Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin

O you ugly sons of mankind, ugly creations of a playful nature! you, who in no way can serve as a model for the artist when he wants to represent the elegance of the human form! you who complain about nature and say that she has not given you ways to please and has blocked for you the source of the sweetest pleasure in life - the source of love! do not despair, my friends, and believe that you can still be amiable and loved, that the helpful Zephyrs today or tomorrow can bring you some lovely Psysha, who will rush into your arms with delight and say that there is nothing sweeter than you on earth. light. Listen to the next story.

In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived The king is a good man father of a single daughter, a beautiful princess, dear to the heart of a parent, lovable to every sensitive heart, rare, incomparable. When The king is a good man dressed in rich scarlet, crowned with a sapphire-ruby crown, he sat on a high throne among the multitude of the people and, holding in right hand golden scepter, judged with the truth of his subjects; when, sighing from the depths of his heart, he pronounced the sentence of due punishment, then appeared beautiful princess, looked directly into the eyes of the parent, raised white hand she extended hers to the judge, and the cloudy face of justice suddenly lit up with the sun of mercy, the guilty, saved by her, swore in his soul to be from that time a good subject of the good king. Did the poor man approach Princess? she helped him; did the sad one shed tears? she consoled him. All the orphans in the spacious area good man king they called her mother, and even those whom nature itself oppressed, the unfortunate, deprived of health, were relieved by her healing hand, for Princess she knew perfectly the science of healing, the secret powers of herbs and minerals, the growth of heaven and the springs of the underground. Such was the soul Princess. Her bodily beauty was described by all the poets of that time, as best work skillful nature, and the poets were then not such flatterers as they are now; they did not call black white, dwarfs a giant and ugliness an example of harmony. In an ancient book depository I managed to find one of these descriptions; Here is the correct translation of it:

“Not so pleasant is the full moon rising in the sky between countless stars, as our dear princess, walking through the green meadows with her girlfriends; the rays of the bright moon do not shine so beautifully, silvering the wavy edges of the gray clouds of the night, as the golden hair on her shoulders shines; she walks like a proud swan, like a beloved daughter of heaven; ethereal blue, on which the star of love shines, the evening star, is the image of her incomparable eyes, thin eyebrows, like rainbows, bend over them, her cheeks are like white lilies, when the morning dawn paints them with its scarlet color; when tender lips are opened beautiful princess, two rows of the purest pearls tempt the eye; two mounds, covered with eternal mist… But who can describe all her beauties?”

The winged goddess, called Glory, was in those days just as talkative as she is now. Flying across the sunflower, she told wonders about beautiful princess and couldn't talk about it. From far away, princes came to see her beauty, pitched high tents in front of the stone palace good man king and came to him with a bow. He knew the reason for their visit and rejoiced heartily, wishing a worthy husband for his dear daughter. They saw beautiful princess and ignited with love. Each of them spoke To the king of a good man: “The king is a good man! I have come from far away lands, the farthest kingdom; my father owns an innumerable people, a beautiful land; our towers are high, silver and gold shine in them, multi-colored velvets are cast. Tsar! give me your daughter!” “Seek her love!” - he answered, and all the princes remained in his palace, drank and ate at the oak table, behind the tablecloth swearing together with king and with Tsarevna. Each of them looked with touching eyes at the beautiful woman, and with his eyes said very clearly: “Princess! Love me!" You need to know that lovers in the old days were timid and bashful, like red girls, and did not dare to speak verbally with the mistress of their hearts. In our times they are much bolder, but eloquence of eyes has now lost almost all its power. Admirers beautiful princess They used yet another way of expressing their passion, a way that has also gone out of fashion with us. Namely, every night they went under the window Princess towers, played the banduras and sang in a low voice plaintive songs composed by the poets of their lands; each verse ended with deep sighs, which even a stony heart could touch and soften to tears. When five, six, ten, twenty lovers met there at the same time, then they cast lots on who should sing first, and each in turn began to sing the anguish of the heart; others, clasping their hands, walked up and down and looked at the window Tsarevnino, which, however, was not opened to any of them. Then they all returned to their tents and in a deep sleep they forgot the grief of love.

Days, weeks and months passed in this way. Beautiful Princess she glanced at one and the other, at a third and a fourth, but nothing could be seen in her eyes but cold indifference to her suitors, princes and queens. Finally they all started King good man and they unanimously demanded that his beautiful daughter solemnly declare which of them is pleasing to her heart. “We have lived long enough in your stone palace,” they said, “we ate your bread and salt and emptied more than one barrel of sweet honey; time to return to our countries, to our fathers, mothers and sisters. The king is a good man! we want to know which of us will be your son-in-law.” Tsar answered them with these words: “Dear guests! if you had lived in my palace for several years, then, of course, you would not have bored the owner, but I don’t want to keep you against your will and I’ll go right now to Princess. I can't force her to do anything; but whoever she chooses, he will receive for her the whole kingdom of mine as a dowry and will be my son and heir: ". Tsar went to the tower to his daughter. She sat at the embroidery frame and sewed with gold, but when she saw her parent, she got up and kissed his hand. He sat down beside her and said to her in gentle words: “My dear, sensible daughter, beautiful princess! you know that I have no children but you, the light of my eyes; our race must reign in future ages: it's time for you to think about the bridegroom. The princes have been living with us for a long time and are seduced by your beauty, choose a spouse from them, my daughter, and console your father! Princess she sat for a long time in silence, her blue eyes downcast to the ground; at last she lifted them and directed them at her parent, then two brilliant tears rolled down from her scarlet cheeks, like two raindrops, wafted from a rose by a breath of marshmallow. “My dear parent! she said in a gentle voice. - I will have time to grieve married. Oh! and the birds love freedom, and married woman doesn't have it. Now I live and rejoice; I have no worries, no sorrow; I only think about pleasing my parent. I can’t discredit the princes in any way, but let me, let me stay in my girlish chamber!” The king is a good man shed a tear. “I am a gentle father, not your tyrant,” he answered princess, - prudent parents can to rule the inclinations of their children, but they can neither excite nor change them; so a skillful helmsman steers the ship, but cannot say to the silence: become the wind! or east wind: be Western! The king is a good man embraced his daughter, went out to the princes and said to them with a sad look and with all possible courtesy that beautiful princess does not want to leave his girlish chamber for any of them. All the princes were despondent, thoughtful, and hung their heads, for each of them hoped to be a husband beautiful princess. One wiped himself with a white handkerchief, the other looked at the ground, the third covered his eyes with his hand, the fourth pinched his dress, the fifth stood leaning against the stove and looked at his nose, like an Indian brahmin pondering the nature of the human soul, the sixth ... the sixth, the seventh and others did the minute, the annals are silent about that. Finally, they all sighed so hard that the stone walls almost shook, and in a languid voice thanked the host for the treat. In an instant, the white tents in front of the palace disappeared, the princes mounted their horses and sadly rushed at full speed, each on his own way; the dust rose in a column and fell back into place.

Thus the game of literature develops into the literature of the game.

In Znamenskoye, Karamzin wrote and prepared for publication the main materials of two volumes of the almanac "Aglaya".

"Aglaya" as a completely new type of publication is in some respects close to the brochure "Les amusemens de Znamenskoe" - The spirit of family intimacy pervades the almanac. Its very title, like the dedication of the second volume, is addressed to Nastasya Ivanovna; the appeal in verse to Alexander Alekseevich, the inclusion of the fairy tale "The Dense Forest", allusions to the wanderings of Karamzin - all give the publication an intimate character. But "Aglaya" is addressed to the reader, that is, to a stranger, to a stranger. Intimacy here turns into "kind of intimacy", an imitation of friendly, direct communication. Between the writer and the reader personally unknown to him, relations are established that imitate friendly intimacy. A type of relation is being created which in the future will become mandatory for the almanac (some shade of "albumness") and which is fundamentally different from the functioning of the book.

"Albumness", the inclusion of the text not in the anonymous audience of the book, but in a kind of intimate circle of close people naturally gives the author's "I" a concrete biographical character. The reader does not hesitate to identify him with the real Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. This is supported by the fact that part 1 includes an excerpt from the "Letters of a Russian Traveler" (from the "English" part - all French was censorship impossible in 1794), and in the 2nd - Letters from Melodorus to Philaletus and Philaletus to Melodorus. The autobiographical nature of these works did not cause doubts in the reader.

And suddenly this author's "I" begins, to the surprise of the reader, to double. The narrator is still the same traveler, but his story acquires lyrical and romantic traits, prose begins to resemble poetry, and the real journey more and more clearly turns into an imaginary one. The author, as he created himself in his imagination, is presented to the reader as an equal double of a real writer.

The story "Bornholm Island" invites the reader, who is already familiar with the "Moscow Journal" and the first publications of the "Letters of a Russian Traveler", to believe that Karamzin really, returning from England to St. Petersburg, stopped on the Danish island of Bornholm and experienced mysterious meetings there. Later, when the "Letters" were published in full, the reader received two versions of the return and could choose either one as "authentic". It is curious, by the way, to note that, perhaps, both are the fruit of literary fiction. G.P. Storm, examining the lists of those arriving in the capital, submitted by police chief N. Ryleev to the Empress, found the following entry: “From Moscow, retired lieutenant Karamzin (originally a typo: Karamzan. - Yu. L.) and became in the same unit (ie. e. in the 2nd police unit. - Yu. L.) in the house of the merchant Demuth ". Based on this, G.P. Storm concludes that Karamzin arrived in St. Petersburg on July 15, 1790, not by sea from London through Kronstadt, as indicated in the Letters, but from Moscow by land. The latter seems strange: if Karamzin had already returned from abroad to Moscow, there was absolutely no need for him to rush to Petersburg in order to head back to Moscow. Such a strange voyage could not have gone unnoticed by the Pleshcheevs, Petrov, Dmitriev, Derzhavin, with whom Karamzin was closely associated. Meanwhile, he was not reflected in any documents of this circle of people. It could be assumed that “from Moscow” means “Muscovite”, if in records of this kind it was not necessary to indicate where this or that person came from, and this was done with just such a formula: from Moscow; from Novgorod, from foreign lands. Perhaps this is a mistake, which should be understood in such a way that Karamzin, having reached some port by sea (Lubeck, Koenigsberg or Revel?), arrived in Petersburg in a carriage and, out of inexperience, named his starting point of travel as the place of departure. The non-commissioned officer on duty dressed the answer in the usual formula. We cannot now finally resolve this issue, but the route of arrival at home, not only in the fantastic "Bornholm Island", but also in the "documentary" "Letters of a Russian Traveler" remains in doubt until the discovery of any new materials.

"Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. Dense forest. A fairy tale for children, composed on the same day for the following given words - a balcony, a forest, a ball, a hut, a horse, a meadow, a raspberry bush, an oak, ... "

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin.

Dense forest.

A fairy tale for children, composed on the same day for the following given words - balcony, forest, ball, hut, horse, meadow, raspberry bush, oak, Ossian, source, coffin, music. It strikes eight o'clock. Time for tea, my friends. The kind hostess is waiting for us on the balcony.

The evening is gloomy. Menacing clouds rush across the blue sky. There, in the west, a black cloud forms. The wind howls among the ruins of our ancient church. Everything is sad, everything is sad!

You are looking at me, dear little ones!.. I understand. You want me, under the sound of the wind, under the shade of gray clouds, to tell you some old story, pitiful and terrible, and turn the past into the present for you. Is not it? - Okay, listen.

Look at the ancient, dense, gloomy forest that rises before our eyes: how terrible is its appearance, what black shadows lie on its curly peak! You hear the muffled noise of the trees shaken by the wind - and you feel the chill of horror in your hearts. Know, in the old days, ten centuries before our century, this forest was ten times larger, darker, more terrible. No one laid any paths or paths in it; wild animals lived in its gloomy deserts, and the languid wanderer on the hottest afternoon did not dare to seek coolness in its thick canopy.

The rumor that swept through the surrounding villages frightened the timid villagers even more. They said that in this dense forest - you need to know that he had no other name, ”for a long time lived and reigned alone evil wizard or a sorcerer, godfather and friend of hellish Belzebub. Often, at the dead of midnight, fiery balls flew out of there, rushed through the gloomy air, and suddenly disappeared with a crash.

Often, by the light of the moon, when the villagers looked at the forest from a distance, some kind of monster walked among the trees, along with tall pines, and with its fiery eyes illuminated everything around it for a hundred fathoms. Moreover, it happened several thousand times that young horses, who, being bolder than people, sometimes entered the forest thicket, returned home all in wounds, all in blood; and the villagers, by natural logic, concluded that one evil sorcerer, the godfather of Beelzebub, could bite them in such an unmerciful way. - You will agree, my friends, that it was, in fact, very, very scary.

I don’t know what our village was called at the time I’m talking about, but I know that a kind old man and a kind old woman, husband and wife, lived in it then under the roof of a humble hut, in peace and harmony, according to the law of Heaven, the law of a pure conscience , lived happily, like Philemon and Baucis, with the difference that the Phrygian spouses had no children, while ours had a son, an angel with beauty, a dove with humility, and - at twenty years old - an old man with reason. Envy found only one vice in him, namely, that he did not like women and did not think of looking for a bride for himself, to the great chagrin of all the village beauties, who, having sensitive hearts, could not look indifferently at the white-ruddy face, black eyes, majestic posture and a straight camp of an amiable youth. In vain did his father and mother approach him; in vain they said to him: “Rejoice us in old age, priceless son, rejoice us with your marriage. Oh! Will dear grandchildren never play on our knees? “Dear parents! he answered through tears. “Do not torture your poor son; For God's sake don't torture him! I am ready to die for you; but only I cannot marry without a hearty inclination. What should I do? Our beauties do not seduce me. We will wait for the betrothed bride, dear parents, and pray to God!” - What to do? Good old men sighed and prayed to God.

Now - listen with attention!.. One night, when the good old man, the good old woman and their good son were enjoying a quiet and peaceful sleep, a thundering voice was heard in the hut and said to the parents: “Send the son to dense forest; there he will find his and your well-being” - and to his son: “Go to the dense forest; there you will find your well-being and that of your parents.” The old people woke up with a tremble; but the young man opened his eyes with a smile and said to his father and mother: “You heard a heavenly voice, the voice of my guardian angel; one must obey him, one must go into the dense forest. - “Go to the dense forest! exclaimed the good old men in horror. - Dear son! What are you saying? There, certain death awaits you. No, not your guardian angel, but some evil, infernal spirit, who wants our death, uttered such terrible words. - The young man did not want to change his thoughts, and finally, it was necessary to wait for further incidents. - What? Another night came, and the same voice was heard in the hut: the words were the same: "Go into the dense forest!" The parents trembled again, and the young man, with his former smile, said to them: “See!” - The third night has come: the same voice, the same words, with the addition: "Woe to those who have no faith!" “Then the father and mother, in spite of their horror, in spite of their fearful love for their dear son, felt the need to obey Heaven. His will was clear and undoubted: what evil, infernal spirit could speak of holy faith? The young man exhorted them to have full power of attorney to the dark ways of the highest Wisdom; he tried to calm them down with his cheerful air and proved that a dense forest can be terrible for others, and not for him.

Finally, the parents, weeping bitterly, agreed to part with the favorite of their souls. A tender mother released with him everything necessary for the journey and put it on his neck small image, with which her late grandmother blessed and which guarded their humble home as well as the statue of Minervin guarded the once magnificent Troy. The good old man put both hands on the young man's head, looked up at the sky and said: "Be his shield!" - They parted ... at the dawn of the day, the most beautiful of spring. The parents stood motionless and looked at their dear, who, with a staff in his hand, went straight to the dense forest, not knowing exactly what business he was doing. He had already disappeared from their eyes... But they kept looking; they looked at the gloomy forest, which seemed to them gloomier and more menacing than ever.

But we, my friends, must not leave young Hero. Being kind and innocent in his heart, without any fear he approached the forest - he entered it - and (following the little white rabbit, which frolicked and jumped in front of him) went through the density of trees to a green meadow, where flowers were fragrant, bright streams murmured and the white goats nibbled on the ants around the beautiful country house, planted with raspberry and currant bushes. But the young man forgot the flowers, and streams, and white goats, and the rural house, when he suddenly saw before his eyes ... “Some kind of monster? you think.

“Some kind of dragon, snake, crocodile or evil wizard, in a high hat, riding a bat?”... No, my friends! Quite different, completely different. He saw a young beautiful woman(in a light white dress with a golden belt), which looked not like Venus, but like an immaculate angel. She approached the young man, looked at him with her large, bright blue eyes, in which both meekness of heart and touching grief were depicted, bowed to him, took him by the hand with tenderness, and, without saying a word, led him to the village house. Could he have gone with her? Could he be afraid of anything, seeing her charms and courtesy, the seal of Heavenly favor, the mirror of spiritual beauties? Already his heart was tenderly attracted to her heart; already her grief touched his soul; he was about to ask about the cause of the tears that shone on her eyelashes... But then another phenomenon presented itself to his eyes.

Under the shade of an ancient oak, which darkened the house with its thick branches, sat a white-haired venerable old man in long woven clothes, which the Scottish mountain winds once fluttered on the sacred Druids and Bards, contemporaries of Ossian. He looked at the young man with languid eyes ... but sparks of heavenly fire still shone in them, flaming in the hearts of great men ... looked and, stretching out his arms to him, said in a quiet but distinct voice: “Heaven sends you, oh virtuous young man ! into this solitary wilderness, that you may be a witness to my death and the owner of a treasure worthy of the first of the kings of the earth, but which not all the kings of the earth are worthy. Draw near to my heart, and let me embrace you together with this dear daughter, the favorite of my soul, whom good Providence has appointed you as a wife. She will love you, you will love her, and peaceful happiness will crown your days. Know, my son, for I have already been given the sacred right to call you this

name, - know that I was one of those mortals to whom the Divine favors to reveal its eternal wisdom and the secrets of wonderful Nature, may they worship His majesty in the delight of their souls. Here, far from the vanity of the world, far from evil and depraved people, in the silent silence of solitude, I delved in spirit into the laws of heaven that rule the universe. But even earthly joys gladdened my soul. I enjoyed this tender, cordial union, without which there is no true well-being for mortals; enjoyed the love of a sweet, virtuous wife, whom you see in the blossoming form of her daughter. But long ago she moved to the heavenly abodes: I hasten there to unite with her with a new union. My hour has come - I feel the cold hand of death - its sharp scythe sparkles before my eyes. All those who live under the sun must sooner or later turn to dust. I foresaw my end and only lamented the fate of my dear daughter: innocence remained an orphan in the world. I prayed - I poured out my soul before eternal Goodness - and the Merciful One heard the prayer of a pure heart: He promised to send a virtuous husband to my beloved - the voice of Heaven announced to me the time at which you should appear in our wilderness. This peaceful solitude shall be your habitation forever; here you will have everything you need for a moderate and peaceful life. Bring your parents here: let them once lie in the ground near my wife, together with me, on the banks of the holy spring, in the shade of this ancient oak tree, where I have so often delved into sacred reflections! earthly; but It includes you among the good ones - that's enough - do not complain about your fate. You will never feel these inexplicable sorrows and inner torments, which, according to the law of the Almighty, are a share of great knowledge ... The future opens up before my eyes ... greatest successes human mind. These times are far away; but they will come. Pale malice, armed with a deadly dagger, will rage on the globe and strike down the weak; rivers will bleed, and the wailing of the unfortunate will drown out the storm. The good and righteous will shower their heads with ashes, cover their faces and shed bitter tears... But even then there will still be quiet refuges for peace-loving virtue. Thus, a sensitive family, a company of the most tender friends, moving away from the noisy world, will once settle near this dense forest, whose night will be lit up with rays of light in time; here, regardless of the worldwide rebellion, it will enjoy love and holy friendship... My eyes darken; words freeze on my lips... Forgive me. God will not leave you, dear children. Embrace me... my chilling heart still feels the warmth of yours... Forgive me... I'm dying. - And the holy man died, just as the quiet light of the evening dawn dies under the mantle of night.

I will not tell you about the tears of a tender daughter, which, together with the tears of a kind young man, poured onto the cold body of an old man; but the soul was not in this body, and the earth demanded it into its bowels. The mortal remnants of the immortal husband, in accordance with his will, were buried on the banks of a bright source, in the shade of an ancient oak, near the coffin of his wife. Tradition says that at that very moment heavenly music resounded in the forest and that its harmonic sounds quietly disappeared into the higher expanses of air.

Touching and solemn words of a dying father; his tender eyes, turned now to the dear daughter, now to the good youth; the name of the amiable children, which he called them together, lovingly pressing them to each other in his chilling arms; finally, his last glance, which, so to speak, was shared between them, and the woeful, sacred rite of burial, which merged into one of their feelings - everything nourished, everything multiplied the mutual passion of two young hearts, one created for the other. Already the shady evening was ready to descend to the ground, when the Hero, leading his dear hand, appeared to the eyes of the good old men; having parted from him, they did not want to enter the hut, they stood at the gate and waited incessantly for his return. "Dear parents! Here is mine, here is your well-being! Here it is!”... He told them everything.

You can easily imagine their surprise, their joy, They cried, hugged, spoke and did not hear their words.

But - marvel at the strange attachment of people to hereditary shelter, even to the lowest and poorest! - they did not want to exchange their huts for a beautiful house in a dense forest. One miracle could force them to do this: suddenly, from nowhere, the wind tore the hut off and carried it out of sight, so that not the slightest trace of it remained on the ground. There was nothing to do; the old people sighed, shed two drops of tears and went where the Heavenly will called them and where they could better enjoy the rest of their days. As for the young lovers, their bliss was perfect; it died only with their lives; and still shone in the world, like the dawn of the evening, - shone in the well-being of their numerous offspring.

Here lies the story of the dense forest.

“And the evil wizard; and fiery balls that flew out of the forest; a scary monster, which paced along with the pines; and his fiery eyes, which for a hundred fathoms illuminated everything around; and the young horses that returned home were all wounded, all covered in blood?” “You demand an explanation, my friends! Know, then, that the rumor of an evil magician is one of the absurd fables, which have long been hunted kind people; that the fiery balls were composed of ordinary air fires; that the terrible monster existed only in the imagination of timid villagers, and that his bright eyes were nothing but little worms that glitter on the grass and trees on summer nights; that young horses were bitten in the forest not by godfather Belzebub, but by a strong gadfly.

Note: The fairy tale "Dense Forest" is printed according to the publication: Gerlovan, O.K.N.M. Karamzin. Dense forest // Russian literature. - 1993. - No. 5. - S. 12-17.

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Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, Russian historiographer, writer, was born on December 1, 1766 in the Simbirsk province, in the family estate - the village of Bogoroditskoye. Karamzin's father was a poor man, belonged to the middle nobility. The future reformer received his initial upbringing in parental home, without the care of a mother who died very early.

Karamzin's childhood years were spent in the village, on the banks of the great Russian river Volga.

Of the forces that influenced the development of character and personality of Karamzin during this period, the first place belongs to nature itself, which endowed him with sensitivity to the highest degree. This sensitivity (sentimentality), developed in him even more from early reading of books romantic content, became a predominant feature in the character of Karamzin. She showed up in him from childhood and did not leave him until his death. The whole life and activity of Nikolai Mikhailovich is imbued with this sensitivity, and in part it explains many phenomena, facts and even contradictions in the life of this wonderful person. Karamzin introduced the so-called "sentimentalism" into Russian literature and is considered its true representative.

Karamzin's father, a poor man, could not invite to his son the best teachers, so the future scientist had to master the basics of literacy from a village deacon. Books of a religious nature in the Slavic language - that's what the boy had to read at first. Studied by Nikolai Mikhailovich and German. His mentor was a doctor, a German who had a great influence on the impressionable boy with his kind and cordial disposition.

The second period of Karamzin's education took place in the boarding school of Shaden, professor of philosophy at Moscow University. Here he studied foreign languages, listened to the lessons of moral philosophy from Schaden and attended other lectures. At the end of the boarding school, Karamzin thought to complete his education abroad, at the University of Leipzig, but for some reason this plan did not materialize, and he, in the then custom of the nobles, entered the service of the guard. In the service, he became friends with his countryman, the fabulist I.I. Dmitriev, and, following his example, began to engage in literature, began to translate from German.

After the death of his father, Karamzin retired and went to Simbirsk to arrange inheritance affairs. Here he began to lead a rather scattered life. Fortunately, at that time I. Turgenev was in Simbirsk, very smart and educated person. With pain in his soul, he saw how time was wasted by a gifted person and began to persuade him to go to Moscow. He succeeded. In 1785 they arrived at Big city. There they joined the circle of Novikov, then a Russian public figure. Novikov's circle had an enormous influence on Karamzin. The time spent in it can be considered the third and almost the most important period of Karamzin's mental and moral education. In this circle he made friends with A. Petrov, an educated and honest man. Together with Petrov, he set about publishing Child Reading". Within five years, young writers published twenty parts of Children's Reading. Already here Karamzin began to think about the beauty of Russian speech. The audience was in awe of his style. In 1788, the publication of "Children's Reading" ceased, and in 1789 Karamzin carried out his long-planned travel plan for Europe.

He traveled all over Germany, France, Switzerland and England. The fruits of this journey were travel notes, known under the title "Letters of a Russian Traveler". These letters introduced his compatriots to the West from the Russian point of view; interesting information about European celebrities and, most importantly, showed an example of an elegant language unheard of before. In regard to language, Karamzin, generally speaking, rendered an important service to Russian literature. He, so to speak, "recreated" the Russian language and is justly called its reformer. This reform consisted of the following: firstly, he adhered to the view that it is necessary to write as they say, and he completely abandoned the narrow framework in which Lomonosov was forced to put Russian speech, and by this he finally contributed to the separation of Russian literary language from Slavic speech - book speech; secondly, he removed the heavy Latin-German construction and replaced it with lighter French and English turns of speech; thirdly, he quite successfully introduced into the Russian language many individual words from foreign literary and Russian folk speech.

Like any reform, Karamzin's also met with a strong rebuff: a whole party of admirers of literary antiquity appeared, headed by Shishkov, who clearly rebelled against Karamzin and his innovations; but supporters of the Karamzin style and views also appeared - and thus a literary dispute about language ensued. Karamzin himself took no part in this dispute; he only listened to both sides and used sensible remarks. Returning from Europe, Karamzin devoted the rest of his life to literature and began publishing magazines. Of these, the Moscow Journal is remarkable, in which Letters from a Russian Traveler were placed. He also published many collections under various titles. But the most remarkable magazine he published was Vestnik Evropy. This magazine is remarkable for the breadth of its program, its success and the impact it has had on Russian society. It was noticeable that Karamzin was not content with magazine and publishing. In 1803, when the thought of capital labor, which would serve as a great monument to this loud literary name, of course, already occupied him. In the last book of Vestnik Evropy, it seemed how much he was weary of this magazine activity and his subsequent almost 25-year activity was devoted to the History of Russia. Starting this work, Karamzin turns to M.N. Muravyov, a deputy minister, a well-known patron of education. A month after sending the letter, Emperor Alexander I, approving the idea, ordered Karamzin to be given 2,000 rubles annually in banknotes and open free access to the state archives, by the title of historiographer.

Seven years later, that is, in 1810, Karamzin became personally known to Emperor Alexander. In 1816, Karamzin presented the emperor with the first eight volumes of The History of the Russian State, was awarded an order, and received 60,000 rubles in banknotes for the publication of his work. From that time Karamzin lived in St. Petersburg, continuing his work.

In 1823, Karamzin suffered a severe fever, his health began to deteriorate, and continuous work disposed him to debilitating consumption, which opened in 1826. Karamzin hoped to improve his health by traveling to Italy. The emperor, having learned about this, granted him on the road a large amount money and ordered to equip a frigate to send it to the south. But Karamzin did not live to see this and soon died. Last days he was made happy with the letter that he received personally from Tsar Nikolai Pavlovich. In this letter, the high benevolence and touching participation of the emperor towards him was clearly visible.

Karamzin died on May 22, 1826. He was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Twenty years later a monument was erected to him in Simbirsk.

Municipal budgetary institution of culture "Centralized library system Department - specialized library No. 1 "World of Arts" Lesson No. 6. Topic: " fairytale kaleidoscope"(Based on the tales of N.M. Karamzin). Interactive quiz, drawing competition. Prepared by the leading librarian I. M. Babinskaya. NIKOLAY MIKHAILOVICH KARAMZIN, a famous Russian writer, poet, historiographer, who rightfully heads the glorious galaxy of natives of the Simbirsk Territory. He wrote or translated about 30 works for young readers, thus playing a significant role in the history of children's literature. The cult of friendship and tender feelings, attention to the environment and nature, increased interest in experiences and inner world man, his earthly joys - all this is characteristic of Karamzin as the founder of the sentimental trend and makes his works interesting and close to children and youth. In the work of N.M. Karamzin there is no such book that would be inaccessible or undesirable for children's and youthful reading. Tales of N.M. Karamzin's "The Beautiful Princess and the Happy Karla", "Dense Forest" and "Ilya Muromets" are little known among children and adults, were not published as a separate publication and were not illustrated. They are of undoubted interest for reading, studying and popularizing. We invite you to make a journey into the magical world of fairy tales by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin and learn about the fate of the heroes of these fairy tales. A beautiful princess and a happy Carla. The tale of the “Beautiful Princess and the Happy Carl” by N. M. Karamzin is a child of Russian sentimentalism, with all characteristic features this literary movement. It was written in 1792, and it develops the motif famous fairy tale Charles Perrault "Riquet with a tuft". In Perrault, the love of a beautiful princess transforms the ugly appearance of Prince Riquet, because heroes from birth are endowed with magic power transform your chosen one. Karamzin has a similar plot much more complicated and deeper. magic element it is completely absent. Moreover, the beautiful princess in his fairy tale did not fall in love with the prince, albeit an ugly one, but with a hunchbacked court dwarf, intended for general amusement. How could the princess prefer the brilliant suitors - princes and princes - the unfortunate jester? Karamzin, with his characteristic psychologism, tells the story of this incredible love. Firstly, “the Charles's courtier was a remarkably intelligent man. Seeing that his wayward nature had brought him into the world as a little freak, he decided to replace bodily defects with spiritual beauties. Secondly, the princess, having known the dwarf since childhood, got used to his appearance, and "the very appearance of the dwarf became pleasant to her, for this appearance was in her eyes a model of a beautiful soul." That is, the love of the princess and the carla is not at all “incredible”, but the natural love of two sublime beautiful hearts. N.M. Karamzin in all his works defended the right of people to love. In the fairy tale “The Beautiful Princess and the Happy Karla”, the main theme is love and free choice. The beautiful princess fell in love with the “ugly courtier” Karla, and for the sake of this love she is ready to sacrifice everything. Miraculous transformations take place in a fairy tale: the ugly becomes beautiful thanks to the victory good forces over evil. Good begets beauty, and beauty begets good. Here is what is told in this tale: “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a Tsar, a kind man, the father of a beautiful, rare, incomparable princess. From far away, princes came to see her beauty: “The full moon, rising in the sky between countless stars, is not so pleasant, as our dear Princess is pleasant<…>; the rays of the bright moon do not shine so beautifully<…>how golden hair shines on her shoulders; she walks like a proud swan<…>; ethereal azure, on which the star of love shines, the evening star, is the image of her incomparable eyes, thin eyebrows, like rainbows, bend over them, her cheeks are like white lilies ... ”All the princes unanimously demanded that the princess announce which of them dear to her heart. The king says to his daughter: “My dear, sensible daughter, beautiful Princess! It's time for you to think about the groom. Choose a spouse from among them, my daughter, and console your father!” “My dear parent! I can’t discredit the princes in any way, but let me stay in my girlish chamber!” In an instant, the white tents in front of the palace disappeared, the princes mounted their horses and, sadly, rushed at full speed, each on their own path…” Dense Forest The most interesting is the prosaic tale “The Dense Forest”. The subtitle to it indicated: "A fairy tale for children, composed on the same day." Everyone was afraid of the Dark Forest and did not go there, since it was believed that an evil wizard, sorcerer, godfather and friend of Beelzebub (head of demons) reigned in it. In the village, not far from the forest, lived an old man and an old woman with a twenty-year-old son, who was like "an angel of beauty and a dove of humility." One night there was a knock on their door and a loud voice said: “Send your son to the Dark Forest. The parents were horrified, and the son "proved that the Dark Forest can be scary for others, and not for him." The parents were forced to agree, and the son went to the Dark Forest "following the little white rabbit, which frolicked and jumped in front of him." In the forest near a wonderful house, the young man met a beauty who was destined by fate to be his wife. It is clear that after the wedding, the heroes lived happily ever after. And if the reader wants to know where the evil wizard and the monster are, the author replies that this is a rumor that "belonged to the number of fables", "a terrible monster existed in the imagination of good villagers." Through fabulous images and events, the author convinces children not to be afraid of the forest, to love nature, to enjoy its beauty and gifts. The fairy tale "Dense Forest" is purely literary. There are no traces of folk art in it. As in his other works, Karamzin adheres to the poetics of sentimentalism. Full of secrets and mysteries, the tale begins like this: “It strikes eight o'clock. Time for tea, my friends. The kind hostess is waiting for us on the balcony. You are looking at me, dear little ones!.. I understand. You want me, under the sound of the wind, under the shade of gray clouds, to tell you some old story, pitiful and terrible. Okay, listen. Look at the ancient, dense, gloomy forest that rises before our eyes: how terrible is its appearance, what black shadows lie on its curly peak! Know, in the old days, ten centuries before our century, this forest was ten times larger, darker, more terrible. The rumor that swept through the surrounding villages frightened the timid villagers even more. It was said that an evil wizard or sorcerer has long lived and reigned in this dense forest. Often, by the light of the moon, when the villagers looked at the forest from afar, some kind of monster walked among the trees, along with tall pines, and with its fiery eyes illuminated everything around it. In this fairy tale, the forest is the personification of life (unfamiliar, and therefore terrible and dangerous for many young people). Main character at first, like all the inhabitants, he is afraid of the dense forest, but, having overcome his fear and going into it, he meets there ... But, however, after reading, you will find out for yourself. Ilya Muromets The work "Ilya Muromets" is called a heroic tale. It draws a poetic picture of nature, creates the image of Ilya Muromets, unlike the epic hero, but only partially reminiscent of him. The main character is shown not in battles with the enemies of the motherland, but in communication with a charming beauty in knightly armor. We do not know how this tale ends, since it was not finished. A small excerpt is read from Heroic fairy tale» Karamzin. Children are invited to determine, as they read, what military equipment will be mentioned in the text and how many items in total? “Who, on a stately nightingale horse, holding a black shield in one hand and a damask spear in the other, rides through the meadow like a formidable king? On his head is a feathered helmet with a gold, bright badge; on his hip is a heavy sword; armor, illuminated by the sun, pour sparks and burn with fire. Who is this knight, young hero? He is like a red May: scarlet roses with lilies bloom on his face. He is like a gentle myrtle: thin, straight and majestic. His gaze is faster than an eagle's and brighter than a clear moon. Who is this knight? - Ilya Muromets". We have identified the equipment of Ilya Muromets, and now I will tell you riddles about his weapons and armor, which were mentioned in the text: In order to protect the chest from the blows of the enemy, you already know this for sure, the hero has a heavy, shiny and round one hanging on his left hand ... (Shield) A weapon is not easy to pick up, it's not easy to pick up and hold in your hand. It was easy for them to take their heads off their shoulders ... Well, guess what? Of course… (Sword) An iron hat with a sharp end, and the front of the beak hung over the face. (Helmet) Such a shirt is not knitted, not sewn, it is woven from iron rings. (Mail)? Summing up, the children are asked questions: - Are there heroes in our time? (children's answers) - Is it possible to call those who defended our Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, guarding the border now, saving people from fire, athletes - Olympic champions? So, a hero is not necessarily a strongman. And you can become heroes, but what needs to be done for this? (Go in for sports, develop willpower). All the children are invited to draw drawings at home based on the fairy tales of N.M. Karamzin and participate in the competition for the best drawing. And now we invite you to answer the questions of the interactive quiz. References: 1. Gerlovan, O. K. N. M. Karamzin. Dense forest // Russian literature. - 1993. - No. 5. - S. 12-17. 2. Karamzin, N. M. Ilya Muromets / N. M. Karamzin // Selected works in two volumes. - Moscow-Leningrad: Fiction, 1964. - T. 4. - P. 45-57. 3. Karamzin, N. M. The beautiful princess and the happy Karla / N. M. Karamzin // Town in a snuffbox. - Moscow: Pravda, 1989. - S. 78-89.