ANTHOLOGY OF
RUSSIAN LITERATURE
From the
Earliest Period
to the Present
Time
BY
LEO WIENER
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SLAVIC LANGUAGES AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY
In Two Parts
8o with Photogravure Frontispieces
Part I.—From the Tenth Century to the Close of the
Eighteenth Century
Part II.—From the Close of the Eighteenth Century to
the Present Time
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
NEW YORK LONDON
Lomonosow
Anthology of RussianLiterature
From the Earliest Period to the Present Time
By
Leo Wiener
Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages at Harvard University
IN TWO PARTS
From the Tenth Century to the Close of the Eighteenth Century
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
New York and London
The Knickerbocker Press
1902
Copyright, 1902
BY
LEO WIENER
Published, June, 1902
The Knickerbocker Press, New York
TO MY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE
ARCHIBALD CARY COOLIDGE
THIS WORK ISGRATEFULLY DEDICATED
[Pg v]
PREFACE
The time is not far off when the Russian language willoccupy the same place in the curriculum of Americanuniversities that it now does in those of Germany,France and Sweden. A tongue that is spoken by morethan one hundred million people and that encompasses one-halfof the northern hemisphere in itself invites the attentionof the curious and the scholar. But the points of contactbetween the Anglo-Saxon and Slavic races are so many, bothin politics and literature, that it is a matter of interest, if notyet of necessity, for every cultured person of either nationalityto become well acquainted with the intellectual and sociallife of the other. In Russia, the English language is steadilygaining in importance, and not only the universities, but thegymnasiums as well, offer courses in English. In Englandand America there are many signs of a similar interest intheir Russian neighbour, though at present it expresses itselfmainly in the perusal of Russian novels in translations thatrarely rise above mediocrity. There is also a growing demandfor a fuller treatment of Russian Literature as a whole,which even Prince Wo