brilliant, gave expression to his antipositivist mood and outlook. Considering himself animated by peculiarly genuine Russian sentiments, Russian life seemed to him a synthesis of very remarkable elements. In the drunkard, for instance, he would discover the manifestation of the pure soul, and his judgments were characterised by numerous similar aberrations. He once delineated himself aptly as a "turbulent" humanist—the Russian word naglyi has the connotation of impetuosity or brutality. There was a morbid element in Grigor'ev, an element we shall find more fully developed in Dostoevskii. Grigor'ev spoke of "irrational happiness," of the "pride of sorrow," of the "repellent sweetness" of certain spiritual troubles, and so on.
Grigor'ev did not found a school, for he lacked energy and endurance. His thought was aphoristic in character; his ideas were not sharply or clearly formulated. Grigor'ev had no love for logic-choppers who reason simply for reasoning's sake. In fact his own mysticism was often on extremely bad terms with logic. Nevertheless Grigor'ev moved amid kindred spirits, and through their intermediation exercised enhanced influence. The most notable among his associates was Dostoevskii, who learned much and borrowed much from Grigor'ev. In his whole nature Dostoevskii had much in common with Grigor'ev. In addition to Dostoevskii I may mention Strahov, the editor of Grigor'ev's works.[1]
- ↑ Strahov (1828–1896) was one of the chief contributors to the Dostoevskiis' reviews. He wrote a number of philosophical and literary works (The World as a Whole; the Fundamental Concepts of Psychology and Physiology; The Struggle with the West; Critical Essays on Turgenev and Tolstoi; etc.), and be translated portions of Kuno Fischer's History of Philosophy and of Lange's History of Materialism. Strahov was a diligent worker, and so amiable was his disposition that only in the form of mechanical compromises could he effect the synthesis demanded by Grigor'ev. Thus it was that Tolstoi became his mentor as well as Danilevskii and Dostoevskii. Of Dostoevskii, Strahov has given us reminiscences.
