Dmitry Likhachev: Native Land. Lesson "D. S. Likhachev. “Native land Abstract on native land Likhachev

Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev

Native Land

To our readers!

The author of the book brought to your attention, Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev, is an outstanding Soviet scientist in the field of literary criticism, the history of Russian and world culture. He has written more than two dozen major books and hundreds of research articles. D. S. Likhachev is a full member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, twice laureate of the USSR State Prize, honorary member of many foreign academies and universities.

Dmitry Sergeevich's erudition, his pedagogical talent and experience, the ability to speak about complex things simply, intelligibly and at the same time vividly and imaginatively - this is what distinguishes his works, makes them not just books, but a significant phenomenon in our entire cultural life. Considering the multi-valued issues of moral and aesthetic education as an integral part of communist education, D. S. Likhachev relies on the most important party documents calling for the greatest attention and responsibility to treat the cultural education of the Soviet people, and especially youth.

The propaganda activities of Dmitry Sergeevich, who constantly cares about the ideological and aesthetic education of our youth, and his persistent struggle for a careful attitude to the artistic heritage of the Russian people, are also widely known.

In his new book, Academician D. S. Likhachev emphasizes that the ability to comprehend the aesthetic and artistic perfection of timeless masterpieces of the cultural past is very important for the younger generation and contributes to the education in them of truly high civic positions of patriotism and internationalism.

Fate made me an expert in ancient Russian literature. However, what does “fate” mean? Fate was in me: in my inclinations and interests, in my choice of faculty at Leningrad University and in which of the professors I began to take classes with. I was interested in old manuscripts, I was interested in literature, I was attracted to Ancient Rus' and folk art. If we put all this together and multiply it with a certain perseverance and some stubbornness in conducting searches, then all this together opened the way for me to carefully study ancient Russian literature.

But the same fate, living within me, at the same time constantly distracted me from pursuing academic science. I am obviously a restless person by nature. Therefore, I often go beyond the boundaries of strict science, beyond what I am supposed to do in my “academic specialty.” I often appear in the general press and write in “non-academic” genres. I am sometimes worried about the fate of ancient manuscripts when they are abandoned and not studied, or about ancient monuments that are being destroyed, I am afraid of the fantasies of restorers who sometimes too boldly “restore” monuments to their own taste, I am worried about the fate of old Russian cities in the conditions of growing industry, I am interested in education patriotism in our youth and much, much more.

This book, now open to the reader, reflects many of my non-academic worries. I could call my book “a book of worries.” Here are many of my concerns, and concerns I would like to convey to my readers - to help foster in them active, creative - Soviet patriotism. Not patriotism that is satisfied with what has been achieved, but patriotism that strives for the best, striving to convey this best - both from the past and from the present - to future generations. In order not to make mistakes in the future, we must remember our mistakes in the past. We must love our past and be proud of it, but we must love the past for a reason, but the best in it - what we can really be proud of and what we need now and in the future.

Among lovers of antiquities, collectors and collectors are very common. Honor and praise to them. They saved a lot, which then ended up in state storage facilities and museums - donated, sold, bequeathed. Collectors collect things like this - rare ones for themselves, more often for their families, and even more often to bequeath to a museum - in their hometown, village, or even just at school (all good schools have museums - small, but very necessary!).

I have never been and never will be a collector. I want all values to belong to everyone and serve everyone while remaining in their place. The whole earth owns and stores values, treasures of the past. This is a beautiful landscape, and beautiful cities, and the cities have their own art monuments, collected over many generations. And in the villages there are traditions of folk art and labor skills. Values are not only material monuments, but also good customs, ideas about what is good and beautiful, traditions of hospitality, friendliness, and the ability to sense one’s own good in another. The values are language and accumulated literary works. You can't list everything.

What is our Earth? This is a treasury of extraordinarily diverse and extraordinarily fragile creations of human hands and the human brain, rushing through outer space at an incredible, unimaginable speed. I called my book "Native Land". The word "earth" in Russian has many meanings. This is the soil, and the country, and the people (in the latter sense, the Russian land is spoken of in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”), and the entire globe.

In the title of my book, the word "earth" can be understood in all these senses.

The earth creates man. Without her he is nothing. But man also creates the earth. Its preservation, peace on earth, and the increase in its wealth depend on man. It is up to the individual to create conditions under which the values of culture will be preserved, grown and multiplied, when all people will be intellectually rich and intellectually healthy.

This is the idea behind all sections of my book. I write about many things in different ways, in different genres, in different manners, even at different reading levels. But everything I write about, I strive to connect with the single idea of love for my land, for my land, for my Earth...

***

Appreciating the beauty of the past, we must be smart. We must understand that in admiring the amazing beauty of architecture in India, one does not have to be a Mohammedan, just as one does not have to be a Buddhist to appreciate the beauty of the temples of ancient Cambodia or Nepal. Are there people today who believe in ancient gods and goddesses? - No. But are there people who would deny the beauty of the Venus de Milo? But this is a goddess! Sometimes it even seems to me that we, people of the New Age, value ancient beauty more than the ancient Greeks and Romans themselves. It was too familiar to them.

Is this why we, Soviet people, began to perceive so keenly the beauty of ancient Russian architecture, ancient Russian literature and ancient Russian music, which are one of the highest peaks of human culture. Only now are we beginning to realize this, and even then not fully.

Of course, when developing your attitude and fighting for the preservation of monuments of artistic culture of the past, you must always remember that, as F. Engels wrote about the historical conditionality of the form and content of medieval art, “the worldview of the Middle Ages was predominantly theological... The Church gave religious sanctification to the secular political system , based on feudal principles... From here it naturally followed that church dogma was the starting point and basis of all thinking" (Marx K., Engels F. Sobr. soch., vol. 21, p. 495).

Appreciating the beautiful in the past, protecting it, we thereby seem to follow the behest of A.S. Pushkin: “Respect for the past is the feature that distinguishes education from savagery...”.

A word to the young

Your profession and your patriotism

It is very difficult to give parting words to young people. Much has already been said, and said very well. And yet, I will try to say what I consider the most important and what, as it seems to me, every person entering a great life must firmly understand.

Much of what a person achieves in life, what position he occupies in it, what he brings to others and receives for himself, depends on himself. Luck doesn't come by chance. It depends on what a person considers luck in life, how he evaluates himself, what position in life he has chosen, and, finally, what his goal in life is.

Many, many people think something like this: I am smart, I have such and such abilities, I will engage in such and such a profession, I will achieve a lot in life, I will become a person of “position.” No, this is far from enough! An accidental failure in entrance exams (let's say, really accidental, and not ostensibly accidental), an accidental mistake in one's abilities (boys often exaggerate them, girls too often underestimate themselves), "accidentally" influential enemies in life, etc. and etc. And then everything in life was lost. By old age, a person feels deep disappointment, resentment towards someone, or “so, in general.”

Youth is all life

When I was in school, it seemed to me that when I grew up, everything would be different. I will live among some other people, in a different environment, and everything will be completely different. There will be a different environment, there will be some other, “adult” world that will have nothing in common with my school world. But in reality it turned out differently. Together with me, my friends from school and then from the University entered this “adult” world.

The environment changed, but it also changed at school, but in essence remained the same. My reputation as a comrade, a person, a worker remained with me, passed on to that other world that I had dreamed of since childhood, and if it changed, it did not start anew at all.

I remember that my mother’s best friends until the end of her long life remained her school friends, and when they went “to another world,” there was no replacement for them. It’s the same with my father - his friends were friends of his youth. As an adult, it was difficult to make friends. It is in youth that a person’s character is formed, and the circle of his best friends is formed - the closest, the most necessary.

In youth, not only a person is formed - his whole life, his entire environment is formed. If he chooses his friends correctly, it will be easier for him to live, easier to bear grief and easier to bear joy. Joy, after all, must also be “transferred” so that it is the most joyful, the longest and lasting, so that it does not spoil a person and gives real spiritual wealth, makes a person even more generous. Joy not shared with intimate friends is not joy.

Keep your youth until old age. Keep your youth in your old friends, but acquired in your youth. Keep youth in your skills, habits, in your youthful “openness to people”, spontaneity. Keep it in everything and don’t think that as an adult you will become “completely, completely different” and live in a different world.

And remember the saying: “Take care of your honor from a young age.” It is impossible to completely escape your reputation, created during your school years, but you can change it, but it is very difficult.

Our youth is also our old age.

Art opens up a big world for us!

The greatest and most valuable feature of Russian culture was its power and kindness, which a powerful, truly powerful principle always possesses. That is why Russian culture was able to boldly master and organically incorporate Greek, Scandinavian, Finno-Ugric, Turkic, etc. principles. Russian culture is an open culture, a kind and courageous culture, accepting everything and creatively comprehending everything.

Such was the Russian of Russians, Peter I. He was not afraid to move the capital closer to Western Europe, change the costume of the Russian people, and change many customs. For the essence of culture is not in the external, but in its internal internationalism, high cultural tolerance...

Various artists (French, Armenians, Greeks, Scots) have always been in Russian culture and will always be in it - in our great, broad and hospitable culture. Narrowness and despotism will never build a strong nest in it.

Art galleries should be promoters of this breadth. We will trust our art critics, trust them, even if there is something we don’t understand.

The value of great artists is that they are “different,” that is, they contribute to the development of diversity in our... culture.

We will love everything Russian, primordially Russian, we will love, say, Vologda and the frescoes of 1 Dionysius, but we will tirelessly learn to appreciate what the world’s progressive culture has given and will continue to give and what is new in ourselves. Let us not be afraid of the new and we will not reject from the threshold everything that we have not yet understood.

It is impossible to see in every artist new to his own method a swindler and a deceiver, as ill-informed people often do. For the diversity, richness, complexity, “hospitality”, breadth and internationalism of our... culture and art, we will appreciate and respect the wonderful work that art galleries do, introducing us to different art, developing our taste, our spiritual sensitivity.

Understanding mathematics requires studying.
To understand music you have to study.
You also need to learn to understand painting!

Learn to speak and write

After reading this headline, most readers will think: “This is what I did when I was a kid.” No, you need to learn to speak and write all the time. Language is the most expressive thing a person has, and if he stops paying attention to his language and begins to think that he has already mastered it sufficiently, he will begin to retreat. You must constantly monitor your language - oral and written.

The greatest value of a people is its language, the language in which it writes, speaks, and thinks. He thinks! This must be understood thoroughly, in all the polysemy and significance of this fact. After all, this means that a person’s entire conscious life passes through his native language. Emotions and sensations only color what we think about or push the thought in some way, but our thoughts are all formulated in language.

Much has been written about the Russian language as the language of the people. This is one of the most perfect languages of the world, a language that developed over more than a millennium, giving in the 19th century. the best literature and poetry in the world. Turgenev spoke about the Russian language: “... it is impossible to believe that such a language was not given to a great people!”

This article of mine will not be about the Russian language in general, but about how this language is used by this or that person.

The surest way to know a person - his mental development, his moral character, his character - is to listen to how he speaks.

So, there is the language of a people as an indicator of its culture and the language of an individual as an indicator of his personal qualities - the qualities of a person who uses the language of the people.

If we pay attention to a person’s manner of carrying himself, his gait, his behavior, his face and judge a person by them, sometimes, however, erroneously, then a person’s language is a much more accurate indicator of his human qualities, his culture.

But it also happens that a person does not speak, but “spits words.” For every common concept, he has not ordinary words, but slang expressions. When such a person speaks with his “spitting words,” he wants to show that he doesn’t care about anything, that he is higher, stronger than all circumstances, smarter than everyone around him, laughs at everything, and is not afraid of anything.

But in fact, he calls certain objects, people, actions with his cynical expressions and mocking nicknames because he is a coward and timid, unsure of himself.

Look, listen, what does such a “brave” and “sage” cynically speak about, in what cases does he usually replace words with “spitting words”? You will immediately notice that this is all that frightens him, from which he expects trouble for himself, which is not in his power. He will have “his own” words for money, for earning money - legal and especially illegal - for all kinds of fraud, cynical nicknames for people whom he is afraid of (there are, however, nicknames in which people express their love and affection for this or that to a person is another matter).

I specifically dealt with this issue, so believe me, I know this, and I’m not just guessing.

A person’s language is his worldview and his behavior. As he speaks, so, therefore, he thinks.

And if you want to be a truly intelligent, educated and cultured person, then pay attention to your language. Speak correctly, accurately and economically. Do not force others to listen to your long speeches, do not show off your language: do not be a narcissistic talker.

If you often have to speak publicly - at meetings, sessions, or simply in the company of your friends, then, first of all, make sure that your speeches are not long. Keep track of the time. This is necessary not only out of respect for others - it is important to be understood. The first five minutes - listeners can listen to you carefully; the second five minutes - they still continue to listen to you; after fifteen minutes they only pretend to listen to you, and at the twentieth minute they stop pretending and start whispering about their affairs, and when it comes to the point where they interrupt you or start telling each other something, you are lost.

Second rule. To make a speech interesting, everything you say must be interesting to you.

You can even read the report, but read it with interest. If the speaker speaks or reads with interest and the audience feels it, then the listeners will also be interested. Interest is not created in the audience itself; interest is instilled in the audience by the speaker. Of course, if the topic of the speech is not interesting, nothing will come of trying to inspire interest in the audience.

Try so that in your speech there is not just a chain of different thoughts, but that there is one, main idea to which all the others should be subordinated. Then it will be easier to listen to you, your speech will have a theme, intrigue, “expectation of the end” will appear, the listeners will guess what you are leading to, what you want to convince them of - and will listen with interest and wait for how you will formulate your message at the end main idea.

This “waiting for the end” is very important, and it can be supported by purely external techniques. For example, a speaker says two or three times in different places about his speech: “I’ll say more about this,” “We’ll come back to this,” “Pay attention to...”, etc.

And not only writers and scientists need to be able to write well. Even a well-written letter to a friend, freely and with a certain amount of humor, characterizes you no less than your oral speech. Through a letter, let him feel yourself, your mood, your relaxedness in approaching the person you like.

But how to learn to write? If in order to learn to speak well, you need to constantly pay attention to the speech of yourself and others, sometimes write down successful expressions that accurately express the thought, the essence of the matter, then in order to learn to write, you need to write, write letters, diaries. (Diaries should be kept from a young age, then they will simply be interesting to you, and at the time of writing them, you not only learn to write - you involuntarily report on your life, think about what happened to you and how you acted.) In a word: “ To learn to ride a bike, you have to ride a bike.”

Dmitry Likhachev

1 Fresco (Italian fresco - fresh) - a picture painted with paints diluted in water and applied to fresh plaster.

Questions

You have read several chapters from D. S. Likhachev’s book “Native Land,” which was written in the journalistic genre, that is, a genre that covers topical, modern issues of our life. What did the author draw our attention to? How did you understand the chapter “Art opens up a big world for us!”?
How do you understand the saying: “Take care of your honor from a young age”? Why can’t you completely get away from the reputation created during your school years?
How do cultures of different nationalities connect in everyday life? What exhibitions and arts and crafts “live” in your region?

Enrich your speech

Prepare a message on the topic “The art of my native land” (orally or in writing - your choice).

Use the advice of D. S. Likhachev, expressed in the chapter “Learning to Speak and Write”, for example: 1. In order for the presentation and speech to be literate, you cannot use slang words (“spitting words”) in the message and in conversation. 2. Make sure that the speech is not long - it should be precise and economical. 3. For a speech to be interesting for everyone, it must be interesting for you, etc.

The professor and academician talks about culture, patriotism, respect for elders, describes the culture of Ancient Rus', the political and cultural life of Veliky Novgorod in the 13th-14th centuries.

A word to the young

Professor, academician Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev talks about patriotism and vocation, intelligence and culture, reading and memory. The author believes that every person should have a great personal goal and be passionate about their profession. The work we do should bring joy, be a calling.

Patriotism brings true happiness to a person. Love for your people begins with studying their past. The author loves Ancient Rus' and admires its writing and art. Studying ancient Russian history can spiritually enrich us and suggest a lot of new things.

The author talks about intelligence, which is manifested in respect for parents, in the ability to quietly help one’s neighbor, in a person’s everyday behavior. Intelligence is also expressed in a person’s ability not to be funny and to behave with dignity.

Intelligence is the ability to understand, to perceive, it is an attitude towards the world and towards people.

A person's behavior corresponds to his goal. If the goal is great and wise, then the means by which it is achieved are also worthy.

A person acquires his character and best friends in his youth. It is childhood friends who make adult life easier for us.

The author considers the language of the people to be the greatest value. Russian language is one of the richest in the world. A sign of a cultured person is not only the ability to write well in their native language, but also knowledge of classical literature.

The author encourages us to elevate each other, awakening the best traits in those around them and not noticing the shortcomings. This is especially true for older people, for whom attention helps brighten up their last years. Old people remember the past better, but memory is about overcoming time and death. The memory of the old helps to better understand the new. The present arose from history.

Notes about Russian

The author notes that the most “Russian traits” of character are pity and friendliness. The concept of will for Russians is reflected in wide spaces, and melancholy is associated with cramped spaces. Russian courage is daring, broad, daring courage.

Since the 12th century, human culture has been opposed to nature. According to , the “natural man” is close to nature and therefore uneducated. He also thought the same, contrasting the peasantry with the intelligentsia.

Ignorance or half-knowledge is almost a disease.

Human culture has softened the harshness of the Russian landscape, and nature has smoothed out all the imbalances caused by man.

Russian landscape painting is mainly devoted to the seasons, natural phenomena and man in nature. The nature of each country was shaped by the culture of the people living in it, and in gardens and parks nature is “humanized” and akin to art.

There are two types of attitude towards the past: as a spectacle, and as a monument of the past. The author is a supporter of the second kind of relationship. Culture is the same park where ennobled nature is fused with art. All the charm of Russian nature was revealed to us by Pushkin, whom Dostoevsky considered the ideal of the Russian man.

Culture must be measured by the national ideal created by the people, which leads away from spiritual stinginess, narrowness and philistinism, from vindictiveness and nationalism. This ideal also existed in Ancient Rus'.

Ecology of culture

The author considers urban planning based on the study of the history of urban development to be the ecology of culture. As an example, he considers the construction of ancient Russian cities, in particular Veliky Novgorod. During its construction, attention was paid to the views from the houses. The layout of Novgorod created a feeling of spaciousness.

Monuments of the past are important for the ecology of culture, because if nature can heal the wounds inflicted by man or the elements, then the loss of monuments - ancient buildings, monuments, manuscripts, frescoes - is irreparable.

If a person is indifferent to the historical monuments of his country, he is, as a rule, indifferent to his country.

Unfortunately, their storage system in Russia is poorly organized. Many manuscripts and frescoes were lost or destroyed by inept restoration, but many were preserved and even published in the Library of World Literature.

The author is pleased that ancient Russian culture has begun to come into fashion, but is saddened by the largely ugly forms that this phenomenon takes. However, he hopes that people will see the beauty that lies in the culture of Ancient Rus'.

Novgorod the Great

Veliky Novgorod, a huge city at that time, was a port of four seas and was an independent republic. It was ruled by the feudal aristocracy and merchants, and the people could freely express their opinions at the Novgorod veche.

Novgorod stood on the trade route from Scandinavia to Byzantium, so famous architects, icon painters, and translators flocked to it, who shaped Novgorod art. Birch bark documents from the 13th-14th centuries found by scientists. Ekov indicate that almost all Novgorodians were literate.

Novgorod art, brought up in an atmosphere of free competition with European art schools, is one of the most nationally Russian and one of the most original.

Urban planning discipline was also strong in Novgorod - all the buildings in the city center did not exceed the height of Hagia Sophia. The city's amenities surpassed those of many European capitals, and numerous churches were built with great skill.

There was no Renaissance in Ancient Rus', so the heyday of Novgorod art occurred in the 14th century - the time of the Pre-Renaissance. This era enriched the painting and literature of Rus'.

Having joined Muscovite Russia, Novgorod retained its culture. Although it lost its independence, the Moscow princes always treated Novgorod with respect and took advantage of its cultural wealth. From that moment on, Novgorod culture acquired national features and global significance.

Old Russian literature and modernity

The author recalls besieged Leningrad. During the blockade, he, in collaboration with archaeologist M. A. Tikhanova, wrote the brochure “Defense of Ancient Russian Cities” to remind people of the history of sieges of cities of Ancient Rus'. The author noted that the war brings into use forgotten ancient Russian words and concepts - ditches, ramparts, hollows, people's militia.

In Leningrad, as in the besieged cities of Ancient Rus', female labor was used. Women built fortifications, nursed the wounded and mourned the dead. Both in ancient Russian and modern literature there are many women's lament poems.

Russian women's crying is an extraordinary phenomenon. They are not only an expression of feelings - they are an understanding of what has happened.

The author addresses the topic of cultural history, which not only records changes, but also discovers new things in the old and accumulates cultural values. Studying and appreciating the culture of the past allows people to build on their cultural heritage.

World culture expanded unevenly, it met misunderstanding and hostility and lost many valuable monuments. Until the 20th century, the literature of Ancient Rus' was not recognized on a global scale. It is still not appreciated, because it contains neither , nor . Old Russian literature is closely connected with history, folklore, and ritual poetry, but this does not make it any less valuable.

The author recalls the cycle of poems “On the Kulikovo Field”, after which he delves into the history of the great battle that liberated the Russians from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. This liberation led to the rise of ancient Russian culture. The author also notes the role of Kievan Rus in the development of Russian culture and unity. He believes that we should be grateful sons of the great mother - Ancient Rus'.

The first parts of the work contain instructions for young people: it is important to strive to achieve the right, non-material and purely personal goals in life, to be intelligent regardless of lifestyle and environment, to cultivate a sense of beauty and respect for your family, country, its past and culture. Much is said about the inextricable connection between the past and the present: this is the culture of communication between young people and old people, the continuity of generations, and the influence of ancient culture on modern perception.

Book by Likhachev D.S. serves the important task of educating people in culture, spirituality, patriotism and intelligence.

Read the summary Likhachev Native Land

A word to the young. Your profession and your patriotism

All achievements depend on your actions, it's not a matter of luck. In addition to minor tasks in life, there should be one most important, global one. A patriot loves his country, but a nationalist hates other peoples, and these concepts cannot be identified. Patriotism begins with attachment and interest in one’s parents and one’s family past. All real cultures are connected with the cultural heritage of past centuries.

About intelligence

Intelligence is a must, regardless of your environment, type of activity, level of education and other factors. It is not always connected with the literary classics we have read, it is more about the level of understanding and awareness of life.

Don't be funny

Just as you shouldn’t pour out your sorrows on those around you, you shouldn’t seem funny in their eyes. This should even be evident in clothing, especially for men.

Big in small

Life should be about achieving small goals, but ultimately, all your actions should lead to one big goal.

Purpose and self-esteem

Depending on what a person wants, one can unmistakably determine who he sees himself as. A noble goal is the only one that allows you to live your life with dignity.

Art opens up a big world for us!

Russian culture and Russian art are multifaceted and deserve close attention and recognition, but at the same time it is worth joining the world heritage.

Learn to speak and write

Acquiring writing and reading skills is not just a task for young children. Every person must learn to understand his native language throughout his life.

You need to be able to approach reading without self-interest, not for the sake of completing a school assignment or because of the popularity of the author. You need to approach literature sincerely and consciously.

Lift each other up

It’s not easy for young people to have conversations with older people: they don’t hear well, they get offended, and they constantly mutter displeasure about something. But only they can pass on the experience of past years to new generations.

Memory

Memory is the only mechanism that can hold back the destruction of time. Only thanks to memory is the existence of morality possible.

Open spaces and space

The entire Russian culture, even the Russian language, has absorbed the fundamental concepts of “will” and “space”, the absence of borders and restrictions.

Russian nature and Russian character

The nature of the Russian region could not but influence the development of the Russian character. It is impossible to separate man and nature - they are interconnected, and this connection is very strong.

Nature of Russia and Pushkin

In the works of A.S. Pushkin clearly traces his own path, his own geography. There should be a reverent and thrifty attitude towards Pushkin’s places.

Ecology of culture

When talking about ecology, one cannot mean only its biological aspect. Biological unecologicality can destroy the human body, and cultural unecologicality kills morality and the soul.

Cultural monuments are national property

Cultural heritage is not the property of one generation, it belongs to our descendants, and our direct responsibility is to preserve it intact for many centuries.

Russian culture of modern times and Ancient Rus'

Peter's reforms affected the cultural heritage of Ancient Rus', changing it beyond recognition. Only peasant life and the culture of the lower strata of the population were left without attention. This led to the erroneous conclusion that ancient Russian culture existed at the level of peasant life.

Contemporary with Russian history

We are talking about Nizhny Novgorod - the commercial, political and cultural center of Rus'. It was this ancient city that managed to become a shield for ancient Russian culture during the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

The first 700 years of Russian literature

Our literature is much older than ancient European literature. It owes its appearance to the emergence of writing, which in turn emerged from folklore.

The past must serve the present!

Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian peoples are fraternal in their origin, culture and language. The cultural heritage of past generations does not exist separately from modernity, but is its base, basis and has a huge influence.

Picture or drawing Likhachev - Native Land

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Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev
Native Land

To our readers!

From the Author

In the title of my book, the word "earth" can be understood in all these senses.

***

Appreciating the beautiful in the past, protecting it, we thereby seem to follow the behest of A.S. Pushkin: “Respect for the past is the feature that distinguishes education from savagery...”.

A word to the young

Your profession and your patriotism

Meanwhile, he himself is to blame - except, perhaps, in very rare cases...

Think carefully about what I tell you, young friends. And don’t just think that I just want to “read a moral” to you.

Each person, in addition to small and “temporary” personal goals, must certainly have one big personal goal in life, and then the risk of failure will be reduced to a minimum.

Indeed. For small goals, the potential for failure is always high. You set yourself the goal of a purely everyday task - to buy good things, but you got second-class things.

This happens often. If this small task was your main priority, you will already feel unhappy. But if this small goal was “passing” for you and you recognized it as “passing” and small, you won’t even pay much attention to your “failure”. You will take your “failure” very calmly.

Set yourself a bigger challenge. For example, become a good doctor. There will be fewer random failures here. First, it will be up to you to prepare well for the medical school entrance exam. But let’s say you were treated unfairly during the entrance exams (or it seemed unfair to you). There is no big catastrophe yet. Your task has just moved forward, but it will depend on you so that the time until the next admission is not wasted for you. But even here there may still be failures. This must be admitted.

Well, if you set yourself a transpersonal goal, let’s assume the most general one: to bring as much benefit to people as possible? What “fatal” failures can prevent you from fulfilling this great life task? You can strive to achieve it in any circumstances, but failures? “Zero result”, and only in some cases... But in general, success will accompany you - success and recognition of others. And if personal success accompanies you in achieving this task, then happiness will be guaranteed to you.

"To bring as much benefit to people as possible!" Isn't the task posed too generally and abstractly? Yes, of course, let’s try to specify this person’s life position so that it can really guide his life.

There is no need for a transpersonal life task to turn into torment for a person. If helping others - direct or indirect - does not bring joy to the one who provides it, is done with effort and only “out of principle,” this is also bad for the business.

You must be passionate about your profession, your business, those people to whom you directly provide help (this is especially necessary for a teacher or doctor), and those to whom you bring help “from afar”, without seeing them. The latter is especially difficult, but not unattainable. And I want to talk about this last one as clearly as possible.

Love plays a huge role in a person's life. First it is love for your parents, for your family. Then it’s love for your school, for your class - your classmates and girlfriends; to your village or city. Another important step is love for your people, for your country.

Love for one’s country and one’s people is the transpersonal principle that truly sanctifies (makes holy) all a person’s activities, brings him real happiness, and saves him from troubles and minor personal failures.

If a person is a careerist, he always runs the risk of falling under the wheels of the careerism machine he himself built and experiencing terrible disappointments. If the desire to take a better position in life is corrected by the fact that this personal position will give him the opportunity to bring more benefits to his compatriots, then this or that professional failure will not be a failure, but simply a “zero result” - no big deal.

And how transpersonal goals reduce the risk of failure! In science, if a scientist seeks only the truth, he will always achieve more lasting and reliable results than one who desires to “become famous.” The search for spectacular and striking results rarely leads to great discoveries, but often leads (especially in the humanities, where experiments that provide the most accurate verification are rare) to rigged, “fireworks” hypotheses, dangerous even for those who seek to launch them into the air.

Concern for the truth is brought up by love for people who need this truth; it is brought up by patriotism. Patriotism, specifically Soviet patriotism, as a class-conscious feeling of love for one’s Motherland, for its long-suffering and heroic history, for its wonderful cultural traditions, is a great and elevating feeling for a person. M.I. Kalinin said: “The preaching of Soviet patriotism cannot be divorced, not connected by roots with the past history of our people. It must be filled with patriotic pride for the deeds of its people. After all, Soviet patriotism is a direct heir to the creative deeds of our ancestors who moved forward the development of our people.” people...This means that Soviet patriotism takes its origins in the deep past, starting from the folk epic; it absorbs all the best created by the people, and considers it the greatest honor to cherish all its achievements."

However, patriotism should not be confused with nationalism. Patriotism is love for one's people. Nationalism is contempt, disrespect, and hatred of other peoples. In fact, if you think about what I said, one is incompatible with the other.

If you love your family, if your family is friendly, then there are always many friendly families who love to visit your family and love to invite them to their place. A friendly family radiates an atmosphere of friendliness to the outside... This is a happy family, no matter what illnesses and deaths may visit it.

If you love your mother, you will understand others who love their parents, and this trait will not only be familiar to you, but also pleasant.

If you love your people, you will understand other peoples who love their nature, their art, their past.

Everyone knows how, for example, Bulgarians love their small country. But this is precisely what makes them so hospitable to everyone who comes to them.

We must strive to master the cultural achievements of the whole world, all the peoples inhabiting our small planet, and all the cultures of the past. You need to develop intellectual flexibility in yourself in order to understand achievements and be able to separate the fake from the genuine and valuable.

You need to know foreign cultures, the cultures of our time and the past, you need to travel a lot - not necessarily “by foot”, moving from place to place, from one country to another, but “travel” through books, with the help of books (books are the greatest of the greatest achievements human culture), with the help of museums, with the help of their own intellectual mobility and flexibility. What interests us in others is mainly what is different from ourselves, what is unique. Then you will truly appreciate yours.

And the first “journey” that a person must make is a “travel” through his own country. Getting to know the history of your country, its monuments, its cultural achievements is always the joy of endless discovery of something new in the familiar, the joy of recognizing the familiar in the new. Acquaintance and familiarization with others (if you are a true patriot) is a careful attitude towards your antiquity, towards your history, for your own country, in addition to the dimension in space, also has a “fourth dimension” - in time.

If you love your parents, then you love them “in all dimensions”: you love to look at old albums with photographs - what they were like in childhood, before marriage, young and old (oh, how beautiful the old faces of good people are!). If you love your country, you cannot help but love its history, you cannot help but cherish the monuments of the past. You cannot help but be proud of the glorious traditions of the Land of the Soviets.

And this love for the past of their people should be shared by people of all professions, all scientific and non-scientific specialties. For patriotism is that great transpersonal super task of all your activities, which will save you from too acute troubles, personal failures and correctly, along an unmistakable path, direct your activities in search of truth, righteousness and reliable personal success.

Just don’t make a mistake in the life position you have taken. Always set yourself big and transpersonal goals, and you will achieve big and reliable things in your life. You will be happy!

On the education of Soviet patriotism, on continuity in the development of culture

We often encounter a contrast between the natural sciences, which are considered exact, and “inexact” literary criticism. This opposition is the basis for the attitude towards literary criticism as a “second-class” science.

However, the natural and social sciences are unlikely to be very different from each other. In principle, nothing. If we say that the humanities are distinguished by their historic approach, then among the natural sciences there are historical sciences: the history of flora, the history of fauna, the history of the structure of the earth’s crust, and so on and so forth. The complexity of the study material distinguishes geography, ocean science and many other sciences. The humanities deal primarily with the statistical patterns of random phenomena, but many other sciences also deal with this. Other features are probably also relative.

In the absence of fundamental differences, there are practical differences. The so-called “exact” sciences (and among them there are many that are not “exact” at all) are much more formalized (I use this word in the sense in which representatives of the “exact” sciences use it), they do not mix research with popularization, messages are already previously obtained information - with the establishment of new facts, etc.

When I say that the humanities have no fundamental differences with the “exact” sciences, I do not mean the need to “mathematize” our science. The question of the extent to which mathematics can be introduced into the humanities is a special issue.

I only mean the following: there is not a single deep methodological feature in the humanities that, to one degree or another, would not also exist in some non-humanitarian sciences.

And finally, a note about the term “exact” sciences itself. This term is far from accurate. Many sciences seem accurate only from the outside. This also applies to mathematics, which at its highest levels is not so precise.

But there is one side to literary criticism that really distinguishes it from many other sciences. This is the ethical side. And the point is not that literary criticism studies the ethical issues of literature (although this is not done enough). Literary study, if it covers a wide range of material, has a very great educational value, enhancing a person’s social qualities.

I have been studying ancient Russian literature all my life. Ancient Russian literature belongs to a special aesthetic system, difficult to understand for the untrained reader. And it is extremely necessary to develop the aesthetic sensitivity of readers. Aesthetic sensitivity is not aesthetics. This is a social feeling of enormous importance, one of the aspects of human sociality, which opposes the feeling of national exclusivity and chauvinism; it develops in a person tolerance towards other cultures little known to him - foreign languages or other eras.

The ability to understand ancient Russian literature opens before us the veil over other, no less complex aesthetic systems of literature, say, the European Middle Ages, the Middle Ages of Asia.

It's the same in the visual arts. A person who is truly (and not fashionably) able to understand the art of ancient Russian icon painting cannot fail to understand the painting of Byzantium and Egypt, Persian or Irish medieval miniatures.

Literary scholars have a great and responsible task - to cultivate “mental sensitivity.” That is why the concentration of literary scholars on a few objects and issues of study, on only one era or on a few problems contradicts the basic social meaning of the existence of literary criticism as a science.

Literary criticism needs different topics and large “distances” precisely because it struggles with these distances, strives to destroy barriers between people, nations and centuries.

Literary studies has many branches, and each branch has its own problems. However, if you approach literary criticism from the perspective of the modern historical stage of human development, then you should pay attention to this. Now more and more new peoples are being included in the orbit of the cultural world. The “demographic explosion” that humanity is currently experiencing, the collapse of colonialism and the emergence of many independent countries - all this leads to the convergence of the progressive sides of various cultures on the globe, promotes their fruitful mutual influence and interpenetration, with the indispensable condition of preserving the national face of all cultures. Therefore, the humanities are faced with the most difficult task - to understand and study the cultures of all the peoples of the world: the peoples of Africa, Asia, South America. Therefore, the sphere of attention of literary scholars includes the literatures of peoples at the most different stages of social development. That is why works that establish the typical features of literature and folklore characteristic of certain stages of the development of society are now acquiring great importance. One cannot limit oneself to the study of modern literatures of highly developed peoples at the stage of capitalism or socialism. The need for works devoted to the study of the patterns of development of literature at the stages of feudalism and tribal society is now very great. The methodology of typological study of literature is also important.

One of the problems of literary criticism is to clearly separate research tasks from popularization ones.

Mixing the tasks of research with the tasks of popularization creates hybrids, the main disadvantage of which is their scientific nature. Scientificity can displace science or sharply reduce the academic level of science. This phenomenon is very dangerous on a global scale, as it opens the gates to various kinds of chauvinistic or extremist tendencies in literary studies. National boundaries in literature are very precarious. Therefore, the struggle for the nationality of this or that writer, for this or that work, even just for a valuable old manuscript, is now becoming more and more acute in different parts of the world. Only high science can stop this struggle for cultural heritage: a detailed philological study of works of literature, texts and their language, evidence and impartiality of arguments.

And here we return to the starting point of our reflections: to the question of exact and inexact sciences. If literary criticism is an inexact science, then it must be exact. The conclusions of literary criticism must have full evidentiary force, and its concepts and terms must be distinguished by rigor and clarity. This is required by the high social responsibility that lies with literary criticism.

***

Now that we are striving to build a new, communist culture, it is especially important for us to know its origins. New forms of culture are never created from scratch, V.I. Lenin spoke about this.

In the village of Sholokhovsky, Rostov region, the children created a circle to study “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” and called their circle “Boyan”. They elected me an honorary member of the circle. A correspondence began. I suggested that the guys hold a debate on the topic “What does love for the Motherland give a person?”

I got acquainted with the materials of the debate and answered the guys:

“Dear members of the Boyan circle!

The materials you sent from the debate “What gives a person love for his homeland?” are interesting, and I will try to use them...

But I have a question for you. You write that love for the Motherland makes life easier, brings joy and happiness. And this is all certainly true. But does love for the Motherland bring only joy? Doesn't it sometimes make you feel grief and suffer? Doesn't it sometimes bring difficulties? Think about it. And why is it still necessary to love the Motherland? I’ll tell you in advance: difficulties in human life are inevitable, but having a goal, caring about others and not about yourself, it is always easier to endure any difficulties. You are ready for them, you are not vegetating, but actively living.

Love for the Motherland gives meaning to life, transforms life from vegetation into a meaningful existence."

I love Ancient Rus'. There were many aspects of Ancient Rus' that should not be admired at all. But nevertheless, I love this era very much, because I see in it a struggle, people’s suffering, an extremely intense attempt in different groups of society to correct shortcomings: among the peasantry, and among the military, and among writers. It is not for nothing that journalism was so developed in Ancient Rus', despite the severe persecution of any manifestation of hidden or overt protest against exploitation and tyranny. This side of ancient Russian life: the struggle for a better life, the struggle for correction, the struggle even simply for a more perfect and better military organization that could defend the people from constant invasions - this is what attracts me.

Knowledge of the distant past of the Fatherland, long-suffering and heroic, allows us to better understand and see the true roots of ascetic, courageous service to the interests of our native land, the interests of our people.

Patriotism is a creative principle, a principle that can inspire a person’s whole life; his choice of his profession, his range of interests - to determine everything in a person and illuminate everything. Patriotism is a theme, so to speak, of a person’s life, his creativity.

Patriotism must certainly be the spirit of all humanities, the spirit of all teaching. From this point of view, it seems to me that the work of local historians in rural schools is very indicative. Indeed, patriotism first of all begins with love for one’s city, for one’s locality, and this does not exclude love for our entire vast country. Just as love for one’s school does not exclude love, say, first of all for one’s teacher.

I think that teaching local history at school could serve as the basis for instilling true Soviet patriotism. In the last grades of school, two or three years of a course in local history, associated with excursions to historical places, with the romance of travel, would be extremely useful.

I adhere to the view that love for the Motherland begins with love for your family, for your home, for your school. She is gradually growing. With age, she also becomes love for her city, for her village, for her native nature, for her fellow countrymen, and having matured, she becomes conscious and strong, until her death, with love for her socialist country and its people. It is impossible to skip over any link in this process, and it is very difficult to reconnect the entire chain when something has fallen out of it or, moreover, was missing from the very beginning.

Why do I consider interest in the culture and literature of our past not only natural, but also necessary?

In my opinion, every developed person should have a broad outlook. And for this it is not enough to be familiar with the main phenomena and values of only one’s modern national culture. Understanding of other cultures, other nationalities is necessary - without this it is ultimately impossible to communicate with people, and each of us knows from our own life experience how important this is.

Russian literature of the 19th century. – one of the pinnacles of world culture, the most valuable asset of all humanity. How did it come about? Based on the thousand-year experience of word culture. Ancient Russian literature remained incomprehensible for a long time, as did the painting of that time. True recognition came to them relatively recently.

Yes, the voice of our medieval literature is quiet. And yet it amazes us with the monumentality and grandeur of the whole. It also has a strong folk humanistic element, which should never be forgotten. It contains great aesthetic values...

Remember “The Tale of Bygone Years”... This is not only a chronicle, our first historical document, it is an outstanding literary work that speaks of a great sense of national identity, a broad view of the world, the perception of Russian history as part of world history, connected with it by inextricable ties.

***

The craving for ancient Russian culture is a symptomatic phenomenon. This craving is caused primarily by the desire to turn to one’s national traditions. Modern culture is repelled by all kinds of depersonalization associated with the development of standards and templates: from the faceless “international” style in architecture, from the Americanizing of life, from the gradually eroding national foundations of life.

But it's not only that. Each culture seeks connections with the past and turns to one of the cultures of the past. Renaissance and classicism turned to antiquity. Baroque and Romanticism turned to Gothic. Our modern culture turns to eras of great civic upsurge, to eras of the struggle for national independence, to heroic themes. All this is deeply represented in the culture of Ancient Rus'.

Finally, let us note this seemingly private, but very important phenomenon. Ancient Rus' attracts our contemporaries aesthetically. Old Russian art, like folk art, is distinguished by laconicism, colorfulness, cheerfulness, and courage in solving artistic problems.

Interest in ancient Russian culture is now typical among young people around the world. Books on ancient Russian culture, literature, and art are published and republished everywhere. Suffice it to say that the first twenty volumes of the Proceedings of the Department of Old Russian Literature of the Institute of Russian Literature of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Pushkin House) were republished abroad twice - in the USA and Germany. Such monuments as “The Tale of Bygone Years”, “The Kiev-Pechersk Patericon”, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, “The Prayer of Daniil the Zatochnik”, “The Life of Archpriest Avvakum” and many others are repeatedly published abroad. I note that literary monuments of Ancient Rus' are translated and published even in Japan. The collections "Ancient Rus'" are published in the old capital of Japan, Kyoto. It is impossible to list all the editions and reissues of monuments of Ancient Rus' in the West and in the East.

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