(10.09.1708 – 31.03.1744)
Cantemir Antioch Dmitrievich (10.9.1708, Constantinople – 31.3.1744, Paris, buried in Moscow), prince, poet, translator, diplomat, secret adviser (1741). Son of DK Kantemir. I got a brilliant education for my time. He studied history, Ancient Greek, Latin, Italian, Old Slavonic, Russian; the teachers of Antiochus Cantemir were the Greek A. Kandoidi and the graduate of the Slavic-Latin Academy I. Il’inskii (later translator of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences), under whose influence Cantemir composed his first work “Symphony of the Psalter” (printed in 1727) – an alphabetical index to the poems from the psalms. For some time Cantemir studied at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. In 1723, together with his father participated in the Persian campaign of Peter I. In 1724 he asked Peter I to send him to study abroad, but was refused. In 1724-1726 he attended lectures in physics, mathematics, history, philosophy at the
Academic University in St. Petersburg. In 1726 he enrolled as an ensign in the Preobrazhensky regiment. He was engaged in literary activity: he translated from the French “An Italian letter containing a description of Paris and the French” (1726), as well as the philosophical work “The Table of Kevick the philosopher” (1729). He warmly sympathized with the cause of Peter’s reforms, Cantemir entered the circle of F. Prokopovich, the so-called learned squad. The mood of the circle found expression in the satires of Cantemir. In the first of them – “To the Blasphemering Teachings” (“To Your Mind,” 1729) – spoke against the representatives of church and secular circles who tried to return Russia to the pre-reform arrangements after the death of Emperor Peter I. The struggle for the preservation of progressive, according to Cantemir, achievements was continued in the second satire “On the envy and pride of the noblemen of the evil” (Philaret and Eugene, 1730), dedicated to the protection of the Petrine Table of Ranks, the idea of ”physical”
equality of people and the extra-human value of man. In 1730, when Anna Ivanovna joined the throne, Cantemir took an active part in the struggle against the “supreme” (members of the Supreme Privy Council) who tried to limit the autocracy (Cantemir collected the signatures of the officers of the Preobrazhensky regiment, accompanied AM Cherkassky and N. Yu. Trubetskoi to the palace of the empress ). In 1730 he translated the treatise of B. Fontenelle “Talk about the set of worlds” (published in 1740), where the heliocentric system of the world was defended in popular form. Translation of the book and notes to it (1742), many of which were included in the letters “On Nature and Man,” played a significant role in the development of Russian scientific terminology [Kantemir introduced such terms as the beginning (principle), concept (idea), observation, density, vortices, etc.]. In 1756 the translation of the treatise was confiscated by the Synod as “God-forgiving”, “full of satanic cunning” (reissued in 1761 and 1802). In the early 1730’s. Cantemir worked on the poem “Petrida, or Description of the Death of Peter the Great” (not finished) and two new satires; in the satire “On the Dangers of Satirical Works” (“Towards the Muse of Our Own”, 1730), Cantemir’s basic ethical views are set out. At the end of 1731 Cantemir was appointed “resident” in London, where he negotiated the recognition of the British government by the imperial title for Anna Ivanovna and the appointment of the British ambassador to St. Petersburg. In 1733, during the struggle for the ” the Polish legacy, “Cantemir negotiated an alliance between Russia and Britain against France, supporting the candidacy of Stanislav Leschinsky. Cantemir sought from the British government to send the squadron to Danzig in order to paralyze the actions of the French fleet and urged the British in the readiness of the Russian squadron to withdraw from Kronstadt. with the answer, but in non-interference of Great Britain after the capture by Russian troops of Danzig and election by King August III, supported by Russia, was significant for At the same time, Cantemir served in London the instructions of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (the purchase of books, mathematical and astronomical instruments, the involvement of European scientists in the academy, etc.) and private individuals. At the request of the Russian government, Cantemir investigated the appearance in 17
35 in London, offensive for Russia, “Moscow letters” Italian Locatelli, previously deported from Russia. Cantemir continued his studies in literature and science, and established broad cultural ties. He negotiated with the French ambassador in London about the renewal of friendly relations between Russia and France. In September 1738 Cantemir was transferred to the Executive Minister in Paris (since December – the Extraordinary Ambassador). The situation of Cantemir in the French court was complicated by the intrigues of Cardinal Fleury (in May 1739 Cantemir asked Count A. Osterman to resign, but was refused). In Paris, Cantemir met Montesquieu (translated into Russian his “Persian Letters”, the translation was not preserved), Voltaire, maintained close ties with many scientists. Cantemir volunteered to organize contacts between the Russian and French Academies of Sciences. With the participation of Cantemir in 1739 in The Hague, the tragedy of P. Moran “Menshikov” was published. In Paris, Cantemir was intensively engaged in literary work: he wrote VI-IX satires, translated works of Horace (St. Petersburg, 1744), Anacreon into Russian, prepared his works for print, providing them with comments (Kantemir’s works were published in 1762 with the foreword by IS Barkov ). In his political convictions, Cantemir was the defender of the rule of the nobility, “enlightened absolutism”, the reign of Emperor Peter I considered the embodiment of his ideals. In his philosophical views he was a supporter of natural law, shared the ideals of the Enlightenment. He defended the idea of equality of people before the law and the court. Considering, that all people are born equal (the satire “Filaret and Eugene”), argued that the nature of man does not depend on nature, it forms upbringing (“On education, or to Prince Nikita Yurievich Trubetskoy”). He condemned the extremes of the serfdom, offered the landowners to ease the situation of the peasants, to reduce taxes.
The materials of the book are used: Sukhareva O. V. Who was who in Russia from Peter I to Paul I, Moscow, 2005
