Subject
L disaster in ADA
From
Date
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While in Paris,* Klim Samgin (the hero of Gorky's novel The Life of Klim Samgin) reads Merezhkovski's essay The Future Ham, in which the author quotes Gorky who said that Russian itelligentsia was the best one in the world:
"Русская интеллигенция - лучшая в мире", - объявил недавно Горький.
Я этого не скажу, не потому, чтобы я этого не желал и не думал, а просто потому, что совестно хвалить себя. Ведь и я, и Горький, оба мы - русские интеллигенты. И следовательно, не нам утверждать, что русский интеллигент наилучший из всех возможных интеллигентов в наилучшем из всех возможных миров. (Merezhkovski who, like Gorky, belongs to Russian intelligentsia does not want to praise himself and would not say that Russian intelligent, "intellectual," is the best of all possible intelligenty, "intellectuals," in the best of all possible worlds.)
"The best of all possible worlds" reminds one of Pangloss' words in Voltaire's Candide, ou l'Optimisme (1759): Tout est pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes ("all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds"). In Candide the target of Voltaire's satire is Leibniz, the German philosopher who said: "all is for the best because God is a benevolent deity." On the other hand, Voltaire is the author of Poeme sur le desastre de Lisbonne (1756; le grand philosophe Leibnitz is mentioned in an authorial note).
According to Van Veen (Ada's protagonist and narrator), the details of the L disaster in the beau milieu of last century, which had the singular effect of both causing and cursing the notion of 'Terra,' are too well-known historically, and too obscene spiritually, to be treated at length in a book addressed to young laymen and lemans - and not to grave men or gravemen. (1.3)
Roman L (Leibniz's and Lisbon's initial) looks like Cyrillic Г (Gorky's and Gertsen's initial that corresponds to Roman G; cf. laymen & lemans vs. grave men or gravemen) turned upside down.** Merezhkovski begins his essay The Future Ham with a quotation from Gertsen's (Herzen's) article "Концы и начала" (Ends and Beginnings):
"Мещанство победит и должно победить, - пишет Герцен в 1864 г. в статье "Концы и начала". - Да, любезный друг, пора перейти к спокойному и смиренному сознанию, что мещанство - окончательная форма западной цивилизации."
The heart-rending chapter of Herzen's memoirs "Былое и думы" (Bygones and Meditations) is entitled Oceanos Nox.***
The sky was also heartless and dark, and her [Lucette's] body, her head, and particularly those damned thirsty trousers, felt clogged with Oceanus Nox, n,o,x. (3.5)
The mock execution of Dostoevski (whom Merezhkovski called "the Prophet of Russian Revolution") took place on January 3, 1850,**** in the beau milieu of 19th century. In Ada, January 3 is Lucette's birthday.
(Btw., beau milieu and meshchanstvo, "petty bourgeoisie; philistinism" mentioned by Herzen, remind me of Horace's aurea mediocritas. gold + word = God + world)
In a letter of September 15, 1919, to Gorky, Lenin (another L-name) famously said that intelligentsia was not the brain, but govno (vulg., shit) of nation.
*also known as Lute on Antiterra
**vice versa, Roman V (Voltaire's and Van Veen's initial) looks like Cyrillic ? (that corresponds to Roman L) turned upside down
***after a poem by Victor Hugo
****New Style
Alexey Sklyarenko
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"Русская интеллигенция - лучшая в мире", - объявил недавно Горький.
Я этого не скажу, не потому, чтобы я этого не желал и не думал, а просто потому, что совестно хвалить себя. Ведь и я, и Горький, оба мы - русские интеллигенты. И следовательно, не нам утверждать, что русский интеллигент наилучший из всех возможных интеллигентов в наилучшем из всех возможных миров. (Merezhkovski who, like Gorky, belongs to Russian intelligentsia does not want to praise himself and would not say that Russian intelligent, "intellectual," is the best of all possible intelligenty, "intellectuals," in the best of all possible worlds.)
"The best of all possible worlds" reminds one of Pangloss' words in Voltaire's Candide, ou l'Optimisme (1759): Tout est pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes ("all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds"). In Candide the target of Voltaire's satire is Leibniz, the German philosopher who said: "all is for the best because God is a benevolent deity." On the other hand, Voltaire is the author of Poeme sur le desastre de Lisbonne (1756; le grand philosophe Leibnitz is mentioned in an authorial note).
According to Van Veen (Ada's protagonist and narrator), the details of the L disaster in the beau milieu of last century, which had the singular effect of both causing and cursing the notion of 'Terra,' are too well-known historically, and too obscene spiritually, to be treated at length in a book addressed to young laymen and lemans - and not to grave men or gravemen. (1.3)
Roman L (Leibniz's and Lisbon's initial) looks like Cyrillic Г (Gorky's and Gertsen's initial that corresponds to Roman G; cf. laymen & lemans vs. grave men or gravemen) turned upside down.** Merezhkovski begins his essay The Future Ham with a quotation from Gertsen's (Herzen's) article "Концы и начала" (Ends and Beginnings):
"Мещанство победит и должно победить, - пишет Герцен в 1864 г. в статье "Концы и начала". - Да, любезный друг, пора перейти к спокойному и смиренному сознанию, что мещанство - окончательная форма западной цивилизации."
The heart-rending chapter of Herzen's memoirs "Былое и думы" (Bygones and Meditations) is entitled Oceanos Nox.***
The sky was also heartless and dark, and her [Lucette's] body, her head, and particularly those damned thirsty trousers, felt clogged with Oceanus Nox, n,o,x. (3.5)
The mock execution of Dostoevski (whom Merezhkovski called "the Prophet of Russian Revolution") took place on January 3, 1850,**** in the beau milieu of 19th century. In Ada, January 3 is Lucette's birthday.
(Btw., beau milieu and meshchanstvo, "petty bourgeoisie; philistinism" mentioned by Herzen, remind me of Horace's aurea mediocritas. gold + word = God + world)
In a letter of September 15, 1919, to Gorky, Lenin (another L-name) famously said that intelligentsia was not the brain, but govno (vulg., shit) of nation.
*also known as Lute on Antiterra
**vice versa, Roman V (Voltaire's and Van Veen's initial) looks like Cyrillic ? (that corresponds to Roman L) turned upside down
***after a poem by Victor Hugo
****New Style
Alexey Sklyarenko
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/