Latin Satire vs. Georgij Dashkow by Theophanes Prokopovich (Publication of the Text and Commentary)

Abstract

The paper submits the first publication of the hexametrical Latin satire of Theophanes Prokopovich (1681–1736), which consists of 172 verses and is his longest poetic work written in Latin during his St. Petersburg period. The manuscript is part of Prokopovich’s collection of works, which is kept in the Manuscripts Department of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Tec. Post. 142, f. 245–247 v.), and, as far as we know, it is the only surviving copy of the work. Although satire is untitled, it is very likely that the addressee of the attacks was Archbishop Georgyi (Dashkov) (d. 1739). In the satire, Dashkov is derived in an allegorical manner under the name of Grunnius and is depicted as a man who is viciously jealous of others and is unable to bear even the modest success of his fellow human beings. The article also touches upon two and a half lines from this satire that have been published to date, thanks to their quotation by Antioch Cantemir in the commentary on v. 41 of his third satire “On the Distinction of Human Passions. To the Archbishop of Novgorod”. In all Cantemir editions, the Latin text, and therefore the Russian translation of this couplet contain errors that have been corrected, and it is suggested that the new variant of the text and translation is to be taken into account in the preparation of future editions.