That this latter, the genuine old Russian, had its poets, was, until
the close of the last century, only known by historical tradition; no
monument of them seemed to be left. But at that time, A.D. 1794, a
Russian nobleman, Count Mussin-Pushkin, discovered the manuscript of
an epic poem, 'Igor's Expedition against the Polovtzi,' apparently not
older than the twelfth century. It is a piece of national poetry of no
common beauty, united with an equal share of power and gracefulness.
But what strikes us even more than this, is, that we find in it no
trace of that rudeness, which would naturally be expected in the
production of a period when darkness still covered all eastern Europe,
and of a poet belonging to a nation, which we have hardly longer than
a century ceased to consider as barbarians! There hovers a spirit of
meekness over the whole, which sometimes even seems to endanger the
energy of the representation.
The genuineness of this poem has, so far as we know, never been
questioned; but it is indeed a very surprising feature, that during
the recent diligent search through all the libraries in the country
after old manuscripts, not a single production has been discovered,
which could in any way be compared with it.
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