Voltaire’s oeuvres in the lyceum library

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VOLTAIRE'S OEUVRES IN THE LYCEUM LIBRARY

richelieu lyceum library volter

Polevshchykova Elena V.,

Candidate of Historical Sciences (Ph. D.),

Chief Bibliographer of the Scientific Library

Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University

The paper deals with the forming of the University Volteriana during the early stage of the history of University Library connected with the Richelieu Lyceum in Odessa. A complex of Voltaire's oeuvres in the Library was examined de visu. The paper presents information on a number of copies of Voltaire's writings acquired by the Lyceum Library.

Keywords: Voltaire, Richelieu Lyceum, library, D.-Ch. Nicolle, Odessa.

Voltaire's oeuvres occupy an honorable place in the collections of any academic library. The Scientific Library of the Odessa National I. I. Mechnikov University is no exception holding an impressive number of the writings of one of top authors of the world literature and philosophy. The paper presents the results of the study based on the range of Voltaire's works in the University Library stocks, which had been examined de visu in order to study the repertory and ways of acquisition of Voltaire's oeuvres at an early stage of the Library activities.

A number of copies of Voltaire's writings are marked with a stamp of the Odessa Richelieu Lyceum («ПЕЧ: ОДЕСС: РИШЕЛЬЕВСКАГО ЛИЦЕЯ»). The origins of the Scientific Library of the Odessa National I. I. Mechnikov University date back to 1817 when a Lyceum was established bearing the name of the duke of Richelieu (Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, duc de Richelieu, 1766-1822). Richelieu, who enjoyed incredible popularity and the reputation of a brilliant administrator governing the city in 1803-1814 and the province of Novorossiya in 1805-1814, initiated a number of cultural and educational projects in Odessa. He encouraged the establishment of the Lyceum, which was the second lyceum in the Russian Empire after the Imperial Lyceum in Tsarskoye Selo (the Imperial Alexander Lyceum) founded in 1811, and promoted its progress after he had left for France. The first Lyceum director, a reputable French preceptor abbot Nicolle (Dominique-Charles Nicolle, 1758-1835) was known to be the duke's creature.

Richelieu contributed as well to the forming of the Lyceum library having donated 15000 francs in order to complete its stocks. Nicolle followed his patron's example and donated his salary for 1818 for the same purpose. In summer and autumn of 1817, Nicolle went to France in order to recruit some teachers for the Lyceum as well as to acquire books for its Library1. At the end of 1818, the books arrived in Odessa and replenished the Library stocks [1, f. 4, 152; 2, f. 150-150v; 9, p. 33-35].

We have no archive documents listing purchased books or giving any details on Nicolle's acquisitions at our disposal [see: 9, p. 34, 50, 52-54]. The first mention of Voltaire's works in the stocks of the Library can be found in the Catalogue compiled in 1829 by Platon Simonovich (Платон СимоновиЙ, 1795-1866), professor of commercial sciences and political economy of the Lyceum [3, f. 4-28; 5; 9, p. 60-94]. The Catalogue includes six titles of Voltaire's works (30 vol.) mainly published in the early 19th century. Histoire de l'Empire de Russie sous Pierre le Grand (Paris, 1809), Essai sur les mњurs et l'esprit des Nations (5 vol., Paris, 1792), Histoire de Charles XII (Paris. 1816) are listed in the section « History »; La Henriade (2 vol.; Paris, 1770) and two sets of Theatre de Voltaire - 9 volumes published in Paris (1809) and 12 volumes printed in Toulouse (1790) are present in the section of « Poetry ». Besides, Њuvres de P Corneille, avec le Commentaire de Voltaire sur les pieces de theatre (12 vol.; Paris, 1801) must be mentioned as well. The latter must have been bought in Paris as evidenced by a bookseller's label stuck on the verso of the binding: «Potey, Libraire, rue du Bac, n°46, prиs celle S. Dominique, A Paris». This «short-list» contains some of Voltaire's most famed works, including historical studies, plays and poetry while his philosophical writings (i. e. Lettres philosophiques, Elйments de la philosophie de Newton, Dictionnaire philosophique, etc.) were completely absent. It is important to note that all above-mentioned books are still on the shelves of the University Library.

In the 1830-1850s, the Library stocks were replendished with a number of Voltaire's oeuvres: Doutes nouveaux sur le testament attribuй au cardinal de Richelieu (Genиve-Paris, 1765), Prix de la justice et de l'humanitй (Ferney, 1778), a volume of an Italian version of his famous Candide - Candido ossia l'Ottimismo di Voltaire (Genova, [1797]), Commentaire sur le livre Des dйlits et des peines (anonymously published in 1766) and Cesare Beccaria's Dei delitti e delle pene (Bassano, 1797) with Voltaire's commentaries. In 1843, the Library was completed with 35 volumes of the first edition of the celebrated Encyclopйdie coming from the stocks of the Medical and Surgical Academy in Vilna (Vilnius) abolished in 1842 [6, p. 19-21].

Russian translations of Voltaire's writings in the Lyceum Library were represented by two volumes of the Complete collection of all till now translated into Russian ... works by Mr. Voltaire (Полное собрание всех до ныне переведенных на российской язык ... сочинений г. Волтера; vol. 1, 3) published in Moscow in 1802.

Some publications dedicated to the great philosopher were acquired as well, La philosophie de Voltaire (Paris, 1848) by a French philosopher and journalist Ernest Bersot (1816-1880) being an example of critical works on Voltaire's oeuvres. It is interesting to note that the Library conserved some «forbidden» that is uncensored books, i. e. Mйmoires anecdotiques, trиs curieux et inconnus jusqu'а ce jour sur

Voltaire, rйflexions sur ses ouvrages, suivis de divers йcrits inйdits de la marquise du Chatelet, du prйsident Hйnault, de Piron, etc. by Sйbastian G. Longchamps and Jean-Louis Wagniиre (Paris, 1838). The Mйmoires written by former Voltaire's secretaries were included in the General alphabetic list of the books printed in French since 1815 to 1853forbidden by the censorship for the public [8, № 1653)]2.

Very little is known about the ways of acquisition of the mentioned books by the Lyceum. In rare cases it is possible to follow them which is the case of Prix de la justice et de l'humanitй (Ferney, 1778) bearing a bookseller's label: «Librairie de J. Roubaud а Odessa». Jean Roubaud (1785/1786-1852) came to Odessa from Marseille in 1803. A prosperous merchant of the 1st guilde, he became one of the first Honorary Citizens of Odessa. Besides a range of other occupations, Roubaud ran a bookshop «Magazin de nouveautйs» and served as a commissioner of the Richelieu Lyceum [9, p. 40-41, 53].

Who was responsible for the selection of the books to be acquired for the Lyceum Library? We only know that the professors could order the literature they found obligatory to meet the Lyceum requirements. In this context, the fact of the presence of the teaching staff of French origin is also worth mentioning. Here are the names of some of the French teaching in the Lyceum in 1817-1822: professor of grammar and French geography abbot Philippe Boisvin was succeeded by an adjunct professor Nicolas Naudot while a Swiss Jean Laurent was a professor of French literature and universal history. Abbot Nicolle's adjunct, Rйmi Gillet (he succeeded Nicolle after the latter left Odessa in 1820) was also teaching French literature and history3 [7; 11, p. 192-197]. At a later date (since 1841) another lecturer of French and belles-lettres of French origin was Alphonse Chapellon, also known as an amateur poet. His son Auguste Chapellon, who was teaching French in the University, gave the Library, on several occasions, a number of French books including Voltaire's writings.

It is interesting to compare the corpus of Voltairiana in the libraries of educational institutions of the same type, particularly with that of the Imperial Lyceum in Tsarskoye Selo. Thanks to the recent publication on the history of the first (and the most celebrated) lyceum in the Russian Empire, we have at our disposal texts of two documents: «A list of books from the Alexander Palace, made on June 28, 1810 by the collegiate councillor Bataille» and «A list of books received from the Jasper Rooms Library. September 12, 1817» [4, p. 500-504, 505-510]. These documents present some of Voltaire's works that largely coincide with those kept in the Richelieu Lyceum Library. La Henriade, Thйвtre de Voltaire, Thйвtre de Corneille and Traitй des dйlits et des peines... by Beccaria (the last two of cited publications with Voltaire's commentary) were available in both lyceum libraries, in Tsarskoye Selo these oeuvres were supplemented with different editions of Romans et Contes de Voltaire as well as with periodicals (Choix de nouveaux opuscules) containing Voltaire's texts.

The repertory of writings of an outstanding French author and philosopher in the Richelieu Lyceum Library may be regarded as a surprisingly limited one, especially considering the fact that the French colony used to be very influential in the epoch of Richelieu and his successor count Langeron4. It should be noted, however, that the Richelieu Lyceum was active in the period, being far from beneficial in the Russian Empire for the heritage of Siиcle des Lumiиres when a number of Voltaire's enthusiasts decreased noticeably. Nevertheless, the bases of the University Volteriana were laid. In 1865, the Lyceum was transformed into Novorossiyskiy University. The Library got a status of the «Fundamental University Library» with the stocks rapidly growing thanks to acquisitions at government expense as well as to charity [6, p. 5576]. An impressive range of Voltaire's oeuvres was present in former private book collections donated to the Library by Russian aristocrats and scholars in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Volteriana in prestigious Vorontsov family and count A. G. Stroganov libraries is beyond the scope of a short communication and deserves to be thoroughly studied.

Notes

1 Nicolle had to sell his private book collection known to be «quite numerous, well-selected and remarkable as to the beauty of the ouvrages» in order to cover the cost of the journey [10, p. 117].

2 In February 1818, the Lyceum, along with Universities in the Russian Empire, gained the privilege to get books from abroad without censorship. In 1828, the Richelieu Lyceum obtained the right to subscribe to books from abroad with the prior consent of the Ministry of Public Education [6, p. 14].

3 A dozen of names of the French teaching Mathematics and Physics as well as dancing, fencing or serving as tutors can be recited [11, p. 196].

4 Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron (1763-1831) was the governor of the city of Odessa in 18151820 and the general-governor of the province of Novorossiya in 1815-1823.

List of used literature and sources

1. Державний архів Одеської області (далі - ДАОО). - Ф. 44. - Оп. 1. - Спр. 4 (1819 г.).

2. ДАОО. - Ф. 44. - Оп. 1. - Спр. 46 (1822 г.).

3. ДАОО. - Ф. 44. - Оп. 1. - Спр. 14 (1829 госп. частина).

4. Библиотека Императорского Царскосельского (Александровского) лицея в Екатеринбурге. Т. 2, ч. 1 : A-H : Западноевропейские издания, опубликованные до 1800 года. Из собрания отдела редких книг Зональной научной библиотеки Уральского федерального университета / под общ. ред. О. М. Кадочиго- вой. - Екатеринбург : изд-во Урал. ун-та, 2017. - 576 с. - Сведения доступные также по Интернету: http:// hdl.handle.net/10995/57450 (дата обращения: 25.03.2019).

5. Бібліотекарі Рішельєвського ліцею / уклад. М. В. Алєксєєнко // Наукова бібліотека Одеського національного університету імені І. І. Мечникова. - Електрон. дані. - Україна, Одеса, 2018. - Режим доступу: https://bit.ly/2HBXFsa (дата звернення: 25.03.2019). - Загол. з екрана.

6. Два століття служіння книзі. Історія Наукової бібліотеки Одеського національного університету імені І. І. Мечникова, 1817-2017 / М. В. Алєксєєнко, М. О. Подрезова, О. В. Полевщикова, В. П. Пружина, В. В. Самодурова ; Одес. нац. ун-т ім. І. І. Мечникова, Наук. б-ка. - Одеса : ОНУ, 2017. - 292 с.

7. Михневич И. Г Исторический обзор сорокалетия Ришельевского лицея с 1817 г. по 1857 год / И. Г. Мих- невич. - Одесса : в тип. Л. Нитче, 1857. - 200 с.

8. Общий алфавитный список книгам на французском языке, запрещенным иностранною цензурою безусловно и для публики : с 1815 по 1853 год включительно... - СПб., 1855. - 386 с.

9. Полевщикова Е. В. Библиотека Ришельевского лицея в 1817-1828 гг. (по материалам Государственного архива Одесской области) / Е. В. Полевщикова // Вісн. Одес. нац. ун-ту. Серія: Бібліотекознавство, бібліографознавство, книгознавство. - 2007. - Т. 12, вип. 14. - С. 29-95.

10. Frappaz, chanoine Z. Vie de l'abbй Nicolle. - Paris, 1857. - 307 p.

11. Polevchtchikova E.. Les Franзais et les Russes dans les йtablissements йducatifs d'Odessa (1802-1822) / Е. Polevchtchikova // Le prйcepteur francophone en Europe (XVIIe-XIXe siиcles). - Paris : L'Harmattan, 2013. - P. 187-204.

References

[1] . Derzhavnyi arkhiv Odeskoi oblasti [State Archives of the Odessa Region]. Fund, 44, inventory 1, dossier 4 (1819).

[2] . Derzhavnyi arkhiv Odeskoi oblasti [State Archives of the Odessa Region]. Fund, 44, inventory 1, dossier 46

(1822).

[3] . Derzhavnyi arkhiv Odeskoi oblasti [State Archives of the Odessa Region]. Fund, 44, inventory 1, dossier 14

(1829).

[4] . Biblioteka Imperatorskogo Tsarskoselskogo (Aleksandrovskogo) litseya v Ekaterinburge. T. 2, part. 1. A-H :

Zapadnoevropeyskie izdaniya, opublikovannyie do 1800 goda. Iz sobraniya otdela redkih knig Zonalnoy nauchnoy biblioteki Uralskogo federalnogo universiteta [The Library of the Imperial Tsarskoye Selo (Alexander) Lyceum in Yekaterinburg. T. 2, part. 1 : A-H: European editions published before 1800. From the collection of the Rare Books Department of Zonal Research Library of the Ural Federal University]. Ekaterinburg, 2017, 506 p. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10995/57450

[5] . Alieksieienko M. V. Bibliotekari Rishelievskoho litseiu [Librarians of the Richelieu Lyceum]. Naukova bib

lioteka Odeskoho natsionalnoho universytetu imeni I. I. Mechnkyova [Scientific Library of Odesa I. I. Mech- nikov National University]. Available at: https://bit.ly/2HBXFsa

[6] . Alieksieienko M. V., Podrezova M. O. Polevshchykova O. V., Pruzhyna V P, Samodurova V. V. Dva stolittia

sluzhinnia knyzi. Istoriia Naukovoi biblioteky Odeskoho natsionalnoho universytetu imeni I. I. Mechnykova, 1817-2017 [Two centuries of service to the book. History of the Scientific Library of Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University, 1817-2017]. Odessa, 2017, 292 p.

[7] . Mihnevich I. G. Istoricheskiy obzor sorokaletiya Rishelevskogo litseya s 1817 g. po 1857 god [Historical

review of forty years of Richelieu Lyceum from 1817 to 1857], Odessa, 1857, 200 p.

[8] . Obschiy alfavitnyiy spisok knigam na frantsuzskom yazyike, zapreschennyim inostrannoyu tsenzuroyu

bezuslovno i dlya publiki : s 1815 po 1853 god vklyuchitelno... [The general alphabetical list of books in French, completely prohibited by the censorship for foreign languages as well for the public: from 1815 to 1853 inclusive], Saint-Petersbourg, 1855, 386 p.

[9] . Polevschikova E. V Biblioteka Rishelevskogo litseya v 1817-1828 gg. (po materialam Gosudarstvennogo

arhiva Odesskoy oblasti [The Richelieu Lycem Library in 1817-1828 (after the documents of the State archives of the Odessa region)], Visnyk Odeskoho natsionalnoho universytetu. Seriia: Bibliotekoznavstvo, bibliohra- foznavstvo, knyhoznavstvo [Odessa University herald. Series: Library Science, Bibliography, Bibliology]. Odesa, 2007, t. 12, vol. 14. pp. 29-95.

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French and the Russians in the educational institutions of Odessa, 1802-1822], Le prйcepteur francophone en Europe (XVIIe-XIXe siиcles) [The French tutor in Europe (17th-19th centuries)], Paris, L'Harmattan, 2013, pp. 187-204.

Полевщикова E. В.,

кандидат исторических наук,

главный библиограф Научной библиотеки

Одесского национального университета им. И. И. Мечникова

ПРОИЗВЕДЕНИЯ ВОЛЬТЕРА В ЛИЦЕЙСКОЙ БИБЛИОТЕКЕ

В сообщении рассматривается становление коллекции «Вольтериана» университетской библиотеки на первом этапе её истории, связанном с Ришельевским лицеем в Одессе. Просмотрен de visu комплекс произведений Вольтера, хранящихся в фондах библиотеки. Представлена информация о ряде экземпляров произведений Вольтера, которые поступили в лицейскую библиотеку.

Ключевые слова: Вольтер, Ришельевский лицей, библиотека, Д.-Ш. Николь, Одесса.

Полевщикова О.В.,

кандидат історичних наук,

головний бібліограф Наукової бібліотеки

Одеського національного університету ім. І. І. Мечникова

ТВОРИ ВОЛЬТЕРА В ЛІЦЕЙСЬКІЙ БШЛЮТЕЦІ

Резюме

Твори Вольтера (1699-1778) - французького просвітителя, однієї з ключових фігур світової літератури й філософії - займають помітне місце в фондах Наукової бібліотеки Одеського національного університету імені І. І. Мечникова. У повідомленні розглядається становлення колекції «Вольтеріана» університетської бібліотеки на першому етапі її історії, що пов'язаний з Рішельєвським ліцеєм в Одесі (1817-1865).

Єдиним документом, у якому зафіксовані цікаві для нас книги, є «Каталог Книгам, що знаходяться в основній Бібліотеці Рішельєвського ліцею», що був складений у 1829 р. (зберігається у фонді Рішельєвського ліцею (Ф. 40) Державного архіву Одеської області). Відзначимо, що всі записані в каталозі праці Вольтера збереглися в бібліотеці до теперішнього часу. Для більш повного відтворення репертуару в ліцейській бібліотеці був переглянутий de visu комплекс творів Вольтера, що зберігаються на сьогоднішній час у фондах бібліотеки. Були відібрані примірники зі штампом «ПЕЧ: ОДЕСС: РИ- ШЕЛЬЕВСКАГО ЛИЦЕЯ».

Представлена інформація про низку примірників творів Вольтера, які надійшли до ліцейської бібліотеки. Відзначені основні історичні факти, відомі сьогодні про початковий етап формування бібліотеки Рішельєвського ліцею, роль герцога Рішельє й абата Ніколя. У 1830-1850-ті рр. поповнення її фонду творами Вольтера явно сповільнивлося, що не дивно в контексті посилення реакційних тенденцій у внутрішній політиці царизму і в суспільних настроях.

Ліцейська добірка творів Вольтера представлена досить скромно, проте вона багаторазово зросла після перетворення ліцею в Новоросійський університет, перш за все - завдяки надходженню наприкінці XIX ст. престижних приватних книжкових зібрань сім'ї Воронцових і графа О. Г. Строганова.

Ключові слова: Вольтер, Рішельєвський ліцей, бібліотека, Д.-Ш. Ніколь, Одеса.

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