnikov and Vladimir Mikhailovich Zhemchuzhnikov.

Secondly: cooperation in this matter was provided by two persons, in the amount defined here, namely:

1) Alexander Mikhailovich Zhemchuzhnikov, who took a very significant part in the composition of not only three fables: “Forget-me-nots and commas”, “The conductor and the tarantula” and “Heron and the racing droshky”, but also the comedy “Blondes” and the unfinished comedy “Love and Silin” (see about it in the opening callout), and

2) Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov, the famous author of the fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse,” who delivered several couplets placed in the second scene of the operetta: “Skullbreaker, that is, Phrenologist” 3
P. P. Ershov personally handed over these couplets to V. M. Zhemchuzhnikov in Tobolsk, in 1854, declaring his desire: “Let Kozma Prutkov use them, because I myself no longer write anything.” By the way, note: in the biography of P. P. Ershov, published by Mr. Yaroslavtsev in 1872, on page 49 there is an excerpt from Ershov’s letter dated March 5, 1837, in which he mentions “merchants” for the vaudeville “Skull Apostle”, written by his friend “Ch-zhov”. Were it not these “kuplets” who were handed over to P.P. Ershov in 1854? They also had the title “Skull Apostle.”

And thirdly: therefore, no one - neither from the editors and employees of the Sovremennik magazine, nor from all the other Russian writers - had the slightest participation in the authorship of Kozma Prutkov.

"Leisure" and "Down and Feathers" 4
The title “Leisure” and “Down and Feathers” combines the titles of two publications in 1854 (“Literary Jumble”) and 1860 (“Whistle”).

Preface 5
First published in Sovremennik, 1854, No. 2.

Reader, here are my “Leisures”... Judge impartially! This is only a fraction of what has been written. I've been writing since childhood. I have a lot of unfinished business (d’inachev?). I'm publishing an excerpt for now. You ask: Why? I answer: I want fame. – Fame pleases a person. Fame, they say, is “smoke”; this is not true. I don't believe it!

I am a poet, a gifted poet! I am convinced of this; I was convinced by reading others: if they are poets, so am I!.. Judge, I say, for yourself. Yes, judge impartially. I seek justice; There is no need for leniency, I don’t ask for leniency!..

Reader, goodbye! If you like these works, you will read others.

I have a large supply, a lot of materials; only an architect is needed, an architect is needed; I'm a good architect!

Reader goodbye! Look, read with attention, and don’t remember it badly!

Your well-wisher is Kozma Prutkov.

Letter from the famous Kozma Prutkov to an unknown feuilletonist 6
Full title - Letter from the famous Kozma Prutkov to the unknown feuilletonist of the St. Petersburg Gazette (1854) regarding the latter’s article, for the first time in Sovremennik, 1854, No. 6.

Feuilletonist, I ran through your article in issue No. 80 of the St. Petersburg Gazette. You mention me in it; it's nothing. But you groundlessly blaspheme me in it! I won’t praise you for this, although you obviously seek my praise.

Are you saying that I write parodies? Not at all!.. I don’t write parodies at all! I've never written a parody! Where did you get the idea that I write parodies? I simply analyzed in my mind most of the poets who were successful; this analysis led me to synthesis; for the talents, scattered separately among other poets, turned out to be all combined in me!.. Having come to such a consciousness, I decided to write. Having decided to write, I wished for fame. Having desired glory, I chose the surest path to it: imitation precisely to those poets who have already acquired it to some extent. Do you hear? - “imitation”, not a parody!.. Where did you get the idea that I write parodies?!

I also wrote “The Dispute of the Ancient Greek Philosophers about the Elegant” in this direction. How can you, feuilletonist, assure that for him “there is no model in modern literature"? I, as firm in my direction as flint, could not have written this “Dispute” if I had not seen a “model for it in modern literature”!.. It seemed outdated to you form this "Dispute"; and that’s not the case here! The form is the most ordinary, colloquial, dramatic, completely corresponding to this truly dramatic creation of mine!.. And where have you seen dramatic works written not in a colloquial form?!

Then you, like others, seem to attribute both “Dwarves” and other “Scenes from Everyday Life” to my pen? Oh, this is a cruel mistake! Read the table of contents, delve into my works, and then you will understand how two and two make four: what is mine in Jumble and what is not mine!..

Listen, feuilletonist! - I see from your style that you are still a beginner in literature, but you have already managed to get your hands on it; This is good! Now you have to achieve fame; glory pleases a person!.. Fame, they say, is “smoke,” but that’s not true! Don't believe this, feuilletonist! - So, in the name of your literary glory, I ask you: do not call my works parodies in advance! Otherwise, I will also assure you that all your feuilletons are nothing more than parodies; because they are like two peas in a pod like all other newspaper feuilletons!

Among my works, on the contrary, there are not only no parodies, but not even all imitation; but there are real, genuine and large nuggets!.. This is how you parody me, and very unsuccessfully! For example, you say: “A parody must be directed against something that has more or less less(!) serious meaning; otherwise it will be empty fun.” Yes, this is straight from my aphorism: “When throwing pebbles into the water, look at the circles they form; otherwise such throwing will be empty fun!..”

Kozma Prutkov

To the album N.N. - In the album of a beautiful stranger - Return from Kronstadt - Valiant studious - An ancient Greek old woman - Ancient plastic Greek - The desire to be a Spaniard - Star and belly - To the place of printing - My inspiration - My portrait - On the seaside - Forget-me-nots and commas - German ballad - Modern Greek song - The Siege of Pamba - Autumn - From Kozma Prutkov to the reader - Memory of the past - Shepherd, milk and reader - Before the sea of ​​life - A trip to Kronstadt - The landowner and the gardener - The landowner and the grass - Difference of tastes - Disappointment - Romance (On a soft bed.. .) - Philosopher in the bath - Heron and the racing droshky - The worm and the priest - Ambition - Neck - Epigram II (To me, in thought...) - Epigram II (Once an architect...) - Epigram III - Epigram I - Epigram No .1 - Junker Schmidt

THE DESIRE TO BE SPANISH Quietly over the Alhambra. All nature is dozing, the castle of Pambra is dozing. Extremadura is sleeping...

Give me the mantilla; Give me a guitar; Give Inezil and a couple of Castanets.

Give a faithful hand, Two inches of damask steel, Exorbitant jealousy, A cup of chocolate.

I'll light a cigar, As soon as the moon rises... Let the old duenna Look from the window!

Behind two bars Let him curse me; Let him move his rosary and call the Old Man.

I hear the rustle of a dress on the balcony - chu! I go up to Donna, I threw off my cap.

Wait, pretty girl! Late and early I'll take the silk ladder out of my pocket!...

Oh dear lady, It’s dark and gray here... Dull passion boils in your cavalier.

Here, in front of the bananas, If I don’t get bored, I’ll dance a cachucha between the fountains.

But in this position I am afraid, fear, So that the monk does not inform the Inquisition!

It’s not for nothing that the vile Old Algvazil threatened me with his insolent hand just now.

But, for shame, I’ll dress him as Mavroy; I’ll drive you to the very Sierra Morena!

And at this place, If you are glad to see me, We will sing together at the serenade night.

It will be in our power to talk about peace, about enmity, about passion, about Guadalquivir;

About smiles, glances, the Eternal ideal, About bullfighters And about Escurial...

Quiet over the Alhambra. All nature is dormant. The castle of Pambra sleeps. Extremadura is sleeping. Works by Kozma Prutkov. Kostroma book publishing house, 1959.

From Persian, from Ibn Fet

Autumn. Boring. The wind howls. A light rain falls on the windows. The mind is yearning; the heart aches; And the soul is waiting for something.

And in inactive peace there is nothing to relieve my boredom... I don’t know: what is it? If only I could read a book! Works by Kozma Prutkov. Minsk, "People's Asveta", 1987.

MY PORTRAIT When you meet a person in a crowd,

Which is naked*; Whose forehead is darker than the foggy Kazbek,

The step is uneven; Whose hair is raised in disorder;

Who, crying out, always trembles in a nervous fit,

Know: it's me!

Whom they sneer with ever-new anger,

From generation to generation; From whom the crowd wears his laurel crown

Vomits madly; Who doesn’t bow his flexible back to anyone,

Know: it’s me!.. There’s a calm smile on my lips,

There's a snake in my chest!

* Option: “Which tailcoat is he wearing?” Note K. Prutkova. Works by Kozma Prutkov. Minsk, "People's Asveta", 1987.

MEMORY OF THE PAST As if from Heine

I remember you as a child, Soon you will be forty years old; Your apron is crumpled, Your corset is tight.

You felt awkward in it; You told me secretly: “Loosen the corset behind me; I can’t run in it.”

Full of excitement, I untied your corset... You ran away laughing, but I stood there thoughtfully. Works by Kozma Prutkov. Minsk, "People's Asveta", 1987.

ROMANCE I'm lying alone on a soft bed. In the next room an Armenian is screaming.

He screams and moans, hugging the Beauty, and bows his head; Suddenly you hear: bang-bang!..

The girl has fallen and is drowning in blood... The Don Cossack swears his love...

And in the azure sky the moon trembles; And with a tinsel cord Only the hat is visible.

In the next room the Armenian fell silent. I'm lying alone on a narrow bed. Works by Kozma Prutkov. Kostroma book publishing house, 1959.

RETURN FROM KRONSTADT I'm going on a steamship, a screw steamship; Quiet, quiet everything in nature, Quiet, quiet everything around. And, cutting the surface of the dark blue mass of water, rhythmically flapping its wings, the steamer rushes quickly, the sun is sultry, the sun is bright; The sea is calm, the sea is sleeping; Steam, in a thick black arch, runs towards the clear sky...

I’m standing on the bow again, And I’m standing like a rock, I’m singing songs to the sun in honor, And I’m not singing without tears!

From the wings* golden moisture flows noisily, like a cascade, splashes falling into the water, forming a waterfall,

And sometimes they lay far away Many traces across the sea And many and many streams, 1000 snakes and circles.

Oh! Isn’t it so in this life, In this vale of worries, In this sea, in this prism of Our vain worries, We are the pets of inspiration We place our loud verse in the light And in one moment we lay a trace in all human hearts?!

That's what I thought as I quickly disembarked from the ship; And he walked among the people, boldly looking into everyone’s eyes.

* I will explain to the uneducated reader that in a steamship the blades of a wheel or propeller are called wings. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

BEFORE THE SEA OF LIFE I'm still standing on a stone, Let me throw myself into the sea... What will fate send me, Joy or sorrow?

Maybe it will puzzle... Maybe it won’t offend... After all, the grasshopper is jumping, But he doesn’t see where. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

GERMAN BALLAD Baron von Greenwaldus, Known in Germany In visors and armor, On a stone in front of the castle, In front of the castle of Amalia, Sits, frowning;

He sits and is silent.

Amalya rejected Baron's hand!.. Baron von Greenwaldus does not take his eyes off the castle windows And does not leave his place;

Doesn't drink or eat.

Year after year... Barons fight, Barons feast... Baron von Greenwaldus, This valiant knight, Still in the same position

Sits on a stone. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

VALIANT STUDIOZUS (As if from Heine)

Fritz Wagner - student from Jena, Hieronymus Koch from Bonn, They entered my office with excitement, They entered without cleaning their boots.

“Great, our old comrade! Quickly decide our dispute: Who is more valiant: Koch or Wagner?” They asked with the jingle of spurs.

“Friends, I have long appreciated you both in Jena and Bonn. Koch was a great student of logic, And Wagner was a skillful drawer.”

They were dissatisfied with my answer: “Resolve our dispute as soon as possible!” They repeated with passion And with the same rattling of spurs.

I looked around the room and, as if seduced by the pattern, “I really like... the wallpaper!” I told them and ran out.

Not a single one of them could understand my pun, and the students Wagner and Koch stood in thought for a long time. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

JUNKER SCHMIDT The leaf withers. Summer is passing. Frost turns silver... Juncker Schmidt with a pistol Wants to shoot himself.

Wait, crazy one, the Greenery will come to life again! Junker Schmidt! Honestly, Summer will return! Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

A TRIP TO KRONSTADT Dedicated to my colleague in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Benediktov

The steamer flies like an arrow, menacingly crushes the waves into dust and, smoking with its chimney, cuts a trail in the gray waves.

Foam with a club. The steam is bubbling. Splashes of pearls fly. The sailor is busy at the helm. Masts stick out in the air.

Here comes a cloud from the south, Getting blacker and blacker... Although the blizzard is terrible on land, But in the seas it’s even worse!

Thunder rumbles and lightning flashes... The masts bend, a crash is heard... The waves are lashing hard at the ship... Screams, noise, and screams, and splashing!

I stand alone on the bow*, And I stand like a rock. I sing songs in honor of the sea, And I sing not without tears.

The sea breaks the ship with a roar. The waves are foaming all around. But it is not difficult for a ship to sail with an Archimedes screw.

Now it is very close to the goal. I see, my spirit was seized with fear. Our nearby trail is barely visible, I can barely see it in the waves...

And there’s not even a mention of the distant, And there’s not even a mention; Only the watery plain, I see only the trail of storms!..

So sometimes in our world: Once upon a time another poet lived, wrote, forged a sonorous verse on a lyre, and disappeared in the wave of the world!..

I was dreaming. But the storm ceased; Our steamer stood in the bay, gloomily hanging his head, in vain for the vain people:

“So,” I thought, “there are 1000

The bright path of glory is dimming; Oh, will I, too, drown someday in Summer?!"

* Here, of course, is the bow of the steamship, not the poet; the reader himself could guess this. Note by K. Prutkov. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

THE WORM AND THE HORSE Fable *

One day a worm crawled onto the priest's neck; And so she orders the footman to get it. The servant began to fumble with the butt... “But what are you doing?!” - “I’m crushing a worm.”

Oh, if a worm has already crawled onto your neck, crush it yourself and don’t give it to the lackey.

* This fable, like everything published for the first time in the “Complete Works of K. Prutkov,” was found in the morocco briefcases left after his death behind numbers and with a printed gilded inscription: “Collection of unfinished (d"inacheve) No.”. Works of Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, Phoenix, 1996.

EPIGRAM NO.1 “Do you like cheese?” - they once asked a prude. “I love him,” he answered, “I find taste in him.” Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

FORGET-METALS AND COMMA Fables

Shaking Pakhomych on his heels,

I carried a bunch of forget-me-nots with me;

Calluses on my heels,

I treated them at home with camphor.

Reader! in this fable, throwing away the forget-me-nots,

Here are two jokes:

Just conclude this:

If you have calluses,

In order to get rid of pain, you, like our Pakhomych, treat them with camphor. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

AMBITION Give me the strength of Samson; Give me the Socratic mind; Give the lungs of Cleon, Who announced the forum; Cicero's eloquence, Juvenal's anger, And Aesop's mutilation, And the magic cane!

Give the barrel of Diogenes; Hannibal's sharp sword, What a glory for Carthage. So much cut off from the shoulders! Give me Psyche's foot, Sapphia's feminine poem, And Aspazi's undertakings, And Venus's girdle!

Give me Seneca's skull; Give me Virgil's verse, people would shake at the words of my mouth! I would, with the courage of Lycurgus, Looking around, Stogny all of St. Petersburg Shocked with my verse! For the meaning of inova, I would snatch from the darkness the glorious Name of Prutkov, the loud Name of Kozma! Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

DIFFERENCE OF TASTES Fable*

It would seem, well, how can you not know

Or not to hear

An old saying,

That a dispute about tastes is idle talk?

However, once, for some holiday, it happened that with my grandfather at the table,

In a large gathering of guests, his grandson, a prankster, began to argue about tastes. The old man, getting excited, said in the middle of dinner:

“Puppy! Do you want to defame your grandfather? You are young: everything is radish and pork for you;

You swallow a dozen melons a day;

You and bitter horseradish - raspberries,

And for me and blancmange - wormwood!

Reader! The world has been like this for a long time:

We differ in fate

In tastes and even more so; I explained this to you in a fable.

You're crazy about Berlin;

I like Medyn better. For you, my friend, and bitter horseradish - raspberries,

And for me and blancmange - wormwood!

* In the first edition (see Sovremennik magazine, 1853), this fable was entitled: “A Lesson for Grandchildren,” to commemorate a real incident in the family of Kozma Prutkov. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

ANCIENT PLASTIC GREEK I love you, maiden, when golden and drenched in the sun you hold a lemon. And I see the young man’s fluffy chin Between the leaves of the acanthus and the Cretan columns.

Beautiful chlamys with heavy folds

They fell one after another... So in a bee hive around the wounded queen

A worried swarm scurries about. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

THE LANDLORD AND THE GARDENER Fable

To the landowner one Sunday

His neighbor brought the gift.

It was a certain plant, which, it seems, does not even exist in Europe. The landowner put him in a greenhouse;

But why didn't he do it himself?

(He was busy with something else:

He knitted bellies for his relatives), Then he calls the gardener to him

And he says to him: “Efim! Take special care of this plant;

Let him vegetate well."

Meanwhile winter has arrived. The landowner remembers his plant

And so Efima asks:

“What? Is the plant vegetating well?” “Pretty much,” he responded, “it’s completely frozen!”

Let everyone hire such a gardener,

who understands

What does the word "vegetate" mean? Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

IN THE ALBUM OF A BEAUTIFUL STRANGER WOMAN Written in Moscow

There is charm all around you. You are incomparable. You're sweet. You attracted the poet to yourself with the power of your wonderful charm. But he cannot love you: You were born in a foreign land, And he will not give a damn about loving you, to his honor. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

THE SIEGE OF PAMBA Romancero, from Spanish.

For nine years, Don Pedro Gomez, nicknamed the Lion of Castile, besieged the castle of Pamba, feeding on milk alone. And all the army of Don Pedro, Nine thousand Castilians, All according to this vow, Do not touch meat, Nor do they eat bread; They only drink milk. Every day they weaken, wasting their strength in vain. Every day Don Pedro Gomez cries about his powerlessness, covering himself with his cape. It's already the tenth year. The evil Moors triumph; And from the army of Don Pedro there were barely nineteen people left. Don Pedro Gomez gathered them and said to them: “Nineteen! Let us unfurl our banners, Let us leap into loud trumpets, And having struck the kettledrums, We will retreat away from Pamba Without shame and without fear. Although we did not take the fortress, But we can safely swear before our conscience and with honor; We never broke our vow, We didn’t eat for nine whole years, We didn’t eat anything except milk!” Encouraged by this speech, the nineteen Castilians, all rocking on their saddles, faintly cried out loudly: “Sancto Jago Compostello! Honor and glory to Don Pedro, Honor and glory to the Lion of Castile!” And his chaplain Diego said to himself through clenched teeth: “If I were a commander, I would vow to eat only meat, Washed down with Saturnine.” And, hearing this, Don Pedro said with a loud laugh: “Give him a ram! He was playing a pretty good joke.” Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

EPIGRAM II Once the architect came into contact with the henkeeper. So what? - two natures were mixed in their brainchild: The son of an architect - he attempted to build, The descendant of a poultry woman - he only built “chickens”. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

EPIGRAM II In deep thought, Lysimachus once said to me: “What a sighted man sees with a healthy eye, A blind man cannot see even with glasses!” Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

EPIGRAM III Pia is the fragrant juice of a flower, The bee gives us honey in return; Although your forehead is an empty barrel, But still you are not Diogenes. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

NECK (To my colleague Mr. Benediktov)

Virgo's neck - pleasure; Neck - snow, snake, daffodil; Neck - sometimes aspirations upward; The neck is sometimes a downward slope. The neck is a swan, the neck is a peahen, the neck is a tender stalk; Neck - joy, pride, glory; Your neck is a piece of marble!.. Who, shaking neck, will encircle you with a powerful hand? Who, warming you with his breath, will bake you with a kiss? Who, steep neck, up to the braid from the very shoulders, will protect you with vigilance during the fiery days of July: So that from the sun, in the scorching heat, your tan will not cover you; So that the shiny surface does not captivate the evil mosquito; So that you do not become black from black dust; So that sadness, winds, and winter don’t dry you out?! Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

THE LANDSCAPE AND THE GRASS Fable

Returning to his homeland from service, the young landowner, loving success in everything, gathered his peasants: “Friends, there is a connection between us

Pledge of joy; Let us go and inspect the fields!” And, inflaming the devotion of the peasants with this speech,

He went shopping with them. "What's mine here?" “Yes, that’s it,” answered the head,

Here is timothy grass..." "Fraud! - he cried, - you acted criminally!

Self-interest is beyond my reach; I'm not looking for someone else's; I love my rights! Of course, I’ll regret giving away my grass; But return this one to Timothy immediately!”

This opportunity, for me, is not new. Antonov is fire, but there is no law for the fire to always belong to Anton. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

ON THE SEASON On the seaside, right next to the outpost, I saw a large vegetable garden. Tall asparagus grows there; Cabbage grows modestly there.

There in the morning the gardener always walks lazily between the ridges; He is wearing an unkempt apron; His gloomy look is gloomy.

He will pour cabbage from a watering can; He will casually water the asparagus; Will cut green onions And then he takes a deep breath.

The other day an official in a dashing troika drives up to him. He is wearing warm high galoshes, and a golden lorgnette around his neck.

"Where is your daughter?" - asks the Official, squinting through his lorgnette, But, looking wildly, the gardener only waved his hand in response.

And the troika galloped back, sweeping away the dew from the cabbage... The gardener stands gloomily and digs in his nose with his finger. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

PHILOSOPHER IN THE BATH (From ancient Greek)

It’s enough to stroke me, Levkonoy, with your elastic palm; It’s enough to slide along my loins along the lower back. Call the Disc Thrower, the strap-shod Taurus; He will quickly replace you in your sweet work. Taurus is experienced and strong; he doesn't care about rubbing! He will jump on his back just right; The heel will rest on the neck. Meanwhile, you tickle my slightly hairless crown, quietly decorate my forehead, which has been dug up by science, with roses. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

MODERN GREEK SONG The bay sleeps. Hellas is dozing. The mother goes under the portico to squeeze the juice from the pomegranate... Zoya! no one will listen to us! Zoya, let me hug you!

Zoya, in the morning I will leave here; Soften up while it's night! Zoya, in the morning I will go away from here...

Let the saber whistle like a whirlwind! Kostaki is not my judge! Costakis is right, so am I! Let the saber whistle like a whirlwind; Kostaki is not my judge!

In the battlefield, Razorvaki fell for freedom, like a hero. God be with him! This is his fate. But why is Kostaki alive, When in the Razorvaki field He fell for freedom, like a hero?!

Yesterday I saw Eighteen ships in the bay; All without masts and without rudders... But I am happier than the Sultan; Pour wine for me, Zoya, pour it!

Lay while Hellas sleeps, While the mother strives in vain to squeeze out the juice of the pomegranate... Zoya, no one will listen to us! Zoya, let me hug you! Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix" 1000, 1996.

STAR AND BElly (Fable)

In the evening sky, a star was shining.

It was a fast day then: Perhaps Friday, perhaps Wednesday. At that time, someone's belly was walking around the garden

And I reasoned with myself like this,

Grumbling both plaintively and deafly:

My master

Nasty and obnoxious!

Because today is a fast day,

He won’t eat, the rascal, until the star;

Not only there is - where!

He won’t even drink a ladle of water!..

No, really, our brother can’t cope with him:

Know wanders through the garden, a hypocrite,

Place your palms on me;

He doesn’t feed him at all, he just pets him.”

Meanwhile, the shadow of the night grew darker all around.

The star, squinting, looks at the roundabout edge;

He will hide behind the bell tower,

It will peek out from around the corner,

It will flare brighter, then it will shrink,

Laughing secretly at my belly...

Suddenly my belly happened to see that star,

An grab!

She's already running head over heels

Down from heaven

Upside down

And falls, unable to maintain his flight;

Where to? - into the swamp!

What about the belly? Shouts: “wow” and “ah!”

And well, scold the star in our hearts, But there’s nothing to do: there wasn’t another one,

And the belly, no matter how much it swore,

Left

Even in the evening, but on an empty stomach.

Reader! This fable teaches us not to make, without extreme, a vow

Fast until the star

So as not to get yourself into trouble.

But if you really want

Fasting for salvation

That's my advice

(I speak out of friendship):

Save yourself, there is no word

But the main thing is to keep up with the work! The authorities, who care about us day and night, If you manage to please him,

Of course, in good time He will present you to the Order of St. Stanislaus. More than one mortal has experienced in his life how respectful and modest character is rewarded.

Then, - on a fast day, on a day

modest,

Being a sedate general himself,

You can be in good spirits

And with a full belly! For who will forbid you always, everywhere?

To be under a star? Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

TO THE ANCIENT GREEK OLD WOMAN IF SHE SOUGHT MY LOVE (Imitation of Catullus)

Leave me alone, toothless!.. your caresses are disgusting! From countless wrinkles, artificial paints, like lime, pour out and fall onto your chest. Remember your dear Styx and forget your passions! With a goat's voice, without offending the ears, Shut up, fury!.. Cover, cover, old woman, The hairless head, the parchment of yellow shoulders And the neck with which you imagine to attract me! Take off your shoes and put your sandals on your hands; And hide your legs somewhere far away from us! Burnt to powder, you should have been buried long ago in a clay urn. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

THE SHEPHERD, MILK AND THE READER One day a shepherd was carrying milk somewhere,

But 1000 is so terribly far away,

Why didn't he go back?

Reader! didn't you come across him? Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

FROM GOAT PRUTKOV TO THE READER IN A MINUTE OF FRANKENNESS AND REPENTANCE With a smile of dull doubt, layman, you look at my face and my proud gaze; You are more interested in the capital's dandies, Their vulgar talk, empty talk.

In your gaze, as in a book, I read that you are a faithful minion of vain life, that you consider us to be a daring pack, and do not love us; But listen to what a poet means.

Whoever, from childhood, mastering poetry at the behest, has filled his hand and from childhood, with the mask of a sufferer, for greater publicity, has decided to hide behind himself - that is a true poet!

Who, despising everyone, curses the whole world, Who has no compassion and no pity, Who looks with laughter at the tears of the unfortunate, is a powerful, great and strong poet!

Whoever loves dearly the past Hellas, Tunica, Athens, Acharnae, Miletus, Zeus, Venus, Juno, Pallas, is a wonderful, graceful, plastic poet!

Whose verse is euphonious, thunderous, even without thought, Filled with fire, water cannons, rockets, To no avail, but accurately calculated on the fingers, He is also, believe me, a great poet!..

So, do not be afraid when meeting us, Although we are stern and bold in appearance And we proudly tower over you with our heads; But who else will distinguish us in the crowd?!

In the poet you see contempt and malice; He looks gloomy, sick, clumsy; But just look into anyone’s womb, he is kind in soul and kind in body. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

TO THE PRINTING PLACE M.P. I love you, the place to print, When without sealing wax, without dough, And as if with coal, “M.P.” circled!

I cannot, living in the world, forget peace in my thoughts, and often, looking with longing, I repeat: “peace in my thoughts!” Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

MY INSPIRATION Do I walk alone in the Summer Garden*, Do I walk in the park with friends in company, Do I sit down in the shade of a weeping birch, Do I silently look at the sky with a smile, Thought after thought in the chapter never ends, One after another in a boring sequence, And contrary to the will and at odds with the heart, they crowd together like midges over warm water! And, severely suffering with an inconsolable soul, I am unable to look at the light and people: The light seems to me like pitch darkness; And a mortal - like a gloomy, crafty villain!

And with a kindly heart and a humble heart, Submitting to thoughts, I become proud; And I beat and wound everyone with an inspired verse, Like the ancient Attila, the leader of the insolent hordes... And it seems to me that then I am the head of everyone, higher than everyone, stronger than everyone with spiritual power, And the world is spinning under my heel, And I become darker and darker! And, filled with anger, like a menacing cloud, I will suddenly pour verses over the crowd: And woe to those who fell under my mighty verse! I laugh wildly at the cry of suffering.

* We consider it necessary to explain to Russian provincials and foreigners that here, of course, is the so-called “Summer Garden” in St. Petersburg. Note by K. Prutkov. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

HERON AND RACING DRESS (Fable)

The landowner rode in a racing droshky.

A heron was flying; he looked.

"Oh! why such legs

And Zeus didn’t give me an inheritance?”

And the heron quietly answers:

“You don’t know, Zeus knows!”

Let every strict family man read this fable: If you were born a Tatar, then be a Tatar;

If a tradesman is a tradesman,

And a nobleman is a nobleman, But if you are a blacksmith and want to be a master,

Know this, fool

That, finally, Not only will those long legs not give you, But they will even take away those short ones. Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library 736 Poetry Library. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

DISAPPOINTMENT

Y. P. Polonsky

Field. Moat. The sun is in the sky. And in the garden, behind the ditch, there is a hut. The sun is shining. In front of me is a Book, bread and a mug of beer.

The sun is shining. Birds in cages. The air is hot. There is silence all around. Suddenly the owner’s daughter, Malanya, walks right into the hallway.

I follow her. I also go out into the hallway; I see: my daughter is on a rope, spreading out towels.

I say to her reproachfully: “What did you wash? Wasn’t it a vest? And why didn’t you hem the loops on it with silk and thread?”

And Malanya, turning around, answered me with a laugh: “Well, if not with silk? I hemmed it in front of you!”

And then she went to the kitchen. I'm going there after her. I see: my daughter is preparing dough for lunch for a loaf.

I turn to her reproachfully: “What are you cooking? Isn’t it cottage cheese?” “Dough for the loaf.” - “Dough?” "Yes; you seem to have gone deaf?"

And having said that, she went out into the kindergarten. I went there, taking a mug of beer. I see: my daughter is in the garden, tearing up ripe parsley.

I say again reproachfully: “What did you find? Isn’t it a mushroom?” “You’re all talking idle talk! You already seem to be hoarse.”

Struck by the remark, I thought: “Ah, Malanya! How often do we childishly love something unworthy of attention!”

Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

EPIGRAM I “Do you like cheese,” they once asked a prude. “I love him,” he answered, “I find taste in him.” Works by Kozma Prutkov. World Library of Poetry. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix", 1996.

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Kozma Prutkov: created and creators

In 1854, a new name appeared on the horizon of Russian poetry - Kozma Prutkov. Nekrasov's magazine Sovremennik, which had discovered many talents by that time, did not miscalculate this time either. True, the works of the novice author were published on the pages of a humorous supplement to the magazine - in the “Literary Jumble”, but Turgenev also first saw his “Khor and Kalinich” in the “Mixture” section of the same “Sovremennik”, and now he is the famous author of “Notes” hunter"...

It was clear that the new poet was full of hope and inspiration.
I will forever sing and enjoy the song,
I will forever drink the enchanting nectar.
Scatter away, crowd!.. enough mocking!
Do you want to know Prutkov’s gift?!

However, already in the next stanza of this poem, under the significant title “To the Crowd,” the author replaced contempt with condescension towards it:

Wait!.. Tell me: why are you laughing so evilly?
Tell me: what have you been waiting for so long from me?
Isn't this flattering praise?! No, you won't wait for them!
I will not change my calling to the grave,
But with the truth on my lips, a trembling smile,
With a gall snake in a worn-out chest,
I will guide you in verses scorching with fire,
On the way from the wrong path!

Having thus declared his creative program, Prutkov began to bring it to life with no less passion. Apparently, he especially liked genres that helped correct morals and expose vice: fables, comedies, epigrams...

To me, in deep thought,
Lysimachus once said:
“What a sighted man sees with a healthy eye,
A blind person can’t see even with glasses!”

Lysimachus is a stern Stoic philosopher from the time of the decline of Rome. And Kozma Prutkov himself is no stranger to the craving for the winged word. His “Fruits of Thought” are published - a collection of coined aphorisms, among which are the now famous “Look at the root!”, “No one will embrace the immensity”, “Don’t walk along the slope, you’ll trample your boots!”, as well as many others, no less expressive: “The first step of a baby is the first step towards his death”, “Click a mare in the nose - she will wave her tail”, “Encouragement is just as necessary to a brilliant writer, how necessary is rosin for a virtuoso’s bow,” “What’s better? “By comparing the past, bring it together with the present!”

Following the last aphorism, Kozma Prutkov published “Historical materials of Fedot Kuzmich Prutkov (grandfather)”, modestly declaring in the preface: “My whole family was engaged in literature” - and promising, following his grandfather’s notes, to publish his father’s notes and his own.

True, none of them appeared, but after his death, respectful descendants spoke in detail about his life and creative path this statesman and literary figure. The reader learned that K. P. Prutkov rose to the high rank of actual state councilor and director of the Assay Office, that in addition to works of fine literature, he created “government projects,” of which the most famous is “On the introduction of unanimity in Russia,” which, however, was not implemented at that time.

The artists, delighted with Prutkov’s fame, created his portrait, and the person depicted demanded that a lyre be added below, from which rays emanate upward. The wish was fulfilled. Subsequently, a bust of the poet appeared, now kept in local history museum the city of Tambov, and at the end of the 20th century, a sculpture of Kozma Prutkov was erected in the Bryansk park-museum named after A.K. Tolstoy. It can be added that Prutkov’s works were cited by Turgenev and Herzen, Goncharov and Saltykov-Shchedrin. Prutkov’s long poem “The Siege of Pamba” is read by the heroes of Dostoevsky’s novel “The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants.” And in other works of writers the name of this writer, according to Dostoevsky’s definition, “the beauty of our time” appears...

Such is Kozma Petrovich Prutkov (1803–1863) - one of the amazing and bright creations of Russian literary and public life. It’s no secret: he himself, with his entire biography and pedigree, with fables, poems, plays, aphorisms, was invented by the poet Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy and his cousins, Alexey and Vladimir Zhemchuzhnikov. Other Zhemchuzhnikovs also contributed - Alexander and Lev (he, together with the artists Beideman and Lagorio, depicted Prutkov), as well as the poet Pyotr Ershov, author of the famous “The Little Humpbacked Horse”. But this official-poet became no mere amusement for them.

Yes, the poet Alexei Tolstoy, the eldest among the brothers, loved jokes, fun, and by nature had an absolute sense of humor. Yes, the poet Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov remained faithful to the themes of Russian satirical poetry for decades. Yes, the whole friendly atmosphere big family Zhemchuzhnikov’s life was permeated with cheerfulness and at the same time rejection of the inert, official, stupid-minded.

There are many stories about pranks that the brothers organized in bureaucratic St. Petersburg. One day, one of them, dressed in the uniform of an aide-de-camp, that is, an officer of the imperial retinue, toured St. Petersburg architects at night, conveying the alleged order of Nicholas I to appear at the palace the next morning due to the fact that St. Isaac's Cathedral had fallen into the ground. His Majesty was very unhappy with this joke...

But over time, youthful rejection of the regulated way of life in the capital and throughout Russian life(“Our land is rich, but there is just no order in it,” wrote A.K. Tolstoy in his famous satirical chronicle) began to give way to reflections on creative essence human nature, about the true values ​​of existence.

During the preparation in 1884 of the first " Full meeting works of Kozma Prutkov” The Zhemchuzhnikovs said that when creating Prutkov, they “developed in him qualities that they wanted to ridicule publicly.” Prutkov “adopted from other people who had success: courage, complacency, self-confidence, even arrogance, and began to consider his every thought, every writing and saying of his as a truth worthy of publication. He suddenly considered himself a dignitary in the field of thought and began to smugly expose his limitations and his ignorance.” The idea, widespread in Russian life, that an official, flesh and blood of the state mechanism, has the sole right to the truth, including in the areas of intellectual activity and creativity, was exposed to public scrutiny and obvious ridicule, which in itself paralyzes creative forces. “According to the proverb: “The city takes courage,” Kozma Prutkov won literary fame for himself with his courage. Being mentally limited, he gave advice of wisdom, not being a poet, he wrote poetry and dramatic works, believing to be a historian, he told jokes, having neither education nor even the slightest understanding of the needs of the fatherland, he composed government plans for him, - „ Diligence overcomes everything!’”

If Prutkov himself, with his, so to speak, biographical and mental data, is a satire on our Russian eternal bureaucrat, on the undying type of bureaucratic thinking, then the “lyrics” of the director of the Assay Office parody those literary forms and means that have worn out with the development of poetry, become banal and are perceived by readers without any aesthetic experiences, and thoughts - as a kind of walking morality, sad edification.

But the figure of Prutkov itself has served Russian literature well. The idea of ​​literature as a servant of the state was brought to the point of absurdity in his writings and from now on could not be taken seriously. By its very existence, this image convinces the reader of the impossibility of reducing poetry to clerical instructions, and genuine, free inspiration to the search for encouragement. Any literary administrator who forgot about this sooner or later found himself in Prutkov’s position.

Sergey Dmitrenko

Fruits of meditation thoughts and aphorisms

1

The wedding ring is the first link in the chain of married life.

2

Our life can be conveniently compared to a capricious river, on the surface of which a boat floats, sometimes rocked by a quiet wave, often delayed in its movement by shallows and broken on an underwater rock. Is it necessary to mention that this fragile boat on the market of fleeting time is none other than the man himself?

3

No one will embrace the immensity.

4

There is no thing so great that it cannot be surpassed in magnitude by an even greater one. There is no thing so small that something even smaller cannot fit into it.

5

Look at the root!

6

It’s better to say little, but well.

7

Science refines the mind; learning will sharpen your memory.

8

What will others say about you if you can’t say anything about yourself?

9

Self-sacrifice is the target of every shooter's bullet.

10

A person's memory is a sheet of white paper: sometimes it is written well, and sometimes poorly.

11

A fading memory is like a lamp going out.

12

A weakening memory can also be compared to a fading forget-me-not.

13

I will always liken weakening eyes to an old, tarnished mirror, even cracked.

14

The imagination of a poet, dejected by grief, is like a foot enclosed in a new boot.

15

He who is passionately in love with one person endures another only out of convenience.

16

If you want to be beautiful, join the hussars.

17

Man, not being clothed with beneficent nature, received from above the gift of tailoring.

18

If there were no tailors, tell me: how would you distinguish between service departments?

19

Hiding the truth from your friends, to whom will you open up?

20

What's the best? – Compare the past and bring it together with the present.

21

It is more useful to go through the path of life than the entire universe.

22

If you have a fountain, shut it up; give the fountain a rest.

23

A married rake is like a sparrow.

24

A diligent doctor is like a pelican.

25

An egoist is like someone who has been sitting in a well for a long time.

26

Genius is like a hill rising out of a plain.

Mazurovsky V. Battle for the Banner (fragment)

27

Clever speeches are like lines printed in italics.

28

I would boldly liken the beginning of a clear day to the birth of an innocent baby: perhaps the first one cannot do without rain, and the life of the second one – without tears.

29

If the shadows of objects did not depend on the size of these latter, but had their own arbitrary growth, then, perhaps, soon there would not be a single bright place left on the entire globe.

30

Shooting at a target exercises the hand and gives fidelity to the eye.

31

A berdysh in the hands of a warrior is the same as a well-aimed word in the hands of a writer.

32

The magnetic needle, irresistibly drawn to the north, is like a husband who observes the laws.

33

The baby's first step is the first step towards his death.

34

Death is placed at the end of life in order to more conveniently prepare for it.

35

In a house without residents, you won’t find the famous insects.

36

Do not take anything to the extreme: a person who wants to eat too late runs the risk of eating the next day in the morning.

37

Food is as necessary for health as decent treatment is necessary for an educated person.

38

“Why,” says the egoist, “will I work for posterity, when it has done absolutely nothing for me?” - You are unfair, you madman! Posterity has already done for you that you, bringing the past closer to the present and future, can at will consider yourself: a baby, a youth and an old man.

39

Melt down the wax, but save the honey.

40

Explanatory expressions explain dark thoughts.

41

Not even a hussar uniform suits every person.

42

43

The chamberlain rarely enjoys nature.

44

No one will embrace the immensity.

45

Three things, once started, are difficult to finish: a) eat good food; b) talk with a friend who has returned from a hike and c) scratch where it itches.

46

Before you meet a person, find out: is his acquaintance pleasant for others?

47

Health without strength is the same as hardness without elasticity.

48

Everyone says that health is most valuable; but no one follows this.

49

The wealth of a dissolute person is equal to a short blanket: if you pull it to your nose, your legs will be exposed.

50

Do not irritate the wounds of your neighbor: offer balm to the suffering one... When you dig a hole for someone else, you yourself will fall into it.

51

If you are asked: what is healthier, the sun or the month? – answer: month. For the sun shines during the day, when it is already light; and the month is at night.

52

But on the other hand: the sun the better that shines and warms; and the moon only shines, and then only on a moonlit night!

Kulikov I. S. Portrait of A. S. Uvarov

53

Self-love and love of fame are the best evidence of the immortality of the human soul.

Just talk about what your concepts allow you to talk about. So: without knowing the laws of the Iroquois language, can you make such a judgment on this subject that would not be unreasonably stupid?

56

When you get down to business, gather your courage.

57

I would boldly liken a pen writing for money to a barrel organ in the hands of a wandering foreigner.

58

Click the mare on the nose and she will wag her tail.

59

Do not be timid in front of the enemy: a person’s fiercest enemy is himself.

60

And turpentine is good for anything!

61

Everyone necessarily causes benefit when used in its place. On the contrary: the exercises of the best dance master in chemistry are inappropriate; The dance advice of an experienced astronomer is stupid.

62

Time is measured by clocks, and human life is measured by time; but how, tell me, will you measure the depth of the Eastern Ocean?

63

They say that work kills time; but this latter, without diminishing in any way, continues to serve humanity and the entire universe constantly in the same completeness and continuity.

64

There is sediment at the bottom of every heart.

65

Under sweet expressions, insidious thoughts lurk: for example, someone who smokes tobacco often smells of perfume.

66

Many things are incomprehensible to us not because our concepts are weak; but because these things are not included in the range of our concepts.

67

No one will embrace the immensity!

68

A chatterbox is like a pendulum: both need to be stopped.

69

Two people of the same build would not fight for long if the strength of one overcame the strength of the other.

70

Not everything that grows is strigi.

71

Nails and hair are given to a person in order to provide him with constant but easy occupation.

72

Some singers sometimes wheeze.

73

Encouragement is as necessary for a brilliant writer as rosin is necessary for a virtuoso’s bow.

74

Once you lie, who will believe you?

75

Life is an album. Man is a pencil. Things are a landscape. Time is gumelastic: it bounces off and erases.

76

It is easier to continue laughing than to stop laughing.

77

Look into the distance - you will see the distance; look at the sky - you will see the sky; When you look into a small mirror, you only see yourself.

78

Where is the beginning of the end with which the beginning ends?

79

The sooner you drive, the sooner you will arrive.

80

If you want to be happy, be it.

Kramskoy I. N. Mina Moiseev

81

Do not seek unity in the totality, but rather in the uniformity of division.

82

He who is diligent in service should not be afraid of his ignorance; for he will read every new case.

83

The rooster wakes up early; but the villain is even earlier.

84

Diligence overcomes everything!

85

What we have, we don’t store; Having lost, we cry.

86

And the oyster has enemies!

87

A renewed wound is much worse than a new one.

88

In the depths of every chest there is a snake.

89

Only in public service will you learn the truth.

90

I would boldly liken another walking old man to an hourglass.

91

Don't joke with women: these jokes are stupid and indecent.

92

An excessively rich man who does not help the poor is like a hefty nurse suckling with appetite her own breast at the cradle of a starving child.

93

The magnet points north and south; It is up to a person to choose a good or bad path in life.

94

Don't put leggings on other people's legs.

95

A person is bifurcated from below, and not from above, so that two supports are more reliable than one.

96

A person corresponds with the entire globe, and through the press communicates even with distant posterity.

97

The stupidest man was the one who invented tassels for decoration and gold nails on furniture.

98

Many people are like sausages: what they are stuffed with is what they carry around with them.

99

A sensitive person is like an icicle; warm it up, it will melt.

100

Many officials are like a steel pen.

101

A specialist is like gumboil: its completeness is one-sided.

102

In the edifice of human happiness, friendship builds the walls, and love forms the dome.

103

When looking at tall people and tall objects, hold your cap by the visor.

104

Spit in the eyes of anyone who says that you can embrace the immensity!

105

The globe, revolving in boundless space, serves as a pedestal for everything found on it.

106

If you read the inscription “buffalo” on an elephant’s cage, don’t believe your eyes.

107

Ant eggs are greater than the creature that gave birth to them; so the glory of a gifted person is far longer lasting than his own life.

108

Every thing is a form of manifestation of infinite diversity.

Dow J. Portrait of A. A. Tuchkov the fourth

109

All parts of the globe have their own, sometimes even very curious, other parts.

110

Looking at the world, one cannot help but be surprised!

111

The most distant point on the globe is close to something, and the closest point is distant from something.

112

The philosopher easily triumphs over future and past sorrows, but he is easily defeated by the present.

113

I will always liken the sky dotted with stars to the chest of an honored general.

114

Dobliy 1
Valiant (Church Slav.).

A husband is like a mausoleum.

115

Blackax blackens with benefit, and an evil person with pleasure.

116

Vices are part of virtue, just as poisonous drugs are part of healing remedies.

117

Of all the fruits, the best comes from good education.

118

Love, supported like fire by constant movement, disappears along with hope and fear.

119

It is calculated that a St. Petersburg resident living in the sun gains twenty percent of his health.

120

Man is given two hands at that end, so that, receiving with his left, he distributes with his right.

121

Sometimes it is enough to curse a person in order not to be deceived by him!

122

Do not seek salvation in a separate agreement.

123

A jealous husband is like a Turk.

124

Almost every person is like a vessel with taps filled with the life-giving moisture of productive forces.

125

An intelligent woman is like Semiramis.

126

Any veil is like a wagtail.

127

The messenger is like a sieve.

128

Girls are generally like checkers: not every one succeeds, but everyone wants to get into the kings.

129

Always stay alert!

130

The peace of mind of many would be safer if it were allowed to attribute all troubles to the public account.

131

Don't walk along the slope, you'll wear out your boots!

132

I advise everyone: even in particularly wet and windy weather, stuff your ears with cotton paper or marine rope.

133

Who's stopping you from inventing waterproof gunpowder?

134

Snow is considered a shroud of dead nature; but it also serves as the first route for life supplies. So unravel nature!

135

The barometer in agriculture can be, with great benefit, replaced by diligent servants suffering from deliberate rheumatism.

Ge N. N. Portrait of the writer and public figure Elena Osipovna Likhacheva

136

A dog sitting on hay is harmful. A chicken sitting on eggs is healthy. From a sedentary life they become fat: so, every money changer is fat.

137

Wrongful wealth is like watercress - it grows on every felt.

138

Every human head is like a stomach: one digests the food that enters it, and the other becomes clogged with it.

139

Things are great and small not only according to the will of fate and circumstances, but also according to the concepts of everyone.

140

And sago, consumed in excess, can cause harm.

141

Looking at the sun, squint your eyes, and you can clearly see the spots in it.

142

Time is like a skillful manager, constantly producing new talents to replace those that have disappeared.

143

Talents measure the success of civilization, and they also provide milestones of history, serving as telegrams from ancestors and contemporaries to posterity.

144

And when railways It's better to keep the gig.

145

Submission cools anger and gives dimension to mutual feelings.

146

If everything that was past was present, and the present continued to exist with the future, who would be able to make out: where are the causes and where are the consequences?

147

Happiness is like a ball that rolls up: today under one, tomorrow under another, the day after tomorrow under a third, then under a fourth, fifth, etc., according to the number and line of happy people.

148

Others insist that everyone's life is written in the book of Genesis.

149

I don’t quite understand: why do many people call fate a turkey, and not some other bird that is more similar to fate?

150

151

What seems best to everyone is what he has a desire for.

152

Publishing some newspapers, magazines and even books can be profitable.

153

Never lose sight of the fact that it is much easier not to satisfy many than to please them.

154

A good ruler is rightly likened to a coachman.

155

A good cigar is like the globe: it spins for man's pleasure.

156

When throwing pebbles into the water, look at the circles they form; otherwise such throwing will be empty fun.

157

Piety, hypocrisy, superstition - three different things.

158

Sedateness is a reliable spring in the mechanism of community life.

159

For many people, skating causes shortness of breath and shaking.

160

I’ll say it again: no one can embrace the immensity!