Alexandre Herzen (1812–1870)

Read some of this in Russian in the 70s. Must review my notes before reviewing …Do recall his imprisonment in the 1830's, and Paris around the 1848 revolution. Peasants were placed under police instead of Gogol's assessors: police who were "predatory, carnivorous, corrupt" (223, '82 ed). After reviewing, some notes here.
On Proudhon bringing out Voix du Peuple from prison: Few subscribers, but up to 60,000 in street sales, 30 times more expensive the next day. Fines questioned, for ex for an account of Lord Alton-Shée,
"Why, are you not a Catholic?" Alt-Sh, "No! And what's more, I am not a Christian at all, and maybe not a deist."
AH: "Men have grown no wiser since the days of Socrates, no wiser since the days of Galileo; they have only become more petty." (425)
Later, in England which disliked foreigners, he recalls Roman revolutionaries calling Russian women, honoring stranieri onto the balconi. England ignored Robert Owen's discovery of behaviorism, not spanking,
over genes.
And AH regrets the destruction of Owen's town, New Lanark, Scotland. The Quakers were horrified little Scots boys wore no trousers.AH blames the Quaker takeover for the new model town's failure, starting in schools: children should not be taught to sing and dance, while for Owen singing and movement were important in education.
When the Quakers "entered on managing New Lanark, they began by lowering pay an increasing work hours"[as Gov Romney did in MA Comm Colleges--more classes than H.S.-- so I retired early]. "New Lanark collapsed." [So has my comm coll, but since all of US ed has, like idiot-politician producing Princeton, Yale Law and Harvard Biz, no-one notices.]
These, just tidbits from a wealth of international and inter-cultural chapters. "The English and the French are full of prejudices, while a German is free from them; but both the French and the English are more consistent in their lives--the rule they follow is perhaps absurd, but it is what they have accepted"(376).
In Paris at the American ambassador Buchanan's--a "diplomatic dinner to the enemies of all existing governments"--Mazzini, Kossuth, Garibaldi, Worcell, the Englishman Wolmsley M.P., Herzen, a few others, and the host Buchanan (479). "The sly old man Buchanan, who was then already dreaming, in spite of his seventy years, of the presidency, and therefore was constantly talking of the happiness of retirement.." cautiously forbid discussing the future white republic. One proposed singing the Marseilleise in chorus, but only Worcell knew the tune properly, with his "extinction" of voice, and Mazzini knew it slightly. So the American Mrs Saunder (wife of the chef) played it on the guitar.
Meanwhile her spouse poured out teacups of Bourbon concoction, AH said, "I am a Russian, and even so I scorched my palate; Punch in Kentucky must be made from red pepper with an infusion of oil of vitriol...I was the only one who held out my empty cup and asked for more. The chemical affinity with alcohol raised me terribly high in the consul's eyes." "'Yes, yes,' he said:'it's only in America and Russia that people know how to drink'"(481).

Thanks to Ryan Diezi, I have some Herzen in Russian,
Когда священник начал мне давать уроки, он был удивлен не только общим
знанием евангелия, но тем, что я приводил тексты буквально. "Но господь бог, - говорил он, - раскрыв ум, не раскрыл еще сердца". И мой теолог, пожимая плечами, удивлялся моей "двойственности", однако же был доволен мною, думая, что у Терновского сумею держать ответ.
Вскоре религия другого рода овладела моей душой. [But I'm unsure what it was, this "other religion" that took over his thoughts.… (altro)

In dit deel van de Russische bibliotheek van uitgeverij van Oorschot staan 6 verhalen:
1) M.J. Lermontow: Een held van onze tijd: Een man komt in de Kaukasus een oude kapitein tegen die hem het verhaal vertelt van Petsjorin en diens avonturen. Later geeft hij hem zijn nagelaten dagboekaantekeningen. Mooi verhaal ****
2) M.J. Lermontow: Vorstin Ligowskaja: Verdere avonturen van Petsjorin ***
3) A.I. Herzen: Van de andere oever: Vermoeiende discussie over het achtergebleven Rusland **
4) A.I. Herzen: De plicht boven alles: Matig geschreven verhaal over de familie Stolygin **
5) W.M. Garsjin: De rode bloem: Prachtig kort verhaal (19 blz) over een psychiatrisch patiënt die denkt dat een paar rode papavers al het kwaad in de wereld vertegenwoordigen. Rake observaties en zou verplichte literatuur moeten zijn voor de opleiding tot psychiater *****
6) W.G. Korolenko: Makars droom: Verhaal over een eenvoudige zuiplap die sterft en dan in de hemel berecht wordt ***… (altro)