Dostoevsky and Antiquity: Classical Education at the L. I. Chermak Boarding School

Abstract

The article attempts to identify the classical linguistic and cultural context of F. M. Dostoevsky's education at the L. I. Chermak boarding school. It lists the programs and textbooks that Dostoevsky studied in 1834-1837 to learn about the intricacies of classical languages and ancient history, and the teachers who may have influenced his perception of ancient history and culture. Using the issues of the “Biblioteka dlya chteniya” (Library for Reading) journal, the authors investigate which texts related to classical antiquity were available to Dostoevsky outside of the curriculum. The period of Dostoevsky's studies at the Chermak boarding school can be characterized as extremely favorable for the assimilation and comprehension of ancient heritage. The reason for this is the emphasis on classical languages in education set by government decisions, successfully augmented by the brilliant teaching staff at the boarding school, i. e., K. M. Romanovsky, N. I. Bilevich and A. M. Kubarev, Dostoevsky saw Greco-Roman antiquity not as a boring and tiresome collection of dead forms, but as a source of fantasies, reflections, comparisons, and sublime ideas. The publications in Library for Reading on history and archeology, literature and art of Ancient Greece and Rome revealed antiquity in a multi-faceted manner, taking the teenager inclined to serious reading far beyond the school curriculum into the world of stunning discoveries, sharp scientific controversy, bold comparisons with modern times and vivid artistic images.