Page:The Spirit of Russia by T G Masaryk, volume 1.pdf/141

Rh of Peter did the Russian vernacular come into its kingdom in the literary world, for hitherto the old ecclesiastical language had been the vehicle of literature. The new written tongue made its way against the authority of the church. Whilst conservative writers continued to cling to the ecclesiastical language, and to write in a stilted scholastic style, progressive authors, those affected by European influence, gave expression to their thoughts in the folk speech. Old Russia and New Russia were thus respectively manifested in a linguistic dualism, which was further displayed in the differences between the Slavonic alphabet used in ecclesiastical writings and the new alphabet introduced by Peter. In many authors we find a mingling of tongues and styles. It is often said that it was Karamzin's merit, in opposition to Šiškov, to have secured the literary dominance of the Russian tongue, but this assertion involves a chronological error. The modern literary language was already employed by such writers as Fonvizin. It is an important fact that literature and language should have undergone so notable a growth during the first half of the nineteenth century.

As the campaign against French influences developed, a preference for all that was German became established. Moreover, the Frenchified Russians had their attention strongly drawn to Germany by the writings of Madame de Staël (1810), and subsequently by those of Benjamin Constant and others. German literature and philosophy spontaneously aroused a feeling of respect, and a similar respect was inspired by English literature, above all by the works of Byron. The spirit of French classicism was replaced by the spirit of Teutonic romanticism. It was especially in philosophy that German influence was predominant. If Russia had been French under Catherine and had still been French under Alexander, it became German under Nicholas. German ideas were adopted, even though the German language made little headway.

In spite of.this influence, and indeed with the assistance of German romanticism, Russian national sentiment continued to grow. Just as the European romanticists extolled the middle ages and the Old Teutonic epoch, so in Russia did a cult of Old Russia arise.

It was not by any chance coincidence that at the time when Fichte was writing his Address to the German Nation, Šiškov in Russia should have been railing against French influences, and against Frenchmen, whom he regarded as