Georgian and European Enlightenment

Abstract

All scientists, who research The Georgian Enlightenment are inte­rested for the similarities and the differences of the Georgian and the European Enlightenment.

The Late Revival was the transition period of the West Euro­pean culture. It was the middle period of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Thus, this was the main reason of diversity of many styles of art and lite­rature. Some of them – the Baroque and the Classicism were the rep­resentations of the Late Revival and the other part was the result of the new epoch – The Enlightenment.

The Georgian literature was developed side by side to Eastern lite­rature and European literature. For the development of the Georgian lite­rature was important the Eastern literature as well as the European litera­ture, but in the different epochs the influence was larger or smaller.

According to this the Georgian literature of XVI-XVIII ages, which is named by Korneli Kekelidze as the Georgian Revival, was influenced by Eastern literature, but the Christianity was the main reason of the strong connection with Western and European lite­ra­ture and the representation of it was the Georgian Baroque (M. Nach­­khebia), and the Georgian Enlightenment (R. Baramidze, I. Ratiani).

The central figure of the Georgian Enlightenment was David Gura­mishvili. He was a great representative of the Georgian Enligh­tenment as well as Georgian kings – Vakhtang the VI, Teimuraz the first, Archil – who were great poets too.

The main quality of the literature of the European and the Georgian Enlightenment is democratization of literature and poetry. It should be no­ted that Davit Guramishvili was very closely connec­ted with democra­tization of Georgian poetry. David Guramishvili has widened and deepened the national-popular traditions of Geor­gian poetry. His poetry expresses folk wisdom, spread as aphorisms in his ,,Davitiani”.

The ideal of the European Enlightenment is the reasonable gentleman who will express himself well in the commonplaces of the day, but will not bore others with his own special learning. The Classicism and The Baroque were well established in Europe. The most important theoretical work of the epoch of Neoclassicism in Europe was the Art of Poetry, published in France in 1647 by Boileau. This theoretical treatise remains one of the most famous works of criticism ever written. As long as the neoclassical doctrines ruled the world of letters, Boileau’s name was supreme. According to Boileau’s theory, truth and beauty are one. The poet uses his reason to discover truth in nature. It is plain that what Boileau means by nature is human nature and that he believes that this is best portrayed in the classics. The advice to study nature ends up by being the advice to study the classics.

The most popular poets and writers of the Georgian Revival, Georgian Baroque, Georgian Classicism and Georgian Enlighten­ment didn’t write theoretical treatises, philosophical doctrines and theoretical letters, but their works and their poetry includes their ideas and philosophical, ethical, cos­mological and sicio-political views. That is why we can talk not only about similarities, but also about differences of Georgian Enlightenment and European Enlightenment.

The main likenesses of the Georgian Enlightenment and the European Enlightenment are the creative methods – these are rationalism and the principle of the historicism, which is developed as the principle of the realism.

The main difference of the Georgian Enlightenment and the European Enlightenment is the attitude to Christianity and the Church. The writers and the poets of the Georgian Enlightenment were not aggressive to Christianity and the Church.