“Three Paraphrastic Odes of Psalm 143”: Religion and Politics in the Poetry Contest of Trediakovsky, Lomonosov and Sumarokov in 1743

Abstract

The article clarifies the circumstances of the creation of the first translations of the psalms by V.K. Trediakovsky, M.V. Lomonosov and A.P. Sumarokov, printed in the brochure “Three Paraphrastic Odes of Psalm 143” (St. Petersburg, 1744; published at the end of 1743). As it is known, they were written in connection with their theoretical discussion about Russian versification (on the semantics of the iambic and trochee) and were brought to the public as the results of a poetic contest. In this article attention is focused not on questions of style and metrics, but on the content of these poems and for the first time an explanation is given why three poets had chosen psalm 143 (in the Hebrew numbering 144) for their first transcriptions. It belongs to the “royal” psalms, it is inscribed “Psalm of David about Goliath”, and in the final verses it has two opposite reading options: in the Greek version it is about the temporary well–being of sinners (foreign people), in the Hebrew - about the eternal bliss of the righteous (their own people). The Slavic translation was made from Greek, and the German translation by M. Luther was made from Hebrew. All three poets made interpretations according to the Slavic translation version, showing their loyalty to Orthodox Christianity, and at the same time expressing the hope that the power of the Lutheran Germans in the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences will soon be put to an end. The allegorical religious and political meaning of the translations of Psalm 143 was revealed in comparison with the German translation and was supposed to sting the enemies of Lomonosov and Trediakovsky at the Academy of Sciences. Three odes were written in August 1743, shortly after the conclusion of the Abo Peace with Sweden (which secured another victory of the Orthodox Russians over the Lutheran Swedes, David over Goliath) and the release of Lomonosov from arrest (where he had been since the end of May due to a conflict with German professors). Аpparently, he was the first who suggested choosing psalm 143 for the poetic contest (later he will make its another interpretation according to the Hebrew version). The publication of the “Three Odes” was part of a set of events for the second anniversary of Elizabeth Petrovna’s accession to the throne, so it was supervised by the Prosecutor General of the Senate, Prince N.Y. Trubetskoy.