Leibniz and Russia

O R G A N O N 7 (1970) A U T E U R S ET PR O BL È M E S

Achot T. Grigoryan (U.S.S.R.)

LEIBNIZ AND RUSSIA

In th e history of Russia th e first q u arter of th e 18th cen tury is rem ark ­ able for some deep social and economic changes and a successful accom­ plishm ent of the end of the long-lasting and bloody N orthern W ar. For since th a t tim e not only regained Russia the lands w hich had belonged to h er for a long tim e before b u t she also began to ran k among th e leading powers of Europe.

From th e very beginnig th e foreign policy and th e in ternal reform s of P ete r I, as w ell as the outstanding personality of the young czar w ere attracting close attention of W estern Europe. On attem pting to real­ ize his reform s P e te r I opened th e door of his co un try w ide to all scien­ tists and technicians of diverse specialities coming from abroad. Among the prom inent W estern European scientists, w hich w ere in one w ay o r another involved in the czar’s reform ator activity and p articularly so in the task of developing sciences and cu ltu re in Russia, ranks also th e nam e of a famous G erm an scientist, philosopher, m athem atician, physi­

cist, geologist, biologist, as well as historian and diplomat, w ho was also a m em ber of th e Royal Society of London (1673) and of th e Académie des Sciences of P aris (1700), and the first president of th e Berlin Acad­ emy—th a t of G ottfried W ilhelm von Leibniz (I. UP. 1646, Novem ber

14, 1716) *.

Leibniz’s interest in the Russian State or, as it used to 'be called in th e West, in Muscovy, had arisen in the 90’s and was prim arily con­ cerned w ith tw o problems. The first was to study th e origin of nations and languages, and he hoped to obtain from th e Russians some necelssary m aterials on philology and ethnography of a great m any nations living in the vast possessions of th e czar of Russia. The second w as th e attrac­ tion he experienced like m any other European scientists of those tim es by th e idea of Christianization and dessem ination of European cu lture and civilization in th e countries of the East, in China and C entral Asia.

* T h e a u th o r e x p resses h is deep gratitu d e to M rs. M, G. N o v la n sk a ja , w h o w a s v e r y h e lp fu l in th e p reparation o f th is stu d y.

A nd Leibniz expected to attain this goal by means of th e Russian State as “a n interm ediate link betw een th e World of the West and East”.

In 1697 Leibniz became even more interested in Muscovy w hen he le arn t th a t the G reat Legation, including th e young czar incognito, w ould pass through Hannover. He specially left for M inden w here he hoped to m eet the legation and to make acquaintance, if not w ith the czar himself, then a t least w ith his envoy Lefort, and particularly w ith Golovin, th e czar’s ex-governor in Siberia, who knew w ell th e Siberian nations. Even though the m eeting fell through, the scientist had m an­ aged to talk to F ranz L efort’s nephew , P ete r Lefort, who promised to send him inform ation on the fam ily th ree of the Russian czars and on languages spoken by th e nations of the Russian Empire.

W ith an utm ost interest Leibniz kept on w atching P e te r’s journey also afte r th e Russian legation had left Hannover. He w as curious about th e character, th e w ay of life, a n d plans of th e czar, an d was very eager to know some particulars from his life and activities during his visit in the N etherlands and in England. He was amazed a t and full of adm ira­ tion for th e sim plicity and th e accessibility of this man, for his lively mind and sparkling energy, for his greed fo r know ledge and a stubborn p u rsu it to achieve it. According to Leibniz, P ete r I was ju st th e m an w ith whose help his long-planned idea of dissemination of European civ­ ilization in th e countries of th e East could have been realized. Accord­ ing to the sp irit of his epoch, Leibniz frankly believed th e m ankind’s progress lies in the hands of individual sovereigns. T hat is w hy in his letters to his close and form al friends he expresses his deep regret and indignation a t th e fact th a t n eith er country w here P eter I sojourned in th e years of 1697-1698 took th e trouble to face Russia’s fu tu re ruler w ith the problem of the goals of civilization. In his le tte r to Morel, a num ism atist, of October 1, 1697, Leibniz wrote: “You could not believe, dear Sir, how m uch sorry I feel th a t no proper advantage is taken from the presence of Russia’s czar and his good intentions; for to w in th e attentio n of only one m an like th e czar o r th e em peror of China and to tu rn it into the real goodness, implaritinig in him earnestness to the Lord G lory and to the im provem ent of the hum an nature, would be m ore im portant to us th a n to w in a hundred battles, because upon the Jwill of such a m an several millions of o th er people depend. I cannot forgive th e Dutch and the English for their carelessness in this m atter.” 1 Not confining himself to th e expression of th e regret alone Leibniz tried to persuade his friends in England and the N etherlands to in­ fluence the governm ents of th e ir countries and to arouse some interest and support of these governm ents to his plans of Christianization of Chi­ n a w ith help from th e czar of Russia, as w ell as of dissem ination of 1 V. I. G erie, S b o rn ik p is e m i m e m o r ia lo v L e ib n itsa , o tn o s y a sh c h ik h s y a k R o s-

L eib n iz and Russia 197

European cultu re and education w ithin th e boundaries of th a t ex ten ­ sive country. In a le tte r to the above-m entioned Morel, of May 4-14, 1698,

Leibniz is w riting as follows: “I w rote to Mr. Witsen, m ayor of Am­ sterdam , an d to Mr. B em et, m ayor of Salisbury, in order to convince them th a t the visit of th e czar and his plans m ight be used for m uch more significant aims th an a benefit of some p riv ate persons and th a t owing to his m ediation some very useful, also for religion, relations w ith China m ight be established.” 2 M oreover Leibniz had m ade u p a n extensive note in w hich he set fo rth th e program m e an d th e w ays how to im plant in Russia the European culture and education. In th e note w hich was probably addressed to P ete r I, first of all he recommends to draw up a general project w hich w ould com prise particulars of a num ber of th e m ost fundam ental m eans. He especially advises to or­ ganize a central institution for arts and sciences, to bring th e m ost em i­ nen t and th e most experienced scientists from abroad, to set up libraries,

book-storesi, printing offices, collections of rare ftems, botanical and zoological gardens, store rooms w ith a v ariety of m aterials, and w ork­ shops of any kind. Recommending to send abroad Russian young m en

h e a t the sam e tim e proposes to open schools of low er and higher grades for studies of arfts an d sciences as w ell as of crafts of an y sort. He goes on planning to compile for them instructions an d m anuals and to pro­ vide them w ith various educational equipm ent. Sim ultaneously Leibniz also believes i t to be necessary ’to get to know thoroughly th e country an d th e peoples th a t live there. In this connection he urges to draw maps, to explore flora, fauna, an d resources of th e country, to study languages spoken by p articu lar nations as w ell as th e ir customs and trades. In o rd er to achieve a n exact geographical description of th e country he w as suggesting a program m e of taking pictures of th e land and of observations of th e m agnetic needle that; w ould help in th e deter­ m ination of latitudes and longitudes of geographic places. U nder such a program m e the exploration of th e n o rth east coast of A sia should help to elucidate the problem th a t was absorbing th e European scientists’ m inds—th a t of the existence of strait betw een Asia and America.

This note has been found among th e rough copies and drafts of Leibniz an d it could not have been ascertained y et w h eth er it has ever reached P e te r I, according to the address it bears, since th e scientist had n o t succeeded in m eeting th e czar w hen the la tte r travelled for the first time to the West. Nevertheless for m any years th a t followed th e first sojourn abroad of th e czar and before his n e x t visit in 1711 Leibniz k e p t contem plating his own am bitious plans and believing th a t Russia’s czar is indeed the great m an th a t he was looking for for such a long time, th e ono who is able to m ake those plans to come true.

However w hen the N orthern W ar broke out and it became evident th a t th e czar intended to conquer th e Baltic coaSt, Leibniz began to fear th a t the growing pow er of Russia could tu rn against the enlight­ ened world. Moreover, as an adherent to protestantism , in which he saw a pow erful tool of progress, Leibniz was all for Sweden, th e th en chief support for th a t religion. In the le tte r w ritten in 1701 to a Swedish friend of th e nam e S torren Leibniz pointed o u t th at “Muscovites w ill pay for th e ir folly.” On his ow n part, he w ent on, “he said his desire was th a t th e rule of the young king of Sweden would extend over Moscow itself an d fu rth er on up to th e A m ur riv er th a t n atu rally separates th e Em pire of Russia from th e Empire of China.” 3 However, th e enthusiasm aroused by th e glorious victories of Charles XII a t th e beginning of th e N orthern W ar was not a long-lasting one. The renow ned Russian his­ torian, V. I. Gerie, whose volum inous works devoted to th e stu d y on the life and accomplishments of the great G erm an scientist are w ell rec­ ognized abroad, has pointed out in this connection: “For a short m om ent only did Leibniz let him self to be caried away by the chivalry of the young A lexander II of Sweden who w ith his victorious arms would open the access to the F ar East for the European civilization. The personality of Charles XII m ust have appeared to him th e m ore attractive as the kings of Sweden w ere always known to protect protestantism and relig­ ious freedom , and th e trium phs of Charles XII w ould strengthen th e po­ sition of protestantism in Europe forever. But Leibniz had soon become disappointed as to th e results he expected from Charles’s trium ph. While he was standing in fro n t of Charles XII in A lthom stedt “w ithout know­ ing w h at to tell him ” he found o u t th a t th e Swedish victories would not serve th e cause of civilization. He realized th a t th e European edu­ cation w ould p en etrate eastwards only w hen Russia herself w ould be­ come its cen tre of propagation, an d since then he set all hopes on P e te r I. As far as it goes—adds V. I. Gerie—Leibniz can be hold up as a model to th e people from th e W est; for since Leibniz’s times till now people from the West are more afraid of th e growing pow er of Russia than they are interested in the achievem ents in developing civilization there, closely connected as th ey are w ith the vital interests of m a n k i n d . 4

Having finally found o ut th a t nobody b u t P eter I would be able to m aterialize his ambitions of Christianization and civilization of nations of th e East, Leibniz began to look even m ore persistently for people who would provide him some m ore detailed inform ation about Muscovy, and to hand in to the czar his projects and proposals. When he hand learnt th a t one of his friends, baron von Guessen w ent into th e R ussian service a n d was about to leave for Moscow, in his letter of November 5, 1703,

3 Ib id ., p. 49.

* V. X. G erie, O tn o sh e n iy a L e ib n itsa k R o ssi i Petrovnu V e lik o m u p o n e iz d a n -

Leibniz and Russia 1 9 9 he asked the baron to convey him m ore detailed inform ation about Mos­ cow and the plans of the czar. He also asked his frien d to have him sent a translation of the Lord’s P ray er into th e languages spoken by th e num erous nations u nd er th e ru le of th e czar. Guessen, w ho was a tu to r of th e young Tsarevich Alexis, had done his best to fulfill Leibniz’s request bu t as soon as he was transferred to V ienna (in 1705) as a R us­ sian diplomatic officer he lost direct contact w ith th e Russian govern­ m e n t circles. In this connection Leibniz w as forced to find o u t another correspondent. In 1707 one of some old acquaintances of Leibniz, baron von U rbich was appointed extraordinary R ussian envoy in Vienna. The scientist w as extrem ely happy w ith th a t nom ination as w ith th e help of Urbich he hoped to form a connection w ith th e R ussian co u rt a n d to g et a chance to hand to th e czar his project of educational developm ent in Russia. In the le tte r bearing th e date of Ja n u ary 3, 1708, discussing the problem of possible ways of peace-m aking betw een Russia and Sweden, Leibniz w rites: “The reason w hy I feel obliged to long for peace is the desire th a t th e czar m ay fulfill his beautiful and heroic plan to civilize his vast em pire and to im plant th ere sciences, arts, and good m anners. A nd as I p u t the general w ellfare of m ankind (i.e. also t)he G lory of God) before an y private affairs I do w ish th a t this desire w ould come true, for this would m ean a n im mediate im provem ent of th e larger p a rt of our globe and of almost all th e N orthern East of our Continent. This w ould also result in a close union of Europe w ith China, th e co un try w hich can be regarded in a w ay an Eastern Europe. A ctually I should not be able to ennum erate all th e benefits th a t w ould be accomplished as I can see it. That is w hy so frequently was I eager to m eet th e czar in person o r else by means of other people w ith the help of which th e czar realizes his grand work; I could find out and suggest an infinite num ber of means... There are plenty of interesting and very useful projects which h e could realize m ore easily than any other ru ler, and th e m ore so be­ cause the country w hich he rules in is a virgin land indeed.” 5

In his answ er von Urbich inform ed Leibniz th a t he had sent to the czar some excerpts from his le tter dealing w ith th e problem of in­ troducing education in Russia. He w rites there: “Please do not immagine th a t the W ar has weakened th e praisew orthy intentions of His Im perial o r Czarist Highness to make sciences to flourish m ore in his country, b u t ju st the opposite. Be kind enough to send m e some appropriate m en a n d also your projects, and even if you would like to come to Russia yourself you are welcome to do so. I can assure you of a w arm reception th ere regardless if you rem ain there longer or come ju st to give some o f your indications.” 6

In November of 1708 Leibniz came to Vienna w here he was able to 5 Ibid., p. 75f.

ta lk to Urbich about his ow n plans. As a resu lt of these meetings the scientist presented a note on th e introduction of sciences in Russia, w hich yon Urbich prom ised to convey to th e czar, a fte r having it translated in­ to Dutch. In th e preface of th e note the scientist speaks about th e prob­ lem of essential goal of education and significance of it and points out a superiority of Russia over o th er countries in this respect th a t she is, so to speak, a n untouched fallow, in w hich pure, weedless seeds can be sown; in other words th a t in Russia th ere could be developed a civiliza­ tion deprived of th e vices th a t it has acquired in the process of its d e- velopement in W estern Europe. He believes th a t th e p lan of th e intro­ duction of sciences into Russia should be devised in such a w ay as to ensure a successful and a hormonious w ay of th e ir development. He warns, however, th a t this question can be considered only in theory, and the realization of his ideas requires m ore detailed study of th e con­ ditions and available means in this country as well as th a t of th e people w ho w ill be p u t in charge of his task. F u rth e r th e scientist rem arks th a t in order to tran sp lan t arts and sciences to th a t co untry an d to ensure th e ir proper developm ent th e most experienced scientists ought to be brought along and a num ber of organizations and establishm ents ought to be set up like: libraries, museums, zoological and botanical gardens, Observatories, and laboratories. Then he dwells upon libraries and sup­ plem enting th e ir collections of books from various fields, and emphasises the necessity to organize th e astronom ical observatories whose obser­ vations provide th e basis for geography and navigation. He w arm ly recom mends to establish a close co-operation of researches in chemical laboratories w ith the works conducted in apothecaries, and medical serv­ ice, in mining, m int, and assay offices, in glass and iron works, and in th e artillery command. In the end of th e note h e suggests to establish a governing body th a t would control the educational organizations of higher and low er grade, editing offices, prin ting offices censorship, as w ell as tradesm en and craftsm en along w ith th e ir goods and products.

In addition to th e problem of introducing the W estern European edu­ cation in Russia Leibniz attem pted to propose to th e czar through baron von Urbich th e idea of unification of Eastern and W estern churches, or at least th a t of organization of the oecumenical council th a t would settle th e secular hostility betw een both churches, and would introduce m ore tolerance and m utu al understanding betw een different Christian be­ lieves.

M eanwhile the splendid victory of the Russians at Poltava had aroused in Leibniz some hopes for a close end of the w ar and approach­ ing m om ents w hen his plans of the propagation of th e W estern Euro­ pean education in Russia would sta rt gaining m om entum . In his le tte r of Sem ptem ber 2, 1707, w here he expressed these hopes to baron von Urbich, Leibniz makes him know also th e wish of taking over the presi­

Leibniz and Russia 201 dency of this scientific governing body o r academy th a t w ould supervise education in Russia. “The honour of being one of the oldest m em bers of all academies [i. e. th e Royal Society of London, Academie des Scien­ ces, an d Berlin Academy] and the president of the la tte r”—he w rites—

“let alone the most significant discoveries acribed to me, it justifiably m akes me to believe th a t this is I w ho w ill be charged w ith th e leader­ ship of this great undertaking, and I give p rio rity to it above any o th er am bitions.” 7

However the times did not particu larly favour m aking projects. De­ feated and crushed as the Swedish arm y w as in th e Poltava battle, Sweden itself, disposing of an excellent fleet an d backed b y h er allies, was still a threatening enem y of Russia th a t d id no t th in k of a peace treaty. The measures th a t had to be taken because of the w ar an d o th er u rgent affairs had m ade P eter I to p u t off realization of a great m any projects planned. In Septem ber of 1710 a fte r his arriv al to V ienna back from Moscow, von Urbich was w riting to Leibniz: “I can say th a t d u r­ ing m y sojourn in Moscow I was doing m y best for your sake and fo r th e sake of your project w hich has been accepted th ere.” 8 According to his words von Urbich had spoken even of a universal oecumenicaL m eeting and of the plan of unification of th e churches, suggested by Leibniz. But in Moscow, though the plans w ere welcomed, it was said th a t first peace w ould have to come.

Not having received for years any response from the Russian govern­ m en t to his projects and proposals and w ithout any definite confirm a­ tion of num erous assurances of von U rbich th a t th e projects had u n ­ doubtedly been delivered to and approved b y th e czar, th e scientist de­ cided to seek oth er ways th a t would open to him and to his plans a di­ rect access to the monarch. And shortly an opportunity did actually arise. F or he found o u t th a t P eter I, w ho stayed in Karlsbad, was going to Torgau to tak e p a rt in th e w edding celebrations on th e m arriage of his son Alexis w ith a grand-daughter of prince W olfenbuettel, Sophia C har­ lotte. Knowing th a t the em inent prince shows him a high esteem Leibniz tu rn ed to this aristocrat w ith th e request th a t h e should hand his pro ­ jects and proposals to th e czar an d obtain a n audience for him. D uring th e visit in Torgau, w here he came w ith th e tra in of prince W olfen­ buettel, Leibniz m ade up some notes relevant to th e plans and proposals he sett forth before. In one of those notes he dwells upon th e m easures he considers necessary for th e realization of his projects, and in th e other—he expounds the plans of th e organization of the scientific council and its tasks which would include: organization of education, carrying out physical, astronom ical and m agnetic observations, compiling a set of m ajor inventions developed in particular countries so as to make a p ra c

-7 I b id ., p. 121. 8 Ib id . p. il48.

tical use of them in Russia. Finally, in his third, note addressed directly to th e czar himself, th e scientist appeals to th e sovereign to take a num ­ ber of measures, despite th e burdens and difficulties arising in the w ar times, which could be realized sim ply by way of edicts, th u s w ithout any expenditures of money. He proposes ito begin w ith the establishm ent of a scientific council w ith himself in its staff. In th e end Leibniz asks the czar for an audience so th a t he could m ake him know in person some of th e m ajor points of his suggestions. A pparently, as it follows from a note found am ong his rough copies, (the scientist was going to tell th e czar of th e calculating m achine invented b y him to th e solution of arith ­ m etical problems, then to draw th e czar’s attention to th e im portance of carrying ou t astronom ical observations from Finland up to the fron­ tiers w ith China, to propose some means to improve navigation or navi­ gability on th e rivers, and to show the monarch a projectile w ith th e help of which and w ithout resort to gunpow der it was possible to throw 2 pound w eights 90 steps aw ay over 400 tim es in an hour.

Prince A nthon von Urlich h a d fulfilled th e w ish of Leibniz and ob­ tained an audience for him w ith the czar. Judging from some inform a­ tion taken a t random from th e correspondence of th e scientist, th e czar and his confidants, and particu larly Y. V. Bruess, showed a great inter­ est in those proposals. Leibniz was promised to receive neccessary lin­ guistic m aterials and th e m agnetic observations w ere to be initiated, the organization of w hich w ere to be based on suitable instructions provided by Leibniz to Bruess.

In Ja n u ary of 1712, Leibniz tu rn s to P eter I again w ith a long letter announcing there th e news of having b u ilt for him a magnetic globe w ith deviations of the m agnetic needle m arked on it. The globe could be used for 10 years for th e determ ination of geographical longitude (east or west).

He appeals again there for th e czar to set about, at once and in spite of h ard w ar times, developing education and instruction in th e coun­ try . Leibniz assures th a t if the czar w ould only like, h e is ready to ■Submit his suggestions on how to sta rt this undertaking an d how to form quickly and a t a m inim um cost th a t w hich is th e most essential for th e purpose. “I w ill consider it as a greatest honour, satisfaction and pride” -—he w rites— “if I am able to serve to Y our M ajesty in th e cause so laudable and useful, for I do no t belong to those w ho are on th e side of their fatherland or of any other nation. The general w elfare of m an­ kind is m y concern ... and it is a greater pleasure for m e to contribute to a m ajor benefit of Russians th a n to a m inor interest of Germans or of o th e r Europeans, even if I w ere greatly honoured by them and enjoyed

w ealth and quietness w ithout being able to be useful to others.” 9 * Ibid., p. 208.

L eib n iz and Russia 203 In. 1712 Leibniz had m ade up and subm itted to P ete r I “A Provisio­ nal R eport (Vorläufiger Bericht) on th e Origin of Slavic Peoples”, w here h e m ade an erroneous statem ent th a t th e Huns w ere of Slavic origin. In th e sum m er of 1712 P eter I revisited Germany. Leibniz took an op­

p o rtu n ity and through his old friend Schleinitz he sen t to th e czar one m ore note on th e introduction of sciences in Russia before th e w ar ends, along w ith a special device w ith the help of w hich one could easi­ ly draw a m ap of any fortress.

About th a t tim e J. V. Bruess, who sojourned together w ith th e czar a t Greifswald, received an extensive m em orial on languages of th e peo- tples of th e Russian Empire and on m agnetic needle deviations. In th e ^irst p a rt of th e memorial, repeating to some ex te n t th e 'contents of £he note subm itted to th e czar, (the scientist has detailed his p o in t of view on ethnography. The second p art of it emphasizes a p articu lar sig­ nificance of th e m agnetic needle in its use for th e determ ination of la t­ itude on sea. “When on lan d ”—he says— “th e latitu d e can be easily found on the basis of eclipses of th e moon o r observations of th e Ju p i­

te r’s satellites, on sea these w ays prove to be inadequate, as th e eclipses o f th e moon often fail to occur ju st w hen th ey a re needed, and observa­

tions of th e Ju p ite r’s satellites w ith optical instrum ents aboard is ex­ trem ely inconvenient.” Earlier th e geographical lattitu d e was determ ined from the ship’s movement, b u t this approach is very uncertain. Then, When a pendulum clock has been invented, it cam e into use on ships to th e advantage. But because of motions of th e ship th e clocks used to stop th u s losing th eir precision. In th e m eantim e a long tim e ago it occurred to people th a t the deviations of th e magnetic needle from a m eridian, varying over th e earth ’s places, could be advantageously used. It was readily realized th at these variations are due to some irreg u lar m agnet- tic veins in the earth i’s crust b u t la te r it was found out th a t these chan­ ges a re caused by a regularity, gradually an d not all of a sudden as they

occur, w hich can be seen from th e logbooks of G reat Voyages m ade by th e Dutch, th e English and th e French. “This m ade m e th in k ”—Leibniz w rites— “th a t the observations of deviations of th e m agnetic needle m ay tem porarily supersede another, more precise w ay of th e determ ination o f th e geographic longitude, provided these w ere repeated every 10-12 years.” By com paring th e results of the observations mariced on th e m agnetic globe surface it would be possible to establish th e rules govern­ ing such deviations. Subsequently, in pointing o u t th a t no obsevations o f th e m agnetic deviation w ithin th e boundaries of th e immense czar’s land are perform ed, Leibniz advises him to set up stations for such observations in m any places like: St. Petersburg, Moscow, Riga, Revel (Tallinn), Pskov, Arkhangelsk, Kiev, Voronezh, Kazan, A strakhan, To­ bolsk, then in the m outh of th e Ob and Lena rivers, and in several other spots. The longitude and latitude of each of these spots would have to

be previously determ ined by th e know n methods. In the end h e considers th e question of w hether o r not Asia and America are divided by a strait. “U nder th e ru le of the czar”—he notes— “th ere is a large land belt reach­ ing far n orth tow ards the unknow n ‘Ice Cape’. And it is w orthw ile to ascertain w hether th is cape does really exist and represents th e end of th at land belt.” Leibniz suggests to organize in sum m er tim e some ex­ peditions composed of the natives to those areas w hich should proceed by land up to th e Ice Cape o r by sea along either seacoast of the even­ tual strait. An evidence for w hether th e oceans on 'both sides of th e strait a re connected w ith one another could be obtained by w atching sea cur­ rents, kinds of fish and o th er phen o m en a.10

Shortly Leibniz came to know from th e letters he received from Bruess and Schleiniz th a t his notes had been traslated into Russian and handed to the czar together w ith the m athem atical instrum ent for a fast m ap draw ing of an y fortress', and th a t th e czar had approved of it and became interested in his notes as well. Following this news Leibniz w as announced by Bruess th a t th e czar w ould like to see him and asks him to come to Karlsbad, th e place w here he stayed a t th a t time. Setting off to K arlsbad, Leibniz had in his m ind not only th e scientific b u t also some political aims.

The point is th a t th e great scholar Leibniz, w ho had extensive con­ nections an d m any friends in a num ber of European courts, was alw ays ready to take on all kinds of diplomatic missions th a t some G erm an p rin ­

ces would ask him to assume. And also w ith his active p art a defence alliance w ith the elector of H annover v ery beneficial for Russia w as concluded in 1711. Now he was going to P eter I w ith a secret mission from prince A nthon Urbich von W olffenbuettel, who took on the role of m ediator in establishing friendly relations and a close alliance 'between Russia and Austria. And although th e noncom mitting answ er th a t he received as a result of his diplomatic endeavours to th e proposal of A nthon Urbich could n o t satisfy Leibniz, his achievem ents in an o th er field w ere completely gratifying. Leibniz was engaged for th e R ussian service as a legal adviser w ith an annual income of a thousand thalers. In a decree prom ulgated on this occasion it was stated th a t the czar js going to take advantage of his services and his erudition in ord er to bring a rts an d sciences in th e R ussian S tate to a higher development. A t the same tim e Leibniz was asked to subm it his ideas and projects con­ nected w ith judicature and legislature in Russia. His sallary was d u e since 1711 on, and in K arlsbad he was paid 500 ducats for th e p ast year of 1711. The czar w anted Leibniz to accompany him as far as Teplitz and thence on to Dresden. Before he left from K arlsbad th e scientist had presented a list of books and m aterials he needed for his fu tu re w ork.

Leibniz and Russia 205 W ith th e same request he tu rn ed also to the m etropolitan of Ryazan, S tefan Yavorskii, to a lecturer of m athem atics Favorson of the School of Navigation, and to th e am bassador of Russia in Dresden, Golovkin. In D resden Leibniz took his leave of the czar and set o ut fo r Vienna. There h e tried to obtain from th e Russian governm ent a form al diplomatic nom ination. In th e le tte r to P e te r I of October 6 he gave a h in t th a t he m ay be useful to th e czar as he is in favour w ith the Em peror Charles XII. He also addressed a le tter to vice-chacellor Shafirov w ith the hope to achieve his much desired end. However all attem pts in this field failed chiefly owing to, according to Leibniz, th e relu ctan t and/or un fa­

vourable czar’s am bassador in Vienna, Matveev, who m ade th e scientist impossible to show his eventual services to the Russian governm ent and did not, as would do Urbich, m ake use of his influence in th e V ien­ nese court.

In the sum m er of 1716 Leibniz for th e last tim e m et P eter I. He spen t a week w ith th e czar in P yrm ont an d tw o days in H arrenhausen. 'In his letters dating from those times th e scholar speaks w ith adm i­ ratio n about th e czar’s personality. “I feel surprised not only w ith how good the sovereign is bu t also w ith his knowledge and his sound opin­ ions,” Leibniz was w riting to senator W idau. “The closer I get to know th e czar’s character”—he revealed to B ernoulli—“the m ore I adore this m a n ”. “I cannot stop adm iring”—he w rote in still an oth er—“th e initia­ tiv e and wisdom of this g reat ruler. He is constantly surrounded by ex­ perienced men whom he gathered himself, and w hen he talks w ith them th ey feel very amazed.” 11 A pparently in P yrm ont b e tte r th a n before ,Leibniz came to know P eter I and found o u t th a t th e m onarch does really love arts and sciences and shows interests for mechanics, geo­ graphy, and astronom y, b u t navigation and everything related to it is of his m ain concern.

Seemingly during th eir personal contacts at th a t tim e th e czar m ust have m anifested a particular interest in th e problem w h eth er or n o t Asia <and America a re unseparated, since Leibniz has decidedly assured th a t this problem w ith certainty will be solved by the czar. W hen in P y r­ m ont Leibniz had presented to the czar several notes in w hich he m ore detailed the suggestions and proposals set fo rth m any years ago.

In one of these notes he specifies again the means th e use of w hich w ould enable th e czar to contribute to th e development of sciences and education in th e czar’s country. Among these means w ould be: collect­ ing linguistic m aterials, propagation of C hristianity, system atic obser­ vations of m agnetic deviation, developm ent of astronomy, geography, n a t­ u ral sciences, and all the rem aining sciences, arts, and craftm anships. In th e second, the most extensive note of all th a t he subm itted to the czar Leibniz explains a detailed plan of organization of th e education.

There a re th ree stages th a t refer to this problem as outlined in the note, n am e ly :

1) teaching of th e existing sciences,

2) acquisition of some instruction aids required, 3) fu rth e r developm ent of these sciences.

The num ber of teaching aids comprises, like outlined in his earlier notes: libraries, museums, botanical and zoological gardens, observato­ ries, anatom ical room, etc. He divides all educational establishments in­ to three groups: schools for children, universities for adolescents, and academies for adults, which could carry on independent scientific re­ searches. In the following p a rt of th e note the scientist treats at some length the organization of particu lar school types and th e problem of

w hich subjects a re to be tau g h t in any type.

On changing th e subject to th e developm ent of sciences Leibniz points o u t th e necessity of collecting all th a t is already know n in th e first place; an d the study of unknow n sciences in th e second one. He also urges to compile encyclopaedic dictionaries, “system s”, and manuals. By th e term “system ” he refers to a complete sum m ary of every p artic­ ular science, in other words to a collection of all th a t has been said on given science in books. In conclusion he recommends to collect, p u t down, and systemize all usefull information, and particularly th a t on medicinal herbs, possessed by peasants, craftsm en, tradesm en, hunters, ifishermen, as w ell as by various nations inhabiting Russia and th e fron­ tie r countries.

Finally, one m ore note refers to the same period, although some in­ vestigators including V. I. G erie question the time of its being w ritten an d the authorship of Leibniz itself. This has reference to th e note on the creation of nine adm inistrative bodies (colleges) for the highest gov­ ernm ent authorities. A fter having m entioned one by one the au th o r gives

a detailed description of one particu lar college, nam ely the scientific one.

Shortly after his retu rn from P yrm ont to Hannover the health of (Leibniz began to grow worse and, a t about 10 o’clock a t night, on th e /14th of November of 1716 he died.

For over 20 years the em inent scholar Leibniz kept on dream ing of the beautiful idea of introduction and developm ent of th e W estern Eu­ ropean education in this huge country of Russia’s czar. In his numerous letters, proposals and projects he tried to convince P eter I th a t it was necessary to sta rt im m ediately the realization of th a t great cause and to take a t least partly some of th e measures he had proposed. B ut th e long-lasting and bloody w ar against Sweden, a hard and u n ­ successful campaign against the Turits a t th e P ru t river, and some other

u rgent affairs of the state did not allow the czar to devote enough tim e to the proposals and suggestions which w ere made by Leibniz. Nev­

Leibniz and Russia 2 0 7 ertheless th e acquaintance of th e czar w ith Leibniz and the ideas con­ veyed to him by th e em inent scholar either in personal conversations or in th e projects subm itted had undoubtedly b o rne influence on such steps ta k en by th e m onarch as th e expeditions of th e geodet Evreinov w ith Luzhin to explore K am chatka Peninsula and the K uril Islands, and th a t of professor D. G. M esserschmidt to Siberia. O r th e organization in 1720 of taking of th e topographical-carthographic pictures of th e land and th e draw ing of the m ap of th e Russian Empire. F urther, according to the edict of 23rd of December, 1724, th e organization of th e first ex­ pedition to Kam chatka w ith th e task of solving th e question w h eth er o r not Asia and America form a n integral p a rt—finally in 1725, th e foun­ dation of th e St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, as w ell as m any o th er undertakings of this kind.

B ut the highest m erit of the illustrous G erm an scientist has been th e fact of am azing intuition w ith w hich he was able to foresee th a t b rilliant fu tu re th a t was expecting the young Russian S tate and th e im portant p art of th e education transferred from W estern Europe w hich it was to

play in th e process of developm ent and grow th of this state.

RECORDS FROM THE U .S.S.R . A C A D E M Y O F SC IEN C ES A R C H IV E S R E L A T IN G TO THE PO ST H U M O U S S T U D IE S ON L E IB N IZ ’S A C T IV IT IE S IN R U S S IA

A N D T O TH E E D ITIO N O F H IS W O R KS

It is k n o w n th a t o n e o f th e fir st a ca d em icia n s o f th e St. P etersb u rg A c a d e m y , G ottlieb S ieg fried B eier, u sed to corresp on d w ith L eibniz. In th e B e ie r ’s corresp on d ­ en ce, k ep t i n th e A rch iv es o f th e A ca d em y o f S c ie n c e s o f U SSR , th ere is h is le tte r to L eib n iz fro m th e end o f 1716 (th e le tte r m a y n o t h a v e b een se n t p erh ap s b eca u se o f L eib n iz’s d eath ).

C ristian G oldbach, w h o la te r b eca m e a lso a m em b er o f th e St. P etersb u rg A cad em y, in J a n u ary o f 1717 s e n t to B eier h is v e r se com p osed in e le g ia c disitich in L atin to com m em orate L eib n iz. T h e v e r se w a s a lso fou n d am on g B e ie r ’s le tte r s (the A r c h iv e s o f th e A ca d em y o f S cien ces o f U .S.S.R ., v o l. 784, op. 2, no. 1, v. 28-30, 36).

T h e n a m e o f L eib n iz w a s resou n d in g du rin g th e fir st se ssio n s o f th e S t. P e ­ tersb u rg A ca d em y C onference. On th e 4th o f D ecem ber, 1725i, N icolas B ern o u lli p ronounced a le ctu re d ev o ted to th e p roof o f t h e L eib n iz th eo rem o f fo r c e m e a su re­ m ents. On th e 25th o f D ecem ber, in th e sa m e year, p ro fesso r M artini d eliv ered a lectu re o n th e Leibnizdan p rin cip le o f n o n -m a te r ia l su b sta n ces (de p r m c ip ii in -

d isc e rn ib iliu m ) (P rotocols o f th e sessio n s o f th e Im p e ria l A c a d e m y o f S c ie n c e s o f th e p e rio d 1725-1808, vol. I, S t. P etersb u rg, 1897, p. 3).

T h e w o r k s le ft b y Leibniiz an d h is id ea s com prised th e r e in occu p y m u ch o f th e 1st v o lu m e o f “T he C om m en taries o f th e St. P etersb u rg A ca d em y o f S cien ces"

(C o m m e n ta rii A c a d e m ia e S c ie n ta ru m I m p e ria lis P e tro p o lita n a e , v o l. I, A d a n n u m

1726, P etrop oli, 1728). T h e p ap ers ed ited in th a t v o lu m e are 'w ritten b y a n u m b er of St. P etersb u rg acad em ician s, n a m e ly by: Y a k o v G erm an, “On M easuring F orces in B o d ies” (De m e n s u ry v ir iu m co rp o ru m ), G eorg B ern h ard Biihilfinger, “O n M e­ ch an ical D em o n stra tio n s o f F orces In h eren t in B o d ies in M otion and o n th e M eas­ urem ents o f T h e se F orces” (De v ir ib u s co rp o ri m o t in s itis e t illa r u m m

ensura-d e m o n s tra tio n e s m ech a n ica e), a n ensura-d b y a fo reig n m em b er o f th e A caensura-dem y, C hristian

W olff, “P rin cip les o f D y n a m ics” (P rin c ip ia d in a m ica ). A ll th e s e pap ers d ea l w ith th e p ro b lem o f m ea su rin g th e “liv in g fo r c e s”, a co n cep t d ev elo p ed by L eib n iz for th e kineti-c en ergy. A c tiv e ly p articip atin g in th e p o le m ic s o n th is p ro b lem th a t had a risen b etw een th e a d v o ca tes o f L eib n iz on th e o n e h a n d , a n d th o se o f D e s­ ca rtes on th e other, th e St. P etersb u rg au th ors e n tir e ly sh a r e L eib n iz’s p o in t o f v ie w i.e., th a t th e “liv in g fo r c e s” are p rop ortion al to th e p rod u cts o f m a sses o f th e b od ies and th e ir sq u a red v elo cities) and co n firm i t w ith n e w argum ents.

It is k n o w n th a t la te r th e id e a s d ev elo p ed by L eib n iz a n d W olff o n th e stru c­ tu re o f m a tter and on th e properties o f m o tio n w e r e fre q u e n tly su b ject o f c o n ­ tro v ersy in th e St. P etersb u rg A cad em y, w h e r e th e y w e r e criticized in th e w o rk s o f su c h sch olars a s L eonard E iler, and M ik h a il V a ssilev ich Lom onosov.

In th e secon d h a lf o f th e 19th cen tu ry th e P etersb u rg a cad em ician s b egan to w o rk sy ste m a tic a lly on th e m a teria ls co n cern in g th e con tacts o f L eib n iz and P e ­ ter I and th e p ro b lem o f R u ssian culture. T h e aca d em icia n A. A. K u n ik in th e b o o k B rie fe v o n C h ristia n Wo l f f (1860) p u b lish ed a le t te r th a t L eibniz w r o te to A resk in . In 1863 th e aca d em icia n A. A. S ch iffn er h a s ed ited in B u lle tin d e l ’A c a ­

d é m ie , v ol. IV, 310-321, th e letter o f L eib n iz w r itte n to baron G. G uessen. S h o rtly

a m en tio n o f th is letter ap p eared in A rm a ly A k a d e m ii N a u k , v ol. IV, St. P e te r s­ burg, 1864, p. 81. In th e sa m e v o lu m e (pp. 1-10) th e r e i s a n a r tic le b y th e a ca d ­ em ic ia n P. P. P ek a rsk ii “C orresp on d en ce o f L eib n iz w ith N um erous P e o p le R e­

la tin g to th e A rch aism s and D ia lects o f S la v is L a n g u a g es”.

In 1869, th e M o sco w U n iv e r sity p ro fesso r, V . I. G erie, proposed to th e S t. P etersb u rg A cad em y o f S cien ces th e e d itio n o f th e letters and m a teria ls o f L eib n iz, 'Which refer to th e p rob lem o f R u ssia and P e te r I. P a r t o f th e s e m a ­ teria ls w a s in R u ssia and p a rt w a s fou n d b y p ro fesso r G erie in H an n over w h e r e h e stu d ied th e b io g ra p h y o f Ledibniz. T h e A ca d em y h as su m m on ed a C om m ission com p osed o f th e m em b ers o f th e A ca d em y N. G. U stia lo v , A . A. K unik, and A. A . Sahiffiner, w h ic h , a fe r h a v in g m a d e a scru p u lou s stu d y o f th e m a te r ia l p re­ se n te d b y p ro fesso r G erie, has decid ed to p u b lish it. T h e F a cu lty o f H isto ry and P h ilo so p h y d ecid ed to p u b lish th e book b y G erie, on th e 30th o f S ep tem b er 1809 (400 co p ies, wiith a p r e fa c e in an d n o te s in R ussian , a n d 300 co p ies in G erm an; th e r ele v a n t corresp on d en ce cf. v o l. II, op. 1, 11869, n o 13). T he b ook appeared in 1873.

In 1910-1915 tw o w o r k s w e r e p resen ted to th e A ca d em y in a c o m p etitio n to th e A k h m a to v A w ard , n a m e ly L e ib n iz a n d S p in o za b y W. A . B e la e v (St. P ete r s­ b u rg 1914) a n d L e ib n iz a n d H is T ea ch in g s o f M an ’s Soul, b y W. S. S ereb ren n ik ov

(T he R ecord s O ffice, A ca d em y o f S cien ces o f th e U.S.S.R., vol. II, op. 1910, N o. 38, v . 67-77, vol. II, op. 19113, N o. 29).

*

T r a n sla tio n s o f L eib n iz’s w o r k s th a t appeared in p re-rev o lu tio n a r y R ussia:

1. “T e o d ic e a ”, V era i R o zu m , 1887-1892.

2. “S e le c te d P h ilo so p h ica l W orks”, P ro c e e d in g s o f th e M o sco w P sych o lo g ica l S o c ie ty , vol. 4, 1908.

3. “M on ad ologie”, V e ra i R o zu m , No. 20, 1892.

4. “R ea so n a b le P r in c ip le s o f N atu re a n d H a p p in ess”, V era i R ozu m , N o. 22,

1892.

5. “N e w ex p e r ie n c e o f H um an R eason ”, V e ra i R o zu m , 1892-1893.

B esid es, t ill 1900 m ore th a n 10 variou s a r tic le s h a v e b een p u b lish ed on L e ib n iz in th e fo llo w in g jou rn als: S o v re m e n n ik , R u ssk ii V e stn ik , Z h u rn a l M in is te r s tv a N a -

ro d n o g o P ro sv e sh c h e n iy a , V e ra i R o zu m , an d so m e oth ers. T h e listin g s o f th e

title s o f th e s e articles ca n b e fou n d in th e records o f th e a cad em ician A. S. L ap - p o -D a n ile v sk ii, v ol. 113, op. I, v. 24-25.