Ivan Chemnitzer

Ivan Ivanovitch Chemnitzer or Khemnitzer (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Хемни́цер; 17451784) was a Russian fabulist, born at Yenotayevsk,

Astrakhan Governorate The Astrakhan Governorate () was an Imperial, Republican, and Soviet Russian administrative division (), which existed from 1717 – 1929. Created from separating the southwestern part of the Kazan Governorate, by Peter I's Reform in 1717. And ...

, the son of a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

physician of

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...

, who had served in the Russian army under

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

. He participated in the campaigns of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

and afterward devoted himself to mining engineering and subsequently visited

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, and

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. Upon his return he accepted a position as

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

, where an attack of

melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly dep ...

hastened his death. In contradistinction to Sumarokov and others among the earlier fabulists of Russia, whose works are essentially

satires Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

, Chemnitzer was the first to introduce the genuine fable into

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were c ...

. He was thus one of the predecessors of

Krylov Krylov (masculine; russian: Крылов) and Krylova (feminine; russian: Крылова) is a Russian surname, derived from the word "''крыло́"'' (wing). Alternative spellings are Krilov, Kryloff, Kriloff (masculine) and Krilova (feminine). ...

, having brought the Russian fable to its greatest perfection. Although to some extent

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

s or

imitation Imitation (from Latin ''imitatio'', "a copying, imitation") is a behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another's behavior. Imitation is also a form of that leads to the "development of traditions, and ultimately our culture. I ...

s of La Fontaine and Gellert, his works show considerable originality. Their good humor, vivacity of dialogue, simplicity, and distinctively national character have greatly endeared him to the Russian people. Among his best original fables are ''The Metaphysician, The Tree, The Peasant and his Load'', and ''The Rich Man and the Poor Man''. Grot produced the best edition of his works (St. Petersburg, 1873). * 1745 births 1784 deaths People from Astrakhan Oblast People from Astrakhan Governorate Writers from the Russian Empire Members of the Russian Academy {{Russia-poet-stub