THEODOR KORSCH’S ANCIENT GREEK AND LATIN WORKS IN HIS SCHOLARLY AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY

Abstract

The paper deals with the sources of the biography of Theodor Korsch, Professor of the Department of Classics of the Imperial Moscow University, which are collected and analyzed (Theodor Korsch’s autobiography, works by Apollo Hrusch ka, Nikolai Dmitriev, Anatoly Bogdanov, the Baskakovs (Nikolai and Nikolai), Vera Smyshlyaeva, etc.); the main milestones of Korsch’s life as an academic are described; his close connection with the Moscow University is emphasized. The paper demonstrates that Ancient Greek and Latin composition was an integral part of Korsch’s scholarly and creative activity and allowed him to establish the connection with the Ancient tradition. At the same time, Korsch cannot be classified as the type of a pedantic classicist often portrayed in the popular culture of the time (v. Chekhov): on the contrary, he was always characterized by scientific enthusiasm and Anacreontic humor. Despite the fact that Korsch can be described as half-forgotten, many prominent philologists recognized his merits as an academic and a poet (Sergei Sobolevsky, Jozef IJsewijn, etc.), noting Korsch’s extraordinary giftedness and the versatility of his talent. The second part of the paper analyzes the peculiarities of both Korsch’s artistic works and scientific papers in Ancient Greek and Latin. In order to accomplish this task, archive materials from the Manuscript Department of the Russian State Library, the Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department of the Science Library of Lomonosov Moscow State University are involved. Special attention is paid to Ἐφημερίς (1860–1862), Korsch’s student diary, and the only published collection of his original poems and translations in Ancient Greek and Latin called Στέφανος (1886).