N. S. Leskov and Ecclesiastes: Sources of the Writer’s Knowledge About the Old Testament Book

Abstract

The article is the first attempt to reveal the sources of N. S. Leskov’s knowledge about the book of Ecclesiastes. The works on isagogics and exegetics demonstrate that in Russia, by the second half of the 19th century, the problems of attribution and interpretation of Ecclesiastes were widespread. Since the 1860s, translations of the book into Russian have appeared in periodicals. A comparison of borrowings from Ecclesiastes from Leskov’s texts with the translations of the book that existed at the time of their writing allowed us to establish that the writer consistently turned to the most common and modern translations: the artistic arrangement of N. M. Karamzin’s “Experienced Solomon’s Wisdom, or Thoughts Selected from Ecclesiastes” and the Synodal Translation. The article examines Leskov’s fictional, journalistic, and epistolary heritage, which determines the level of the writer’s knowledge about topical issues of theological science, particularly the history and specifics of the text of Ecclesiastes. The research reveals the typological similarities between Leskov’s work and the Old Testament book and the connection of the writer’s dominant poetics with the peculiarities of the biblical text.

Keywords

• classical literature
• the bible
• n. s. leskov
• ecclesiastes
• historical and cultural context
• sources of knowledge.