Pushkin question

[Inna Caron]

Furthermore, Pushkin's "Borodinskaia godovshchina" together with
"Klevetnikam Rossii" was, if memory serves me right, written in
offensive-defensive response to Mickiewicz's "Do przyjaciol Moskali." I
think it even caused a rift between the two. There is nothing about a
colossus per se in Mickiewicz's poem, but Pushkin's reference to the
Franco-Polish manifesto in general seems very appropriate. Perhaps the quote
"cette puissance colossale" was, in fact, well known to educated Russians,
as an official insult hurdled by the insubordinate Poles and their French
allies? 

My two cents...




Inna Caron
The Ohio State University

-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[mailto:SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Francoise Rosset
Sent: Monday, November 05, 2007 1:08 PM
To: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Pushkin question

>Dear SEELANGtsy,
>
>I have been trying to find the source of the phrase:   "Bol'noi, 
>rasslablennyi koloss" in Pushkin's 1831 "Borodinskaia 
>godovshchina."  
>It clearly refers to Russia and is italicized in the original.  A 
>variant was "Bol'noi izmuchennyi koloss."  Lednicki says it responds 
>to a phrase in the Franco-Polish committee's manifesto calling 
>Russia "cette puissance colossale."  That no doubt is correct, but 
>the italicization of the whole suggests to me that it plays off some 
>other fixed phrase or well-known quotation.  I include the entire 
>stanza in which the phrase appears for reference.

This is not the exact answer to your question but may be related.

Diderot supposedly called Russia "ce colosse aux pieds d'argile," 
referring to mid 18th century Russia.
I wasn't able to look through Diderot, so I got some confirmation 
from Polish wikipedia (wikicytaty) at:
http://pl.wikiquote.org/wiki/Denis_Diderot

The expression "colosse aux pieds d'argile" is obviously older than 
that --a Biblical reference to Daniel explaning Nabuchodonazar's 
dream -- hence perhaps "pustaia pritcha, lzhivyj son." But Diderot's 
quote seems to be one time it refers clearly and identifiably to 
Russia. And a Diderot quote would be a recent, well-repeated phrase 
for Pushkin.

Maybe this helps some ...
-FR





-- 

Francoise Rosset
Chair, Russian and Russian Studies
Coordinator, German and Russian
Wheaton College                         
Norton, Massachusetts 02766
        
phone: 	(508) 286-3696
fax #:   	(508) 286-3640
e-mail: FRosset at wheatonma.edu

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