Vasily Trediakovsky (1703-69) was the son of a priest but contrived his way into the Slaviano-Greco-Latin Academy in Moscow, then to The
Hague and finally to Paris, where he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne. Returning to Russia in 1730, Trediakovsky made his reputation with a translation
of a 1663 novel by Paul Tallemant entitled Voyage à l'isle d'amour. Trediakovsky's New and Short Method for the Composition of Russian Verse appeared in 1735, and
he became a professor at the Academy of Sciences in 1745. His last work was another translation, of Fénélon’s Les Aventures de Télémarque, a utopian novel in which despotism was
satirized: naturally, it was not well received at Catherine's court. {2-3}
Trediakovsky was the court poet of Anna's reign, a translator of French literature and an important theoretician of Russian versification. Trediakovsky's own work seems rather
clumsy to us, and was anyway overshadowed by Lomonosov's.
Trediakovsky is still known for his patriotic odes on the Boileau model, which celebrated coronations and military battles, though he also wrote 'spiritual odes'. The poem illustrated is an early piece,
based on Polish models and still written in syllabic verse, but Trediakovsky's Composition in fact argued for metrical verse, which his work helped to popularize. With
other theoreticians ― Lomonosov, Sumarokov and Kantemir ― he managed to quarrel over the use of trochees, but Trediakovsky was the first to work out a complete genre system
and give examples.{3}
It was Trediakovsky's concern for morality, most particularly the morality of government, that got him into trouble, as of course it did Derzhavin. He translated John Barclay's 1671 Argentis,
for example, which criticizes the absolute monarchy of the sun king, but it was his Fénélon that really made his stay at Catherine's court untenable, though the
attack skirmished on the translation's style and meter. In fact, the dactylotrochaic hexameter had been borrowed from the German poet Wilhelm Klopstock, who had invented it to mimic the
classical meter. Metrical matters in 18th century Russian verse are far more complicated than this brief survey suggests.{3}
Verses in Praise of Russia was written in 1728, when Trediakovsky was a needy student living nonetheless in some style at Paris.
It's a patriotic lyric, from someone who was much struck by the elegance of Parisian ways but nonetheless
felt that his native country should not be forgotten. {1-2}
Trediakovsky's later work is more weighty, philosophical and moralistic. {3} It is
not now popular but illustrates how far Russian verse was to travel to reach Pushkin's standards.
The language here is elevated: sceptres and porphyry are symbols of power; miters refer to bishops; vivat is Latin for Long live!
СТИХИ ПОХВАЛЬНЫЕ РОССИИ
1. Начну на флейте стихи печальны,
Зря на Россию чрез страны дальны:
Ибо все днесь мне ее доброты
Мыслить умам есть много охоты.
2. Россия мати! свет мой безмерный!
Позволь то, чадо прошу твой верный,
Ах, как сидишь ты на троне красно!
Небо российску ты солнце ясно!
3. Красят иных всех златые скиптры,
И драгоценна порфира, митры;
Ты собой скипетр твой украси́ла,
И лицем светлым венец почтила.
4. О благородстве твоем высоком
Кто бы не ведал в свете широком?
Прямое сама вся благородство:
Божие ты, ей! светло изводство.
5. В тебе вся вера благочестивым,
К тебе примесу нет нечестивым;
В тебе не будет веры двойныя,
К тебе не смеют приступить злые.
6. Твои все люди суть православны
И храбростию повсюду славны;
Чада достойны таковой мати,
Везде готовы за тебя стати.
7. Чем ты, Россия, не изобильна?
Где ты, Россия, не была сильна?
Сокровище всех добр ты едина,
Всегда богата, славе причина.
8. Коль в тебе звезды все здравьем блещут!
И россияне коль громко плещут:
Виват Россия! виват драгая!
Виват надежда! виват благая.
9. Скончу на флейте стихи печальны,
Зря на Россию чрез страны дальны:
Сто мне язы́ков надобно
б было Прославить
The poem is in syllabic verse, ten syllables to the line and nominally rhymed AABBCC, etc. Such verse
in Russian usually employs a feminine rhyme but, as will be noted, Trediakovsky doesn't distinguish
between masculine and feminine rhymes. Nor do the natural stresses of words create any regular pattern. This is early Russian verse, simply governed by rhyme and syllable count ():
1. Начну́ на фле́йте стихи́ печа́льны, A (10)
Зря на Росси́ю чрез стра́ны да́льны: A (10)
И́бо всё днесь мне её доброты́ b (10)
Мы́слить ума́м есть мно́го охо́ты. B (10)
2. Росси́я мати! свет мой безме́рный! C (10)
Позво́ль то, ча́до прошу́ твой ве́рный, C (10)
Ах, как сиди́шь ты на тро́не красно́! d (10)
Не́бо российску ты со́лнце я́сно! D (10)
A TTS (text to speech) recording is:
Trediakovsky is fairly well known, but I have not found a translation of this
poem on the Internet.
We can try to render the syllabic nature of the original, i.e. pay no attention to the
natural stresses of English, but the result is not very pleasing:
1. I start with verse for flute, that's sad and keen,
for a Russia that's through far countries seen.
I think of her kindness to me today
and know there's so much my mind wants to say.
2. Mother Russia, so vast and undefiled,
let me say at once and as as your faithful child:
How much our glory is with you on the throne;
you are the only bright sun we have known.
It seems better to write its equivalent in English verse of the period, i.e. rhymed pentameters. A first cumbersome
rendering to try out rhymes:
Verses in Praise of Russia
1. With flute I start these verses, sad and keen,
for Russia through far distant countries seen.
For all her kindnesses to me today
there's much my mind in thinking wants to say.
2. Mother Russia, vast and undefiled,
let me tell you, as your faithful child:
How gloriously you sit upon the throne;
for us the brightest sunlight we have known.
3. Your gold of sceptres outshines others, on loan
their mitres and their precious porphyry stone.
Your sceptre is adorned with your own grace
as crown is honoured with your brilliant face.
4. And of your high nobility, who can
not know so and claim the widest world to scan?
For you are noble in yourself, and straight:
for God’s you are and known in brightest state.
5. To you the faith of pious folk will go
and no impurity the godless show.
Nor shall there be some double faith as such
or vile associations overmuch.
6. Your people all are Orthodox, and known
for bravery and glorious. So grown
are children worthy of a mother too:
they stand in pride and so acknowledge you.
7. What, Russia, are you not abundant in?
What contest, mighty Russia, won't you win?
You are the treasury of all good things,
forever rich, in which your glory sings.
8. And all the stars that are, they shine in you,
applauding loudly as good Russians do.
Long live Russia! Long live my darling one!
Long live the good! Long live what hope has won!
9. With flute I end these verses, sad and keen,
for Russia through far distant countries seen.
So would I need a hundred tongues to praise
how dear and wonderful are Russian ways.
And then something smoother, puffing out the panegyrics a little:
Verses in Praise of Russia
1. On this sad flute I start my song today
for Russia barely known and far away.
For all her kindnesses to me I find
it difficult to fully speak my mind.
2. Mother Russia, vast and undefiled,
may I not tell you, as your faithful child,
how gloriously you sit upon the throne:
how bright the sunlight that is ours alone.
3. Your gold of sceptres outshines all, on loan
their mitres and their precious porphyry stone.
Your sceptre’s decorated with your grace
as crown is honoured by your radiant face.
4. Not known for high nobility? Who’d stay
so ignorant within the world's wide way?
For you are noble in yourself, and straight:
for God’s you are and shown in brightest state.
5. To you the faith of pious folk will go
and no impurity the godless show.
Nor will there be a double faith, as such
will join them with the wicked overmuch.
6. Your people all are Orthodox, and known
for bravery most everywhere. So grown
are children worthy of a mother too
that stand in pride and so acknowledge you.
7. In what can Russia be not bountiful,
and where can Russia not be powerful?
You are the treasury of all good things,
forever rich, of which your glory sings.
8. And all the stars that are, they shine in you,
applauding loudly as good Russians do.
Vivat Russia! Live my darling one!
Vivat hope! Long live the good works done!
9. On this sad flute I end my song today
for Russia barely known and far away,
where I would need a hundred tongues to praise
the dear and wonderful in Russian ways.
1. Wachtel, M. The Cambridge Introduction to Russian Poetry (CUP 2004) 127-9.
2. Mirsky, D.S. A History of Russian Literature (Knopf 1926/Vintage 1958) 42-3.
3. Bristol, E.B. A History of Russian Poetry (O.U.P. 1991) 48-52.
4. Analysis of Trediakovsky's Poem in Praise of Russia: in Russian.
Russian poem translations on this site: listing.
