The article “Derzhavin and Horace“ analyzes Gavriil Derzhavin’s reworkings (translations and imitations) of Horace and their impact on eighteenth-century Russian literature. In accordance with the principles of imitatio and aemulatio Derzhavin saw himself not only as a translator of Horace, but also as an Horatian poet in his own right. Reading Horace in German, Derzhavin followed the German enthusiasm for Horace, modifying this tradition under the specific conditions of eighteenth-century Russian culture as well as of his personal inclinations. In addition to the general analysis of Derzhavin’s use of Horace, the article offers detailed comparisons of three of Derzhavin’s Horatian poems with the original texts. It concludes with a reflection on the fundamental change in Derzhavin’s conception not only of translation, but also of poetry which he experienced in the last years of his life under the possible influence of Herder’s aesthetics and early Russian historicism.
Keywords: Gavriil Derzhavin, Quintus Horatius Flaccus, eighteenth-century Russian poetry, imitatio, aemulatio, Johann Gottfried Herder, German Horace reception