This is my translation-retelling of the famous old Russian story into our modern language.

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THE STORY IS WONDERFUL AND SURPRISING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CITY OF KAZAN WITH A CERTAIN MERCHANT FOMA GRUDTSYNY AND HIS SON SAVA

An extremely curious, captivating narrative, in a sense anticipating Russian romantics and even Gogol. It is assumed that this story was written in the 70s of the 17th century, that is, approximately forty years after the events described. Among other things, it is curious that its unknown author confidently equips his amazing narrative with references to real events, faces and even addresses, which gives the story a special authenticity and persuasiveness.

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In 1606, there lived in the city of Veliky Ustyug a certain merchant, a glorious and very rich man, named Foma Grudtsyn-Usov. Having endured great turmoil and persecution of Christians from the Poles, he left the great city of Ustyug and moved south, to the glorious royal city of Kazan, for the wicked Lithuania did not reach the southern cities.

And that Thomas lived with his wife in the city of Kazan even until the years of the reign of the pious great sovereign Mikhail Feodorovich. That Thomas had an only-begotten son named Savva. It was Thomas's custom to travel down the Volga River on business, sometimes to the Kama Salt, sometimes to Astrakhan, and sometimes across the Caspian Sea to Persia. He also taught this to his son Savva, ordering him to engage in that work without laziness, in order to become the heir to the whole estate after his father's death.

One day Thomas decided to sail to trade in Persia. He equipped his son with boats with ordinary goods and ordered him to sail to Sol Kama, so that he could engage in trade there with all reasoning. And according to custom, having kissed his wife and son, he set off.

He hesitated for several days, and his son, on equipped ships, at the behest of his father, set sail for the Kamskaya Salt. Having reached the Usolsk city of Orel, he landed on the shore, and, on his father's advice, stayed at a hotel with a certain acquaintance. The owner of the hotel and his wife, remembering the favors of Foma Grudtsyn and his love for his son, took care of the young man with all diligence. And he lived in that hotel for a long time.

***
In the same city of Orel lived a tradesman named Bazhen II, who was already old in years and in many cities known for his well-behaved life. He was rich and friendly with Savva's father. Bazhen II found out that the son of Foma Grudtsyn had arrived from Kazan, and said to himself: “His father leads a strong friendship with me, and I, it turns out, offended the young man! I will take him into my house: let him live with me and eat with my family at the same table.

So having decided, he met Savva, wandering his way, and, having called him, he began to say:

Savva, friend! Don't you know that your father has a strong love for me? Why do you offend me, do not want to live in my house? Now listen to my words: come and live with me, and eat with me at the same table. For the love of your father, I will accept you as my own son.

Hearing this, Savva was very happy and bowed low to that glorious husband. Without any hesitation, he left the hotel for the house of Bazhen the Second and, living there in all prosperity, was happy. And Bazhen the Second had a wife, brought by a third marriage, married by a virgin. The devil, who hates the human race, the adversary, seeing that husband’s virtuous life and wanting to cause indignation in his house, stung the young wife for a fornication desire for a young man, and the young man himself was incessantly inclined with flattering words to fall: he knew that female nature easily entraps young minds to fornication . And so Savva, by the flattery of that wife, or rather, by the envy of the devil, was lured and fell into the net of fornication, insatiably committing fornication and being with her all the days in this nasty deed, not remembering Sundays or holidays, but forgetting the fear of God and the hour of death, always in the feces of fornication, like a pig wallowed.

Here comes the feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the eve of the feast of Bazhen the Second took Savva to the holy church for evening singing. After the remission of Vespers, they returned to their house, and after the usual supper each one lay down on his bed, giving thanks to God. Bazhen, a God-loving husband, always fell asleep soundly, while his wife, instigated by the devil, secretly rose from her bed, came to the young man’s bed and, waking up, forced him to a nasty mixture of prodigal. He, although he was young, was wounded by the arrow of the fear of God, he was afraid of the judgment of the Lord, thinking: “How can we do such a bad deed on such a holy day?” And thinking thus, he began to renounce her with an oath, saying:

I do not want to irretrievably destroy my soul and defile my body on such a great holiday.

She, insatiably inflamed by the lust of fornication, relentlessly forced him either with caresses or threats to fulfill her desire, and worked hard, but could not bend his will, for some divine power helped him. The crafty wife saw that she could not subdue the young man to her will, flared up at him like a snake, with fierce fury and with a groan moved away from the bed, thinking of giving him a magic potion to drink. And what she intended, she did.

When they began to call for morning singing, the God-loving husband Bazhen II soon got up from his bed, woke Savva and went to praise God. His cursed wife diligently prepared a magic potion for the young man, like a snake, wanting to pour her poison into him. After the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, Bazhen II and Savva returned home with joy.

Bazhen II ordered to bring some wine for the sake of this holy holiday, not suspecting anything about the crafty intent of his wife. Here they brought wine - she pours a cup and brings her husband to her. He drank and thanked God. She poured herself a drink and drank. And then she poured the prepared poisoned potion to Savva. He, not suspecting anything, drank this fierce potion. And then a fire began to burn in his heart. He, feeling this, thought: "There is a lot of drinking in my father's house, but I have never drunk such a drink as now." And having drunk, he began to grieve in his heart and mourn for that wife. She, like a fierce lioness, looked furiously at him, and seemed to him very attractive. And she began to slander the young man and speak evil words to her husband, and ordered him to be driven out of the house. That God-fearing husband, although he felt sorry for the young man in his heart, was caught by female flattery and ordered him to leave the house, accusing him of some misconduct. The young man with great pity and sadness left home, grieving and complaining about this crafty wife.

And he came back to the hotel where he had lived before. The hostess asks him:

For what fault did you leave the Bazhenov house?

And he replied that, they say, he himself did not want to live with them - he was very hungry. But in his heart he mourned and grieved inconsolably for Bazhenov's wife, and from great sadness the beauty of his face began to fade and his body to melt. The hostel saw the young man greatly grieving and sighing, and wondered what was the reason for this.

There lived in that city a certain sorcerer, who guessed by sorcery what kind of grief would happen to whom, who would live and who would die. The hotel host and his wife, being prudent, secretly invited that sorcerer to find out why the young man was grieving. This sorcerer, having looked into his sorcerer's books, guessed everything and said that there was no other reason for this, except for longing for the wife of Bazhen the Second, with whom he fell into fornication. But the hotel host and his wife, hearing this, did not believe, for they knew Bazhen for a pious and God-fearing husband, and his wife was considered the same. Savva, incessantly grieving and grieving for that accursed wife, day after day became so thin, as if he had suffered a great illness.

***
Once Savva went out for a walk alone outside the city to dispel a little despondency and grief. He walked alone across the field, thinking of nothing else, as soon as his unfortunate separation from that wife, and an evil thought came into his head, and he said to himself: “If some person, or even the devil himself, helped me to return again that woman, so I would have served the devil.” And as if in a fit of madness, having thought such a thought, he went on, but went a little way, when he heard a voice behind him, calling his name. He turned around and saw a young man running fast, well dressed, beckoning him with his hand.

That young man, or rather, the adversary-devil, prowling incessantly, looking for human death, approached Savva, politely bowed to him and said this:

Brother Savvo, why are you running from me like a stranger? I've been waiting for you for a long time, with love, in a kindred way. I have long known that you are from the Grudtsyn-Usov family from the city of Kazan, and if you want to know about me, then I am from the same family, but I live in Veliky Ustyug, and I came here to trade horses. By birth, we are brothers with you, so be my brother and friend, do not leave me: I am ready to help you in everything.

Savva, hearing such words from his imaginary brother, or rather, a demon, was very glad that he managed to find a relative in a distant, unfamiliar side. And he kissed him kindly, and they went together through that field. And the devil says to Savva:

Brother Savvo, what kind of sorrow is in your soul that all your youthful beauty has disappeared?

In response, he came up with some kind of lie, and the demon grinned and said to him:

What are you hiding from me? I know everything about your sadness. What will you give me in return if I help you?

Savva replied:

So tell me what my sadness is, and if you guess correctly, I will believe that you can help me.

Bes says:

You grieve over the wife of Bazhen II, from whom you were separated. But what will you give me if I unite you in love again?

Savva says:

No matter how many goods and wealth of my father, and trading profits I have, I will give everything to you, just give me back my former love!

Bes, smiling, says to him:

Well, what are you bringing me? I know that your father is very rich. Do you know that my father is seven times richer than yours? What do I care about your products? No, you give me some kind of receipt, and I will fulfill your desire.

The young man rejoiced, thinking: “So my father’s wealth will be intact, and of course I will give him a receipt!” - and he did not know that he was falling into even worse destruction. That's youthful madness! And before his female flattery caught, and now what destruction descends! When the demon said these words, the young man happily promised to give a receipt. The imaginary brother, or rather, a demon, immediately took out ink and paper from his pocket and handed it to the young man, commanding him to immediately begin writing. Savva, being able to write poorly, at the instigation of the demon, without thinking about what he writes, brought out a renunciation of Christ, the True God, and surrendered himself to the service of the devil, his imaginary brother. And according to this they returned to the city of Orel.

Savva asks the demon:

Tell me, brother, where you live, so that I can know your house.

Bes, laughing, answered:

I don’t have a special house, and where it happens, I spend the night there. If you want to see me often, look for me at the horse-ground: I told you that I came here to sell horses. But I'm not too lazy to visit you myself. And now go to the shop of Bazhen the Second: I know that he will gladly call you back to his house.

And Savva, at the word of "his brother" the devil, joyfully went to the shop of Bazhen the Second. Bazhen, seeing Savva, joyfully began to invite him, saying:

Mr Savo! What harm have I done to you? Why did you leave my house? However, I beg you: return to my house, and I will be very glad to see you for the love of your father!

Savva, having heard such words from Bazhen, rejoiced with indescribable joy and quickly went to his house. And when he arrived, Bazhen's wife, seeing the young man, incited by the devil, met him with joy, greeted him with every caress and kissed him. The young man, caught by the flattery of a woman, and even more so by the devil, again became entangled in a fornication network with that cursed wife - not remembering holidays or the fear of God, constantly wallowing with her in the feces of fornication.

How long, how short, did rumors reach the glorious city of Kazan, mother Savvina, that her son was leading a faulty and dishonorable life, and that everything that happened to him was a product, he let down everything in fornication and drunkenness. The mother, hearing such things about her son, was very upset, and wrote him a letter so that he would return to Kazan, to his father's house. But when that message came to him, he, having read it, only laughed, imputing his mother's order to nothing. She again sends him both the second and the third letter - and prays with prayers, and conjures him with oaths to immediately return to Kazan. But Savva, not in the least heeding his mother's prayer and oath, did not put them in anything and only practiced in fornication.

After some time, he met the demon Savva, and both went outside the city, into the field. Coming out of the city, the demon says to Savva:

Brother Savvo, do you know who I am? You think I'm from the Grudtsyn family, but I'm not. Now, for your love, I will tell you the whole truth, but do not be afraid and do not be ashamed to be called my brother: I have loved you as a true brother. If you want to know who I am, then know that I am the son of a king. Let us go further so that I can show you the glory and power of my father.

Saying such words, he brought him to a deserted place, raised him to a certain hill and showed him from there a magnificent city lying in expanse: its walls and roofs, and streets - everything shone with pure gold. And said to him:

Here is the city of my father, but let's go and bow together to my father, and take the receipt that you gave me and hand it to my father, and you will be honored by him with great honor!

And, having said this, he gave Savva his God-denying scripture. Oh, youthful madness! He knew, after all, that there could be no kingdom here, but all the land here belongs to the Tsar of Moscow! If then he had overshadowed himself with the sign of the honest cross, all the visions of the devil, like a shadow, would have dissipated! .. But let us return to our story.

When both approached the ghostly city and approached its gates, young men flew down to them, dark faces, decorated with robes and golden belts, and fervently bowed, paying honor to the royal son, or rather, to the demon, and Savva also bowed. They entered the royal court, and then they were met by young men, whose clothes shone even more, and also bowed to them. When they entered the royal chambers, young men came out to them, surpassing each other in clothes and faces, and rendered a worthy honor to the son of the king and Savva. Entering the ward, the demon said:

Brother Savvo, wait for me here a little: I will now report about you to my father, and then I will bring you to him. When you appear before him, do not think about anything and do not be afraid - immediately give him your scripture.

And having said so, he went into the inner chambers, leaving Savva alone. A little time passed, he returned, took Savva and placed him before the face of the prince of darkness.

He sat on a high throne, adorned with gold and precious stones, and he himself shone with glory and expensive attire. Around the throne, Savva saw many winged young men, but their faces were - some blue, others scarlet, and others - like pitch, black. Savva approached that king and, falling to the ground, bowed to him. The king asked him:

Where did you come from and what is your business?

The mad young man handed him his apostate scripture and said that “he has come, great king, to serve you.” The ancient serpent-Satan accepted the scripture, read it and, turning to his dark warriors, said:

I would accept this lad, but I don’t know whether he will be strong or not.

Calling his son, Savva's imaginary brother, he said:

Go now and dine with your brother.

And they both bowed to the king, went out into the front chamber and proceeded to dinner. And such unspeakable and fragrant dishes were brought to them that Savva was surprised: “I never had to try such dishes and drink in my father’s house!” When they dined, the demon took Savva, led him out of the palace, and they left the city. Then Savva asked his demon's brother:

What kind of young winged men stood around the throne of your father?

Bes, smiling, replied:

Don't you know that many nations serve my father: the Persians, and the Indians, and there are many others? Don't be surprised by this, and don't be embarrassed to call me brother. Let me be your little brother, just obey me in everything that I tell you. I am glad to do any good for you.

And Savva promised to be obedient to him in everything, and having agreed so, they returned to the city of Oryol, and there the demon departed from him. Savva, returning to the Bazhenov house, again indulged in his vile deed.

At the same time, Father Savvin, Foma Grudtsyn, returned from Persia to Kazan with a big profit. According to custom and with love, he kissed his wife and immediately asked her about her son - is he alive? She told him:

From many I hear about him: after your departure to Persia, he went to Sol Kama and now leads an indecent life there, and, as they say, he squandered all our wealth in drunkenness and fornication. I often wrote to him to return home, but he did not answer me a single letter. Whether he is alive or not - we do not know about that!

Foma, having heard such words from his wife, was very confused with his mind and immediately, sitting down, wrote a message to Savva with ardent requests to return to Kazan without any delay, "to see me, child, the beauty of your face." Savva received the message and read it, but imputed it to nothing, and in order to return to his father, he did not even think about it, but only practiced frantic fornication. Foma saw that his letter did not help, ordered to prepare suitable plows with goods and set off on a journey along the Kama to the Kama Salt. “I myself,” he said, “having found, I will return my son to my house.”

Bes, having learned that Father Savvin was moving towards Salt Kamskaya in order to return Savva to Kazan, suggested to Savva:

Brother Savvo, how long will we live in this small town inseparably? Let's go, walk around other cities, and then come back here.

Savva, not thinking of objecting, answered him:

That's right, brother, you say! Let's go! But wait: first I will take some money from my wealth for the journey.

But the demon forbade him, saying:

Or do you not know my father? Don't you know that he has villages everywhere? Wherever we arrive, we will find as much money as we need.

And with that they left the city of Orel, and no one knew about it - even Bazhen II himself, even his young wife.

Bes and Savva in one night from Salt Kamskaya ended up on the Volga, in a city called Kozmodemyansk, which defended from Salt Kamskaya for 2000 fields. Savva Bes says:

If someone you know sees you here and asks where you came from, say: they say, I’ve been going from the Kama Salt for the third week.

Savva said so while they lived in Kozmodemyansk for several days.

And again, in one night, the demon transferred Savva from Kozmodemyansk to the Oka River, to a village called Pavlov Perevoz. They got there on Thursday, when bargaining happens in that village. Wandering around the market, Savva saw a beggar man, dressed in dirty rags, looking at Savva with all his eyes and crying bitterly. Savva left the demon for a short time and found this elder to ask what was the reason for his crying:

What sadness has happened to you, father, that you are crying so inconsolably?

That holy elder says to him:

I weep, child, for the destruction of your soul, for you have destroyed your soul and by your own will surrendered to the devil. Do you know, child, with whom you now walk and whom you call brother? This is not a man, but the devil. The demon, walking with you, will bring you to the abyss of hell.

As soon as the elder uttered these words, Savva turned to his imaginary brother, or rather, to a demon. He, standing in the distance, threatened Savva and gnashed his teeth at him. The young man left the holy elder, returned to the demon, who began to revile him with evil words:

Why did you talk with such an evil murderer? Don't you know this crafty old man who killed many: when he saw a rich dress on you, he wanted to take you away from people, strangle him with a noose and undress the dead. Now, if I leave you alone, you will soon die without me.

And, having said this, with anger he took Savva away from there, brought him to a city called Shuya, - there they settled for a while.

Foma Grudtsyn-Usov, having come to the city of Oryol, asked everyone about his son, but no one could tell him anything. Everyone saw that before his father's arrival, his son walked around the city, and then suddenly disappeared - no one knows where. Someone said that "he was afraid of your arrival, because he squandered all your wealth - because of that he disappeared." Most of all, Bazhen II and his wife were surprised, saying that “he slept with us at night, and went somewhere in the morning. We were waiting for him for dinner, but since that hour he has not shown up in our city, and where he disappeared, neither I nor my wife know. Thomas, shedding many tears, stayed here to live, waiting for his son, and having spent a considerable time with vain hope in such an expectation, he returned to his house. And he announced that unhappy incident to his wife, and both mourned over the disappearance of their only-begotten son. In such grief, Foma Grudtsyn lived for some time and went to the Lord, and his wife remained a widow.

***
Bes and Savva lived in the city of Shuya. At that time, the pious sovereign Mikhail Fedorovich deigned to send his army against the Polish king near Smolensk, and, according to his royal decree, recruits were called up throughout Russia. Timothy Vorontsov, a steward, was sent to the city of Shuya from Moscow for the sake of recruiting soldiers, who taught recruits the military article. Bes and Savva went to watch the teachings. And the devil says to Savva:

Brother Savvo, do you want to serve the king? Let's join the soldiers.

Savva says:

That's right, brother, you say; let's serve!

So they signed up as soldiers and began to go to exercises together. The demon gave Savva such wisdom in military affairs that he surpassed both the old warriors and the commanders. The demon himself pretended to be Savvin's servant and carried a weapon behind him.

Recruits from Shuya were brought to Moscow and apprenticed to a certain German colonel. That colonel, when he came to the teachings of recruits and saw a young man, very skillful in military teaching, not having a small defect in the whole article, many old soldiers and commanders superior, was very surprised at his grasp. He called him to himself, inquired what kind he was; Savva told him everything. The colonel loved Savva very much, called him his son and gave him a hat from his head, decorated with precious beads. And after that he entrusted him with three companies of recruits to command them instead of him and teach them. The demon secretly approached Savva and said to him:

Brother Savvo, when you have nothing to pay the soldiers' salaries, tell me: I will bring you as much money as you need so that there will be no grumbling and complaints about you in the team.

And so at Savva all the soldiers served quietly and calmly, and in other companies there were unceasing unrest and rebellions, for unsecured soldiers died of hunger and cold. At Savva, the soldiers stayed in all silence and prosperity, and everyone was surprised at his grasp.

Once it became known about him and the king himself. At that time, the brother-in-law of the tsar, the boyar Semyon Lukyanovich Streshnev, had considerable power in Moscow. Having learned about this Savva, he orders to bring him to him and says:

Don't you want, young man, that I take you to my house and honor you with no small honor?

He bowed to him and said:

I have, my lord, brother, I will ask him. If he permits, then I will gladly serve you.

The boyar did not forbid him this, but let him go to his brother to ask his permission. Savva told everything to his imaginary brother. The devil answers him with rage:

Why do you want to reject the royal favor and serve the serf of the tsar? You are now no worse than that boyar, you received nobility from the tsar himself - do not reject this, but let us serve the tsar himself.

By order of the tsar, all the recruits were distributed among the archery regiments for reinforcements. Savva, on the other hand, was assigned to Sretenka in Zemlyanoy Gorodok, to the Winter Order, to the house of the archery centurion Yakov Shilov. That centurion and his wife, pious and well-behaved, seeing Savvin's ingenuity, highly revered him. The regiments in Moscow were in full readiness.

Once a demon came to Savva and said:

Brother Savvo, let's go before the regiments to Smolensk, find out what the Poles are doing, how the city is being fortified, how military guns are being arranged.

And in one night they got from Moscow to Smolensk and stayed in it for three days and three nights, not visible to anyone, they themselves saw everything and noticed how the Poles fortified the city, where grenades were laid out in dangerous places. On the fourth day, the demon showed himself and Savva to the Smolensk Poles. The Poles, seeing them, were very alarmed and set off in pursuit, wanting to seize them. But the demon and Savva quickly ran out of the city, ran to the Dnieper River, and then the water parted before them, and they crossed to the other side on dry land. The Poles fired at them a lot, but, without damaging them a lot, they were surprised and said that it was "demons in the form of a man who came to our city." Savva and the demon again returned to Moscow and stopped at the same centurion Yakov Shilov.

When, by decree of the Tsar's Majesty, the regiments went to Smolensk, then Savva and his brother, as part of the regiments, set off. Boyar Fedor Ivanovich Shein stood above all the regiments. On the way, the demon says to Savva:

Brother Savvo, when we stand near Smolensk, then one hero will leave the city from the Polish regiments and begin to call the enemy for himself. Here you are not afraid of anything, go out to fight: I know for sure that you will hit him. The next day, the hero will again come out from the Poles for a duel - you again go out against him: I know that you will hit this one too. On the third day, the third combatant will leave Smolensk, and you, fearing nothing, go out to fight - and you will amaze him. But this one will hurt you, and I will quickly heal your ulcer.

And according to the word of the devil, a certain very terrible warrior was sent from the city. On horseback, he rode past the Moscow regiments, looking for an enemy, but no one dared to stand up against him. Savva announced in the regiments:

Here I would have a good war horse, I would go out to battle against this adversary to our king!

His friends, hearing this, quickly announced him to the boyar. The boyar ordered Savva to be brought, gave him a good horse and weapons, thinking that this young man would soon die at the hands of such a terrible giant. Savva, at the word of his brother, the devil, without hesitation and without fear, rode against the Polish hero, quickly defeated him, brought him to the regiments of Moscow with a horse and heard praise from everyone. The demon followed him, serving him and carrying weapons behind him. On the second day, a certain glorious warrior leaves Smolensk, looking for himself from the army of the Moscow enemy, and the same Savva again leaves against him and soon defeats him. All the courage of Savvina was surprised, and the boyar, in envy, was angry with Savva, but hid the anger in his heart. On the third day, a glorious warrior again leaves the city, stronger than the first two, and thus calls on the enemy for himself. Savva, although he was afraid to go against such a terrible warrior, but at the word of the demons went against him. But the Pole, jumping in fury, wounded Savva with a spear in the left thigh. Savva recovered, attacked that Pole, killed him and dragged him to the camp with a horse, causing considerable damage to the Smolensk people and leading the entire Russian army to surprise. Then sorties began from the city, and army with army began to fight hand-to-hand. Yes, where Savva and his brother fought, on that wing the Poles fled without looking back, showing the rear: Savva beat many Poles, but he himself received no wounds from anyone.

The boyar heard about the courage of that young man, and no longer able to hide the secret anger in his heart, he calls Savva to the tent and says to him:

Tell me, young man, what kind are you and whose son are you?

He told him the truth: that from Kazan, Foma Grudtsyn-Usov's son. The boyar began to abuse him with obscene words, saying:

What need has brought you into such a mortal battle? I know that both your father and your relatives have considerable wealth; and from what persecution, from what poverty, did you leave your parents and come here? Here's what I'll tell you: without any delay, return to your parents' house and live there in prosperity with your father and mother. If you do not listen to me, if I hear that you are still here, then do not count on mercy: I will order you to take your head off.

So the boyar said to the young man and with fury moved away from him. The young man went away with much sorrow.

When they left the tent, the demon said to Savva:

Why are you so sad about it? If our service here has become objectionable, we will return to Moscow and live there.

***
Many days passed, and now Savva fell ill, and his illness was so serious that death was approaching him. The wife of the centurion of the one with whom he lived was prudent and feared God, and had every care for Savva. She told him many times to call a priest, confess his sins and partake of the Holy Mysteries, "so that," she says, "he would not die in such a grave illness without repentance." Savva refused, saying that “although I suffer greatly, this disease is not to death.”

But day by day his illness grew stronger. That wife relentlessly begged Savva to repent, for "you won't die from that." And finally Savva was forced by that God-loving wife to call a priest to her. That wife quickly sent people to the church of St. Nicholas in Grachi, and ordered to call the priest of that church. The priest came without any delay. That priest was perfect for years, a skilled and God-fearing man. Arriving, he began to read prayers of repentance, as it should be. And when all the people left the house, the priest of the sick man began to confess, and then suddenly the sick man saw that a huge crowd of demons was entering the house. His imaginary brother, or rather, a demon, appeared with them, but not in a human already, but in his bestial form, and, standing behind that demonic crowd, he was very furious at Savva and gnashed his teeth, and showed him that apostate letter, that Savva gave him at Salt Kamskaya. And he said to the sick man:

Do you see, perjurer, what is this? Didn't you write this? Or do you imagine that you will get rid of us with your repentance? No, don’t imagine it like that: now I will move against you with all my strength!

Such and many more obscene words were spoken by the demon, but the sick man, in vain with his own eyes, was partly horrified, partly hoping for the power of God, and to the end confessed everything in detail to the priest. And that priest, although he was a man of a holy life, was afraid: seeing no one in the house except the sick man, he heard the deafening hubbub of demonic power. And having confessed the sick man with a great effort, he went home without telling anyone about it.

After confession, he attacked Savva in an unclean spirit and began mercilessly torturing him, either pounding him on the wall, then throwing him off the bed, then suffocating him with wheezing and foam and tormenting him with all sorts of tortures. The God-loving husband, the aforementioned centurion with his well-behaved wife, seeing such a sudden attack on the young man by the devil and his unbearable torment, felt sorry for him and groaned from the heart for Savva, but none of them could help him. And the demon attacked the patient more and more fiercely from day to day, tormented him, and brought considerable horror to everyone who saw those torments. The owner of the house, seeing such an unusual thing on the young man and knowing that the young man was known to the king himself for his courage, consulted with his wife about how to report to the sovereign. They had a certain relative who served in the royal house. Remembering this, the centurion immediately sent his wife to her, ordering her to tell her everything in detail, so that she would inform the king. “God forbid,” he says, “the young man dies in such an evil illness, and we will be punished for not informing the majesty.”

The wife immediately went to her relative and handed over to her everything commanded by her husband. The relative, hearing this, was touched by her soul and sympathized with the young man, but she was more afraid for her relatives - whether they would not be in trouble from such a case. Without delay, she ran to the royal chambers and announced this to the tsar’s near synklit. Soon they reported about this to the king.

The king, having heard this, showed mercy to the young man and ordered the synclite to establish a post of two guards in the centurion’s house during the daily guard: let them watch with all their eyes so that the young man, maddened by demonic torment, does not rush into fire or water. The pious king himself sent daily food to the sick man and ordered him to report when the young man felt better. They did so, but the patient remained in demonic languor for quite some time.

On the first day of July, a young man was subjected to a particularly strong demonic torment. He dozed off for a short time, and in a dream, as if in reality, pouring out tears from his adjacent eyes, he said this:

O All-Merciful Lady Queen Mother of God! Have mercy, Lady, have mercy, I will not lie anymore, Queen, I will not lie, but I will fulfill everything that I promised You!

The household and guard soldiers, having heard such words from the patient, were surprised and decided that some kind of vision had appeared to him.

When the sick man arose from sleep, the centurion came up to him and asked:

Tell me, Mr. Savvo, what words did you say in a dream with tears, and to whom did you address them?

He again began to wash his face with tears, saying:

I saw the Luminous Wife, who came to my bedside and radiant with indescribable lordship, wearing a crimson robe; and with her two certain men, adorned with gray hairs. One was in the clothes of a bishop, the other wore an apostolic robe. And I don’t think about others, but I revere the Wife as the Most Holy Theotokos, and the husbands - one as the confidante of the Lord John the Theologian, and the other as the vigilant guardian of the city of our Moscow, glorious in the hierarchs, the Bishop of God Peter the Metropolitan: I know their kind well. And that radiant Wife said to me: “What is the matter with you, Savvo, why do you grieve so much?” And I answer her: “I grieve, Mistress, because I angered Your Son and my God, and You, the Intercessor of the Christian race, - for this the demon torments me fiercely.” She, smiling, says to me: “And how do you think to overcome this sorrow and return your receipt from hell?” I tell her: “I can’t, Lady, I can’t do it, only with the help of Your Son and Your all-powerful mercy.” She answers me: “I will pray for you to my Son and God, only fulfill one word of mine: when I deliver you from this misfortune, will you want to become a monk?” And I said to Her in a dream with tears those prayer words that you heard. She again tells me: “Savvo, when the feast of the appearance of My image of Kazan comes, you come to My temple, which is on the square near the Vetoshny Row, and I will perform a miracle on you in front of all the people.” And having told me this, she became invisible.

Hearing what Savva said, the centurion and the guards were very amazed. And the centurion and his wife began to think about how to announce all this to the king himself. And they decided to ask their relative to announce this vision to the royal synclite, and they to pass it on to the king himself. So they did. And when he heard, the king was very astonished. And they began to wait for that holiday. When the eighth of July, the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, approached, the tsar ordered to bring the sick Savva to the church. On that day, there was a procession from the Cathedral Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the royal majesty also participated in that procession. When the Divine Liturgy began, the sick Savva was brought and laid in the church on a carpet.

When they began to sing the Cherubic Hymn, then suddenly a voice was heard from heaven, as if a great thunder rumbled:

Savvo, rise up! What are you delaying? Come to my church, be healthy and sin no more.

And from under the dome of the church, Savvin's apostate receipt flew off, all completely ironed out, as if nothing had ever been written on it. The king, seeing this miracle, was very surprised. The sick Savva, having jumped off the carpet, as if he had never been sick, went up to the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, fell before him and began to say with tears:

Oh, Blessed Mother of the Lord, Christian Intercessor and Prayer for our souls to His Son and God; save me from hell. I will soon fulfill my promise.

Hearing this, the great sovereign Mikhail Fedorovich ordered Savva to be called and asked him about that vision. He told everything in order and showed his receipt, and the king was very surprised at the mercy of God and the inexpressible miracle.

When the Divine Liturgy was finished, Savva went to the house of the centurion Yakov Shilov, as if he had never been ill. The centurion and his wife, seeing the mercy of God over him, thanked God and His Most Holy Mother of God.

Then Savva, having distributed everything he had to the poor, went to the Monastery of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael, where the relics of the Holy Hierarch of God Alexy the Metropolitan lie, to the same monastery that is called Chudov. And he accepted the monastic rank and began to live here in fasting and prayers, constantly praying to the Lord about his sin. Having lived in that monastery for a long time, he went to the Lord in eternal rest, where the saints abide.

Wake the Almighty God glory and power forever and ever, amen.

The end, and thank God.

The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn

The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn

"The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" was written in the 70s of the 17th century. The work reflects the historical events of the first half of the century and many everyday features of that time. However, these are minor, accompanying details of the story. In the center of the work, as in the Tale of Woe-Misfortune, is the fate of a young man. Like the young man from Woe-Misfortune, Savva Grudtsyn, who, due to his youth and inexperience, became dependent on a hostile otherworldly force, finds salvation in the monastery.

In The Tale, many assessments and author's interpretations of various situations are of a traditional nature, the hero's deviations from accepted norms of behavior, his love passion, his oblivion of duty to his parents are explained by the devilish temptation, but at the same time, this work for the first time in ancient Russian literature develops a romantic theme of narration with reflection of living human feelings. It is characteristic, for example, that the hero, seized with lovesickness, seeks consolation in communion with nature; the passion that seized Savva is caused by a "love potion", but the hero's experiences are described by the author sympathetically and vitally. In the "Tale" the fabulous adventures of Savva are intertwined in a peculiar way with historical events in which real historical figures participate. It is noteworthy in this regard that the hero of the work himself bears the name of a well-known in the 17th century. wealthy merchant family of the Grudtsyn-Usovs. The combination in the "Tale" of a romantic theme with detailed descriptions of the life and customs of Russia in the 17th century. gave grounds to a number of researchers to see in this work the experience of creating the first Russian novel.

The text is printed according to the publication: Izbornik. pp. 609-625.

THE STORY ABOUT SAVVA GRUDTSYN

The story is very wonderful and worthy of surprise,

similar actions in the city of Kazan

a certain merchant Foma Grudtsyn about his son Savva

In the summer from the creation of the world 7114 (1606), there was a certain merchant in the city of Velitz Ustyuz1, a husband glorious and rich, with the name and notoriety of Foma Grudtsyn-Usovs. Seeing God’s persecution and rebellion against Christians in the Russian state and in many cities, Abie2 leaves the great city of Ustyug and moves to the lower glorious royal city of Kazan, for in the lower cities there was no ill-fated Lithuania.

And that Foma lives with his wife in the city of Kazan even until the years of the pious great sovereign tsar and great prince Mikhail Feoderovich3 of all Russia. And having that Thomas a son of the only begotten, named Savva, twelve years old in age4. The custom, having that Thomas, I will buy deeds, driving down the Volga River, sometimes5 to the Kama Salt, sometimes to Astrakhan, and sometimes across the Khvalynsk6 Sea to the Shakhov Region7 driving off, I will buy creative things. To the same and his son Savva, it is instructive and not lazy to such a matter to diligently command you, so that after death his heir would be his estate.

At some time, at the desire of that Thomas, sail to buy in the Shakhov region and arrange ordinary boats with tavars for swimming, but after arranging courts with ordinary tavars, he orders his son to sail to the Kamskaya Salt and such a merchant’s business with any fear of lying to your command. And abie kissing the usual kiss to his wife and son, touches the path.

The days are short, after hesitating, and his son, on the courts arranged 8, at the command of his father, to the Salt of Kama begins to create a voyage. When he reaches the Usolsk city of Orel9, the Abie comes to the shore and, at the command of his father, stays with a certain deliberate person in an inn. The host10 is the same and his wife, remembering the love and mercy of his father, a lot of diligence and every good deed I do to him, and as if he had every care for his son. He stays in the hotel for a long time.

In the same city of Orel, there was a certain tradesman of that city, with the name and notoriety of the Second Important, having already grown old in years and we know better in many cities for the sake of his life, more and more wealthy and more and more we know and is friendly to Savvin father Foma Grudtsyn. Having seen Bazhen the Second, as if from Kazan Foma Grudtsyn, his son is found in their city, and thinking in himself, as if "his father had much love and friendship with me, but now I despise him, but I will take him into my house, let him dwell with me, and eats with me from my table."

And having thought this, having once seen that Savva on the way to come and, having called him, they begin to say: “Friend Savvo! therefore do not disobey me, come and dwell in my house, so that we eat from my common meal. Because of the love of your father, I graciously accept you like a son. Savva, having heard such verbs from her husband, was very glad to be, as if from such a glorious husband he wants to be, and does low worship before him. Immediately from the inn, the onago leaves for the house of the husband of that Bazhen the Second and lives in all prosperity, rejoicing. The same important is the second old one, and having a wife, newly brought by a third marriage, I am a virgin. Hate the good of the human race, the adversary the devil, seeing that man’s virtuous life, and although he stirs up his house, Abie stings his wife on the young man onago to a foul mixture of fornication and incessantly entraps the young man onago with flattering words to fall fornication: God knows the feminine nature to entrap the minds of the young to fornication . And so that Savva, by the flattery of that wife, even more so, say 13, from the envy of the devil, 14 he would vanish, falling into the net of fornication with her wife, insatiably doing fornication and untimely in that nasty deed, being with her, lower than the resurrection day, lower the holiday remembering, but forgetting fear God's and mortal's, always more in the feces of fornication like a pig wallowing and in such an insatiable wandering for a long time like cattle.

Once upon a time, I will be in time for the feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, on the eve of the 15th feast of Bazhen II, we will sing the young man Savva with us, going to the holy church for evening singing and after the dismissal of vespers, we will come back to our house, and at the usual supper we will lie down with our skin on our bed thanking God. Suddenly, the God-loving husband of Bazhen II fell asleep soundly, while his wife, instigated by the devil, secretly got up from his bed and came to the bed of the young man onago and aroused him, forcing him to a nasty mixture of prodigal. He, even a young one, but as if by a certain arrow of the fear of God, was wounded, fearing the judgment of God, thinking in himself: “How on such a domineering day should an imam do such a stingy deed?” And think of this, start with an oath to deny it, saying, as if "I do not want to destroy my soul and defile my body on such a great holiday." But she, insatiably inflamed by the lust of fornication, relentlessly nudges him with caresses, and also with a ban, 16 threatening him with some, so that he fulfills her desire, and laboring a lot, admonishing him, but it is by no means possible to incline him to her will: divine, for some power helped him . Seeing that crafty wife, as if it were not possible to attract the young man to her will, aby green fury fell on the young man like a fierce serpent, groaning, moving away from his bed, thinking with magic potions to drink him and immediately commit his evil intention though. And having conceived the greatness, this and create.

Sometimes, however, he began to rivet 17 to morning singing, but he was the God-loving husband of Bazhen II, soon getting up from his bed, arousing the young man Savva, going to the doxology of God in the morning and listening with attention and fear of God, and came to his house. And when the time came for the divine litorgy, going again with joy to the holy church for the doxology of God. The cursed wife of this woman carefully arranged a magic potion for the young man and, like a snake, wanted to vomit her poison on him. After the remission of the divine litorgy, Bazhen II and Savva left the church, wanting to go to their house. The governor of that city, having invited her husband Bazhen the Second, let him dine with him, asking about the young man, whose son and where. He will tell him that Foma Grudtsyn's son is from Kazan. The governor also invites the young man onago to his house, knowing his father well. They were in his house and, according to the custom of a common meal, having taken communion, returned with joy to their house.

Bazhen the Second commanded to bring little from the wine, but they would drink honor in their house for the sake of the reigning feast, nothing more than knowing the crafty intentions of their wife. She, like an evil viper, hides malice in her heart and falls for flattery towards this young man. Bringing the former wine, he pours out a cup and brings it to her husband. He also drank thanks to God. And then pours, drinking herself. And the Abie pours the poisonous potion prepared by him and brings the young man to Savva. He, having drunk in no way thinking, being afraid of Onya’s wife, teashe, as if he thinks of no evil against him, and without any thought he drinks the fierce potion. And behold, a kind of fire will burn in his hearts. He, thinking, speaking to himself, like "many different drinks in my father's house and never drink such a drink, as now." And when, having drunk onago, they begin to grieve in their hearts and mourn for her wife. She, like a fierce lioness, fiercely looked at him and showed no greeting to him. He is lamenting, grieving for her. She began to slander her husband on the young man and speak absurd words and command him to be driven out of her house. He is a God-fearing husband, even if he desires in his heart for the young man, but he is also caught by the female flattery, he commands the young man to leave his house, telling him some guilt. That young man, with great pity and a hard heart, departs from his house, grieving and lamenting about her wicked wife.

In 1606, a well-known and rich man lived in Veliky Ustyug. His name was Foma Grudtsyn-Usov. When misfortunes for all Orthodox Christians began in Russia, he left his Great Ustyug and settled in the glorious and royal city of Kazan - Lithuanian atrocities did not reach the Volga. There Foma lived with his wife until the reign of the pious Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich.

He had an only son Savva, sixteen years old. Foma himself often traveled down the Volga on trade business - either to Solikamsk, or to other places, or even beyond the Caspian Sea to the Persian state. He also taught Savva to such an occupation, so that he would diligently study this matter and after the death of his father would become his heir in everything.

Once, Thomas decided to go on his business to Persia. He loaded the goods onto ships, and having equipped ships for him, he ordered his son to sail to Solikamsk and open trade there with the necessary prudence. Kissed his wife and son also set off. And a few days later his son, on the ships equipped for him, at the behest of his father, went to Solikamsk.

Savva swam to the city of Orel, Usolsky district, landed on the shore and stopped, as his father punished him, in a hotel owned by a famous person. The owner of the hotel and his wife remembered the love for them and the good deeds of his father, so they tried to surround Savva with care and took care of him like their own son. And he spent a lot of time in that hotel. And in Orel lived a tradesman, whose name was Bazhen 2nd. He was already in years, known to many for his well-behaved life, rich and was a close friend of Foma Grudtsyn. When he found out that Foma's son had come from Kazan to his city, he thought: "His father was always a close friend to me, but I didn’t seem to notice my son and didn’t invite him to my place. Let him stay with me and stay for a while."

So he thought, and then somehow met Savva on the way and began to ask him:

Dear Savva! Don't you know that your father and I were friends - why didn't you visit me and stay at my house? At least now, do me a favor: come live with me, we will share a meal together at the same table. For the love of your father for me, I will accept you as a son!

Hearing these words, Savva was very glad that such a nice person wanted to receive him, and gave him a deep bow. Immediately he went from the hotel to Bazhen and began to live with him in complete prosperity and joy. Bazhen - himself an old man - recently married for the third time to a young wife. And the devil, this hater of the human race, knowing about the virtuous life of her husband, planned to stir up his whole house. And he seduced his wife to start inciting the young man to fornication. She constantly pushed him to fall with her conversations (it is known, after all, how women can trap young people!), And Savva, by the power of her youth (or rather, by the power of envy of the devil), was lured into the network of fornication: he made criminal love with her and in such a bad state He remained constantly, not remembering either Sundays or feasts, forgetting the fear of God and the hour of death. As a pig rolls in the mud, so he was in fornication for a long time.

Once the feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ approached. On the eve of the feast, Bazhen took Savva with him to church for vespers, and after the service they returned home and, having supper in the usual way and thanking God, went to bed, each on his own bed. When the pious Bazhen fell asleep, his wife, instigated by the devil, got up cautiously from the bed, went up to Savva, woke him up and offered him to take care of her. But this one - although he was still young - was pierced by some kind of arrow of God's fear, and he thought, frightened of God's judgment: "How can one engage in such a dark business on such a bright day!" And thinking so, he began to refuse and say that he did not want to destroy his soul and defile his body on a great holiday.

And Bazhen's wife became more and more inflamed and continued to force Savva. Either she caressed him, then threatened with some kind of punishment - she tried for a long time, but she could not persuade him to what she wanted - Divine power helped Savva. The malevolent woman saw that she was unable to subdue the young man to her will, immediately ignited rage towards him, hissed like a snake. and moved away from his bed. Now she decided to drug him with a potion in order to still carry out her intention. And as she thought, so she did.

When they began to call for matins, the philanthropic Bazhen got up, woke Savva, and they went to the doxology of God, which they listened to with the attention and fear of God. Then they returned home. When the time for the Divine Liturgy approached, they again joyfully went to the Holy Church to glorify God.

Meanwhile, the cursed wife of Bazhen, meanwhile, carefully prepared a potion for the young man and began to wait for the moment to, like a snake, spew her poison on him. After the liturgy, Bazhen and Savva left the church and prepared to go home. But the governor of that city invited Bazhen to dine with him. Seeing Savva, he asked:

Whose son is this and where is he from?

Savva said that he was from Kazan and that he was the son of Foma Grudtsyn. The governor, knowing his father well, invited Savva to come to his house. At the voivode's, as is customary, they dined together and happily returned home.

Bazhen ordered to bring some wine in honor of the Lord's feast, unaware of his wife's black plan. She, like a ferocious viper, hid her malice in her heart and began to court the young man with flattery. She poured the delivered wine and brought it to her husband. He drank, thanking God. Then she drank herself. And then she poured a specially prepared poison and brought it to Savva. He was not afraid of her intrigues - he thought that she did not hold a grudge against him - and drank without thinking. Here it was as if a fire was lit in his heart, and he thought: "Whatever I drank in my native house, but I haven't tried such a thing as here now." And when he drank, he began to lament his heart for the hostess. She, like a lioness, meekly looked at him and began to talk to him affably. And then she slandered Savva in front of her husband, spoke absurdities about him and demanded to drive him out of the house. God-fearing Bazhen, although he felt sorry for the young man, succumbed to female deceit and ordered Savva to leave the house. And Savva left them, lamenting and sighing for that malevolent woman.

Again he returned to the hotel where he had stayed at the beginning. The owner of the hotel asked why he left Bazhen. Savva replied that he did not want to live with him. He continued to lament over Bazhen's wife, and from his heartfelt sorrow he changed his face and lost weight. The owner of the inn saw that the young man was in great sorrow, but could not understand why, meanwhile, a healer lived in the city, who could by witchcraft methods find out what misfortunes to whom and because of what happen, and that person will live or will die. The hosts took care of the young man as best they could, and therefore they called that magician in secret from everyone and asked him what kind of sadness Savva had? He looked into his magic books and said that Savva did not have any grief of his own, but he lamented over the wife of Bazhen the 2nd, since he had previously been in touch with her, and now he was separated from her; he is crushed by it. Hearing this, the owner of the hotel and his wife did not believe, because Bazhen was pious and God-fearing, and did not do anything. And Savva continued to incessantly lament for the damned wife of Bazhen, and from this he completely withered his body.

Once Savva went out alone from the house for a walk. It was past noon, he was walking along the road alone, not seeing anyone either in front or behind him, and he thought of nothing, only about separation from his mistress. And suddenly he thought: "If someone, a man or the devil himself, would help me connect with her, I would become a servant even to the devil himself!" - such a thought arose in him, as if he had lost his mind in a frenzy. He continued to walk alone. And after a few steps he heard a voice calling his name. Savva turned around and saw a well-dressed young man quickly following him. The young man waved his hand to him, offering to wait for him. Savva stopped. The young man - or rather, the devil, who is constantly looking for ways to destroy the human soul - that young man approached him, and, as usual, they bowed to each other. The one who came up said to Savva:

My brother Savva, why are you avoiding me as if I were a stranger? I've been waiting for you for a long time, so that you come to me and become my friend, as befits relatives. I have known you for a long time: you are Grutsyn-Usov from Kazan, and I, if you wish to know, are also Grutsyn-Usov, from Veliky Ustyug. I have been here for a long time, trading horses. We are brothers by birth, and now you do not move away from me, and I will help you in everything.

Hearing such words from an imaginary "relative" - ​​a demon, Savva was delighted that he could find his own on a distant foreign side. They kissed lovingly and walked on together, still alone. Bes asked Savva:

Savva, my brother, what kind of grief do you have and why did youthful beauty fall from your face?

Savva, cunning in every word, told him about his grief. Bes grinned.

What are you hiding from me? I know about your sorrows. What will you give me if I help you?

Savva said:

If you know what makes me sad, then show it so that I believe that you can help me.

You grieve with your heart for the wife of Bazhen the 2nd because of separation from her!

Savva exclaimed:

How much goods and money my father has here - I give you everything together with the profit, just make sure that we are still together with her!

Why are you tempting me?! I know your father is rich. But don't you know that my father is seven times richer? And why do I need your goods? You better give me one receipt now, and I will fulfill your desire.

The young man is glad of this, thinking to himself: “I will only give him a receipt for what he says, and his father’s wealth will remain intact,” and he didn’t understand what an abyss he was throwing himself into! (Yes, and he still didn’t quite know how to write - that’s madness! How he was caught by female deceit and what death he prepared to go down because of passion!) And when the demon said his words, he happily promised to give a receipt. The imaginary "relative" - ​​the demon quickly took out an inkwell and paper from his pocket, gave them to Savva and ordered him to quickly write a receipt.

Savva still did not know how to write very well, and because the demon spoke, he wrote it down without thinking, but the result was words in which he renounced Christ, the True God, and betrayed himself into the service of the devil. Having written this apostate letter, he gave it to the demon, and both went to Orel. Savva asked the demon:

Tell me, my brother, where you live, so that I may know your home.

And the demon laughed:

I don’t have a special house, and where I have to, I spend the night there. And if you want to see me, then always look for me on the horse platform. I live here because I sell horses. But I myself will not be too lazy to come to you. And now go to Bazhen's shop, I'm sure that he will gladly invite you to live in his house.

Savva, rejoicing at such words of his "brother", directed his steps to Bazhen's shop. He saw him and began to insistently invite him to his place.

Mr. Grudtsyn, what evil have I done to you, and why did you leave my house? I beg you - come back - I will be glad to you, as to my own son.

Hearing this from Bazhen, Savva was incredibly happy and quickly moved into his house. Bazhen's wife, instigated by the devil, joyfully met him, greeted him affectionately and kissed him. The young man was caught by female deceit, or rather the devil, and again fell into the net of fornication, again began to wallow with the damned woman, not remembering the holidays or the fear of God.

After a long time, a rumor reached the glorious city of Kazan, Savva's mother, that her son was living indecently, and that he had spent a lot of his father's goods on drunkenness and debauchery. Hearing this, his mother was very upset and wrote a letter to her son. And he, having read it, only laughed, did not take it seriously and continued to exercise in his passion.

Once the demon called Savva, and they both went out of town. And on the field outside the city, the demon asked Savva:

Do you know who I am? You think I'm Grudtsyn, but I'm not. Now I will tell the whole truth for your love for me. Just don’t be embarrassed and don’t be ashamed to call me your brother: after all, just like a brother, I fell in love with you. But if you want to know who I am, then know - the king's son! Come, I will show you the glory and power of my father.

Having said this, he led Savva to some bare hill and showed him the marvelous city that could be seen in the distance; the walls, pavements and roofs in it were of pure gold and shone unbearably! And the demon said to him:

That city is the creation of my father. Let's go and worship him together. And now take the paper that you gave me and give it to your father, and he will honor you with a high honor! - and the demon gives Savva an apostate receipt.

O foolish youth! After all, he knew that there was no kingdom within the boundaries of the Muscovite state and that all the surroundings were subordinate to the Moscow Tsar. And then he would have depicted on himself the image of an honest cross - and all the diabolical visions would have melted away like smoke. But back to history. They came to the city they had dreamed of and approached the gates. They are met by dark young men in clothes decorated with gold, bowing low, paying homage to the "king's son", and Savva along with him.

They entered the palace, and again they were met by young men in brilliant clothes and bowed in the same way. And when they entered the royal apartments, the young men again met them there and paid tribute to the “prince” and Savva. They entered the hall, and Savva heard:

My brother Savva! Wait here for me: I will inform my father about you and introduce you to him. And when you appear before him, then do not get lost and do not be frightened, but give him your letter, - "brother" went into the inner room, leaving Savva alone.

There he lingered for a short while, then returned and brought Savva before the face of the prince of darkness. He sat on a high throne adorned with gold and jewels; he was dressed in brilliant clothes. Savva saw many winged youths around the throne - some had blue faces, others pitch black. Approaching the king, Savva fell to his knees and bowed. The king asked him:

Where did you come from, and what do you have to do with me?

And our madman brings him his apostate letter with the words:

The great king has come to serve you!

Satan, that old serpent, took the paper, read it, and asked his black warriors:

I would like to take this fellow to me, I just don’t know if he will be a faithful servant to me? - and then he called his son and Savva's "brother". - Go now, dine with your brother.

After bowing to the king, they both went into the front room and began to dine there. Indescribable and most tender dishes were brought to them; Savva was surprised to himself: "I didn’t even taste this in my own home!" After dinner, the demon left the palace with Savva, and they left the city. Savva asked:

And what kind of winged youths were standing near your father?

He smiled and replied:

Don't you know that many nations serve my father?! And the Persians, and others, and you should not be surprised at that. And feel free to call me brother. Let me be a younger brother for you, only you obey me in everything, and I, in turn, will provide you with any help.

And Savva promised to obey him. So having agreed on everything, they came to Orel, where the demon leaves Savva. And Savva again went to the house of Bazhen, where he took up his former unholy business.

By that time, Foma Grudtsyn returned with a big profit to Kazan from Persia. Having kissed, as expected, with his wife, he asked about his son, was he alive? The wife told him:

I heard from many that after your departure he went to Solikamsk, and from there to Orel, and there he lives to this day, indecently, and, as they say, he spent all our wealth on drunkenness and debauchery. I wrote to him many times, asking him to return home - he did not send a single answer and still stays there. Whether he's alive or not, I don't know.

Hearing this, Thomas was greatly alarmed. He immediately sat down and wrote a letter to Savva with a request to immediately return to Kazan: "May I see, child, the beauty of your face." Savva received this letter, read it, but did not even think of going to his father, but continued to exercise his passion. Foma saw that his letter had no effect, ordered to prepare ships with the necessary goods and set off on their journey, intending to call in Orel, and there he himself would find his son and return him home.

The demon learned that Savva's father was going to the city to take his son with him, and suggested to Savva:

How long are we here, all in one small town, going to live? Let's visit other cities, then we'll come back here again.

Savva did not refuse this offer, he only said:

Well, brother, you're thinking, let's go. Just wait: I'll take the money for the journey.

Bes was outraged:

Have you not seen how much wealth my father has? Wherever we go, there will be as much money for us as we wish!

And they secretly from everyone, even from Bazhen and his wife, left Orel. in one night they traveled 840 miles and showed up on the Volga in Kozmodemyansk.

Bes punished Savva:

If someone you know asks you: "Where are you from?" - say: "I left the Eagle three weeks ago."

Savva said so. They stayed in Kozmodemyansk for several days, after which the demon again took Savva with him, and in one night they found themselves on the Oka in the village of Pavlov Perevoz. They arrived there on a Thursday, and on Thursdays there was a big bargain. They began to walk among the merchants, and then Savva saw an old beggar in an unsightly rag. The beggar looked straight at Savva and wept. Savva moved a little away from the demon and approached that old man, intending to find out the reason for his tears.

Why are you, father, crying so inconsolably?

I cry, child, for your lost soul, - answered the beggar. “You don’t even know that you ruined her and gave yourself to the devil!” Do you know with whom you go and whom you call brother? That is not a man, but the devil, and he leads you into the abyss of hell!

When he said so, Savva turned to his "brother" and saw that he was standing at a distance, threatening him and gnashing his teeth. Savva quickly left the elder and returned to the demon. And the devil began to vilify him for what the light is worth:

What are you talking about with murderers? Don't you know that this old man has already killed many? He saw good clothes on you and flattered himself in order to take you away from people, strangle and undress. If I leave you, you will be lost without me, - and with these words he led Savva from those places to the city of Shuysk.

They lived there for a long time.

Foma Grudtsyn-Usov, meanwhile, arrived in Orel and began to ask about his son. But no one could say anything about him: everyone saw him in the city before the arrival of Thomas, and where he disappeared now, no one knew. It was even rumored that he was afraid of his father, having squandered his wealth, and therefore decided to hide. And most of all, Bazhen II and his wife were surprised.

Yes, he still slept with us that night, but in the morning he left somewhere. We were waiting for him for dinner, but he did not appear in the city anymore, and we don’t know where he went.

And Thomas waited a long time for his son, shedding tears. But having lost hope, he returned home and told his wife about everything. Both began to mourn and mourn for their son. In this state, Foma Grudtsyn lived for some time, went to the Lord, and his wife remained a widow.

And the demon and Savva lived in Shuisk. At that time, the pious Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke of all Russia, Mikhail Fedorovich, decided to send troops near Smolensk against the Polish king. By royal decree, recruits began to be recruited throughout Russia; stolnik Timofey Vorontsov was sent from Moscow to Shuysk to recruit soldiers, who organized the training of the military article. The demon and Savva came to watch the teachings. And the devil says:

Do you want to serve the king? Let's become soldiers with you!

Savva says:

Well, brother, you suggested. Let's serve.

So they became soldiers and began to go to classes together. Bes Savva gave such learning abilities that he surpassed both experienced warriors and commanders. And the demon, under the guise of a servant, followed Savva and carried his weapons. From Shuysk, the recruits were transferred to Moscow and given for training under the command of a German colonel. That colonel once came to see the soldiers in training. And then he saw a young man - an excellent student in his studies, perfectly performing all the exercises without a single defect in the article, which neither the old soldiers nor the commanders could do. The colonel was surprised, called Savva to him and asked him who he was. Savva answered him, everything as it is. The colonel liked him so much that he called him his son, gave him a beaded hat from his head, and gave him three companies of recruits to command. Now Savva himself conducted the training instead of him.

And the demon says to him:

Brother Savva, if you have nothing to pay the soldiers, then tell me, and I will get you as much money as you need so that there is no grumbling in your unit.

And since then, at Savva, all the soldiers were calm; and in other companies - constant unrest and rebellion, because there the soldiers sat without pay and died of hunger and cold. Everyone was surprised how skillful Savva was. Soon the king himself became aware of him.

At that time, the royal brother-in-law boyar Semyon Lukyanovich Streshnev was an influential person in Moscow. So he found out about our Savva and ordered to call him. When he arrived, he said to him:

Do you want, good young man, I will take you to my house and with no small honor?

Savva bowed to him and answered:

Vladyka, I have a brother, and I want to ask him, and if he agrees, then I will gladly go to serve you.

The boyar did not object, but let Savva consult with his brother. Savva came to "brother" and told him what had happened.

He got angry:

Why do you want to neglect the royal mercy and go from the king himself to serve his subject? You are now yourself, like that boyar: the sovereign himself knows about you! No, do not go, but we will serve the king. When the king sees your faithful service, he will raise you in rank!

By order of the king, all the recruits were then distributed among the archery regiments. Savva ended up in Zemlyanoy Gorod on Sretenka in the winter house of the archery captain Yakov Shilov. The captain and his wife were pious and good-natured people; they saw Savvin's skill and respected him. The regiments stood around Moscow in full readiness for the campaign.

Once a demon came to Savva and offered:

Brother, let's go forward with you troops to Smolensk and see what is being done there, how they fortify the city, and what weapons they have.

And in one night they arrived from Moscow to Smolensk and lived in it for three days, no one noticed. There they watched how the Poles erect fortifications and how they put artillery on weakly fortified areas. On the fourth day, the demon showed himself and Savva to the Poles. When they saw them, they screamed and ran after them. And the demon and Savva ran out of the city and ran to the Dnieper. The water parted before them, and they crossed to the other side on dry land. The Poles began to shoot at them, but they could not do any harm. After that, the Poles began to say that two demons appeared in the city in human form. And Savva with the demon returned to Moscow again to the same Yakov Shilov.

When, by order of the tsar, the troops marched from Moscow to Smolensk, Savva and his “brother” also marched with them. The boyar Fedor Ivanovich Shein commanded the army. On the road, the demon says:

Brother, when we arrive at Smolensk, a hero will leave the city from the Poles for a duel and begin to call out the enemy. Don't be afraid, but stand up to him. I know everything and I tell you: you will amaze him. The next day another will come out - and you will again go out against him. I know for sure that you will amaze him too. On the third day, the third Pole will leave Smolensk. But do not be afraid of anything - and you will defeat him, although you yourself will be wounded; but I will heal your wound soon.

So he told Savva everything, and soon they came near Smolensk and settled down in a suitable place.

In confirmation of the demonic words, a warrior came out of the city, very frightening in appearance, and began to gallop back and forth on a horse and look for an enemy from the ranks of the Russians. But no one dared to go against him. Then Savva announced to everyone:

If I had a warhorse, I would go out to fight this sovereign enemy.

His friends, hearing this, reported to the commander. The boyar ordered Savva to be brought to him, and then ordered to give him especially a horse and weapons, thinking that the young man would die from that terrible giant. And Savva remembered the words of his "brother" - the demon, and without hesitation rode against the Polish hero, struck him and brought his body along with the horse to the Russian camp, earning praise from everyone. Bes at that time went after him as a servant-armourer.

On the second day, a terrible giant leaves Smolensk again. The same Savva went against him. And he struck him. Everyone was surprised at his courage, and the boyar was angry, but concealed his anger.

On the third day, a warrior leaves Smolensk even more prominent than before and is also looking for an enemy. Savva, although he was afraid to leave against such a monster, but, remembering the demonic commandment, nevertheless left immediately. And here is a Pole on horseback against him. He flew furiously and pierced Savva's left thigh. And Savva prevailed over himself, attacked the Pole, killed him and brought him with a horse to the Russian camp. By doing so, he brought considerable shame on the besieged, and pretty much surprised the entire Russian army.

Then an army began to leave the city, and army against army converged and began to fight. And wherever Savva and his “brother” appeared, the Poles fled there, opening the rear. Together they beat countless numbers, and they themselves remained unharmed.

Hearing about the courage of the young man, the boyar could no longer hide his anger, called Savva into his tent and asked:

Tell me, young man, where are you from and whose son are you?

He answered the truth that he himself was from Kazan, the son of Foma Grudtsyn-Usov. Then the boyar began to vilify him with his last words:

What need has brought you to such hell? I know your father and your relatives, they are rich people, but who persecuted you? Or did poverty make you leave your parents and come here? I tell you: immediately go home to your parents and prosper there. And if you don’t listen to me, I’ll find out that you are still here - you will die without mercy: I will order you to cut off your head! - he said this with fury and moved away from Savva.

The young man went away in great sorrow. When he moved away from the tent, the demon said to him:

What is so sad? Our service here is not pleasing - let's go to Moscow and live there.

Without delay, they went from Smolensk to Moscow and stopped at the same captain. During the day, the demon was with Savva, and by night he went to his hellish dwellings, where he, the damned, is supposed to stay. Time has passed. Suddenly, Savva suddenly fell ill and very hard, stepping to the brink of death. The captain's wife, a prudent and God-fearing woman, took care of him as best she could. Many times she suggested that he call a priest, confess his sins and partake of the Holy Mysteries.

What if, - she said, - you will die suddenly and without repentance from such a serious illness!

Savva disagreed:

Although the disease is severe, it is not to death.

But day by day, the disease intensified. The mistress relentlessly demanded repentance so that he would not die without it. Finally, at the insistence of a God-loving woman, he agreed to confession. She sent to the temple of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for a priest, who came without delay. The priest was already in years, God-fearing and experienced. Arriving, he, as expected, began to read the prayer of repentance. When everyone left the room, he began to confess the patient. And then the patient suddenly saw that a whole crowd of demons had entered the room. And with them - an imaginary brother, only not in human form, but in his truly, bestial form.

He stood behind the demonic crowd and, gnashing his teeth and shaking with anger, began to show Savva his apostate receipt with the words: “Oathbreaker! See what it is? And I will attack you with all my might!" - and stuff like that. The patient saw them, as if in reality, was horrified and, in the hope of the power of God, told the priest everything in detail. He, although he was strong in spirit, was also frightened: there were no people in the room except the patient, and the voices of demons were heard clearly. With great difficulty he forced himself to complete the confession and went home without telling anyone. After confession, the demon attacked Savva and began torturing him: either he would hit the wall, then the floor, or he would choke him so that foam came out of his mouth. It was painful for the well-behaved owners to see such suffering, they pitied the young man, but could not help in any way.

From day to day, the demon became more and more fierce, attacked Savva more and more, and it was terrible to see his torment. Seeing such an unusual thing and not even knowing that the patient was known to the king himself for his courage, the owners decided to bring everything to the knowledge of the king. And they, by the way, and a relative lived at the court. And now the owner sends his wife to her with a request to tell the sovereign about this incident as soon as possible.

What if the young man dies, - he said, - and they will ask me for keeping silent!

The wife quickly got ready, went to a relative and told everything that her husband commanded. She was imbued with compassion, because she was very worried about the young man, and even more about her relatives, as if, indeed, some kind of misfortune had happened to them. Therefore, she did not hesitate, but went to the royal chambers and told about everything to the trusted servants of the king. Soon the king himself found out about everything. Hearing such a story, the sovereign extended his mercy over the sick and ordered the servants who were with him that during the daily changing of the guard, two guards were sent to the house of that archery captain every time to watch the sick.

Protect that young man, otherwise he, going mad from torment, will throw himself into fire or water ...

The pious king himself sent food to the sick man every day and ordered that as soon as he recovered, he would be informed. And for a long time our patient was in the hands of demonic forces.

On July 1, Savva was unusually tormented by the demon, fell asleep for a short time and in a dream, as if in reality, he said, shedding tears from his closed eyes:

O All-Merciful Lady Queen, have mercy - I will not lie, I do not promise to fulfill everything that you order!

The sentries, hearing this, were surprised and realized that he had a vision. And when the patient woke up, the captain approached him:

Mr. Grudtsyn, tell me, who did you talk to in your dream with tears in your eyes?

Savva again flooded his face with tears.

I saw, - he said, - how a woman in purple robes, shining with an inexpressible light, approached my couch. With her are two men, adorned with gray hair; one in bishop's vestments, the other in apostolic clothes. And I can’t think otherwise than that the woman was the Most Pure Mother of God, one of her companions was the confidante of the Lord John the Theologian, the other was Metropolitan Peter, glorified among the hierarchs of the unsleeping city of our Moscow. I saw their images. And the luminous Queen says: "What is the matter with you, Savva, and why do you suffer so much?" And I answer her: “I suffer, Mistress, because I angered Your Son and my God and You, the Intercessor of the Christian race. For this, the demon torments me.” She asks: "How can we avoid this scourge? How can we get a letter out of hell? What do you think?" I say: "No way. Only with the help of Your Son and Your all-powerful mercy!" She says: "I will ask my Son and your God, only you fulfill one vow, and I will deliver you from your misfortune. Do you want to become a monk?" With tears in my eyes, I began to pray to Her in a dream with the words that you heard. She said: “Listen, Savva, when the feast of the Apparition of My Kazan Icon starts, you come to my temple, which is on the square near the Rag Rows, and I will perform a miracle on you in front of all the people!” Saying this, She became invisible.

This story was heard by the captain and the soldiers assigned to Savva. They marveled at this miracle. The captain and his wife began to think about how to inform the king about what had happened. Finally, they decided to send that relative again so that she would tell those close, and those close to the sovereign himself. A relative came to the captain; the owners gave her a vision of a young man. She immediately went to the palace and announced to those close to her. They immediately reported to the king. The king was greatly surprised and began to wait for the appointed holiday.

And on July 8, the feast of the Kazan Mother of God came. Then the king ordered the sick Savva to bring to the church. On that day, there was a procession at the cathedral church of the Most Holy Theotokos ... The tsar himself was also present. When the Divine Liturgy began, Savva was laid on a carpet outside the church. And when the "Cherubim" was sung, a voice resounded like thunder:

Savva! Get up, what are you doing?! Go to church and be well. And sin no more! - and an apostate receipt fell from above and was washed away, as if it had not been written at all.

The king, seeing such a miracle, was surprised. Sick Savva jumped up from the carpet, as if he had not been sick, entered the church, fell before the image of the Most Holy Theotokos and began to ask with tears:

O Blessed Mother of the Lord, Christian Intercessor and Prayer for our souls to His Son and God! Deliver me from the abyss of hell! I will fulfill my promise soon.

This was heard by the great sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke of all Russia Mikhail Fedorovich and ordered Savva to be brought to him. When Savva arrived, the king asked him about the vision. He told him everything in detail and showed the same receipt. The king marveled at the mercy of God and the miracle that had happened. After the Divine Liturgy, Savva again went to the house of the archery captain Yakov Shilov. The captain and his wife, seeing such mercy of God, thanked God and His Most Pure Mother.

Then Savva distributed all his property to the poor, as much as he had, and he himself went to the Monastery of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael, in which the relics of the Holy Hierarch of God, Metropolitan Alexei lie (this monastery is called Miracles). There he became a monk and began to live in fasting and prayer, constantly praying to the Lord about his sin. He lived in the monastery for many years and went to the Lord in holy monasteries.

Glory to the Almighty God and His power forever and ever! Amen.

Chapter 8. LITERATURE OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 17TH CENTURY

2. "The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn"

The genre system of Russian prose experienced in the 17th century. fundamental breakdown and restructuring. The meaning of this restructuring was to free from business functions, from ties with ritual, from medieval etiquette. There was a fictionalization of prose, its transformation into a free plot narrative. The hagiographies, gradually losing their former meaning of "religious epic", were penetrated by features of secular biography. The translated chivalric novel and the translated short story have sharply increased the share of entertaining plots. In prose, complex new compositions arose, in which several traditional genre schemes were used. Such is the Tale of Savva Grudtsyn, written in the 60s. like an episode from the recent past. The story begins in 1606 and covers the siege of Smolensk by Russian troops in 1632-1634. But the nameless author of the story does not write about the history of Russia, but about the private life of a Russian man, the merchant son of Savva Grudtsyn. The story develops on Russian material the Faustian theme, the theme of selling the soul to the devil for worldly goods and pleasures. Savva Grudtsyn, the offspring of a wealthy merchant family, sent by his father on trading business from Kazan to one of the cities in the Kama Salt region, is seduced by a married woman. He had found the strength to resist her harassment on the day of the Ascension of Christ, but the lustful lover cruelly took revenge on him: first she “dried” Savva with a love potion, and then rejected her. Suffering Savva is ready to do anything to get her back - even ready to destroy her soul. “I would have served the devil,” he thinks. Here, next to him, an “imaginary brother” appears, a demon, then he accompanies him everywhere, to whom Savva had to give a “manuscript” - an agreement on the sale of the soul. Beloved again returned to Savva. Then, together with the demon, he “walks” around Russia, enrolls as a recruit in the army, and goes from Moscow to Smolensk. Here (of course, with the help of the demon) he shows miracles of courage, defeats three giants one by one and then returns to the capital as a hero. But it's time for payback. Savva is mortally ill, he is terrified: after all, eternal torment is prepared for his soul. He repents, makes a vow to become a monk and begs forgiveness from the Mother of God: in the church where the sick Savva was brought, the fateful “God-marked scripture” falls from above. It is “smoothed out”, it is clean paper. This means that the contract is not valid, and the devil loses power over Savva's soul. The hero recovers and is tonsured in the Miracle Monastery. Such is the brief retelling of the event outline of this work. In The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn, the plot scheme of a “miracle”, a religious legend, is used. This genre was one of the most widespread in medieval writing. It is widely represented in the prose of the 17th century. Any religious legend sets itself a didactic goal: to prove some kind of Christian axiom, for example, the effectiveness of prayer and repentance, the inevitability of punishing a sinner. Legends usually have three plot nodes. Legends begin with a transgression, misfortune or illness of the hero. This is followed by repentance, prayer, an appeal to God, the Mother of God, the saints for help. The third knot is remission of sin, healing, salvation. This composition was obligatory, but in its development, in a specific performance, a certain artistic freedom was allowed. The writer could, at his own discretion, choose the main character or heroine, the time and place of action, and introduce an arbitrary number of secondary characters. The plot sources of The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn were religious legends about a young man who sinned by selling his soul to the devil, then repented and was forgiven. In one of these legends, The Word and Tale of a Certain Merchant, the action took place in Novgorod, the hero was a merchant's son, and the demon was portrayed as the hero's servant. Apparently, it was the “Word and Legend about a certain merchant” that was the direct literary source of “The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn”. It is extremely important that the characters in both the Lay and the Tale belong to the merchant milieu. The merchant class was the most mobile of the ancient Russian estates. Merchants were accustomed to long-distance wanderings in Russia and beyond Russian borders. Merchants knew languages, in their own and foreign markets they constantly communicated with foreigners, bought, read and brought home foreign books. The merchant class was less inert and withdrawn than other classes of ancient Russian society, more tolerant of foreign culture, open to various influences. How wide was the outlook of the best people of this class, shows the "Journey beyond the Three Seas" by Afanasy Nikitin with his amazing tolerance and respect for other people's beliefs and traditions. This class "mobility" is also reflected in literature - in works whose heroes were merchants. The reader found here descriptions of dangerous journeys with storms and shipwrecks, stories about the test of a wife's fidelity during her husband's absence, and other adventure and romance motifs. The "pressure of etiquette" in works about merchants is much weaker than in works about "official" heroes, about church ascetics, about princes, kings, and governors. Having chosen a merchant's son as the hero of his story, the author of The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn could rely on this tradition. Another source for the story is the fairy tale. The fairy tale is inspired by the scenes in which the demon acts as a magical assistant, “giving” Savva “wisdom” in military affairs, supplying him with money, etc. The fights of Savva with three enemy heroes near Smolensk go back to the fairy tale (the trinity symbolism here is clearly of folklore origin) . Such a plot link in the story as the “royal theme” is also connected with a fairy tale. In the scenes leading the reader to the denouement, it is constantly emphasized that the tsar "pours out his mercy" on Savva, takes care of him, sympathizes with him. When the hero suffered from “demonic languor” and everyone was afraid that he would lay hands on himself, the king assigned guards to him and sent “everyday food”. The king ordered the sufferer to be transferred to the church. The king asked Savva about his life and adventures. From the point of view of plot logic, this royal patronage is natural: after all, it takes place after the military service of Savva near Smolensk. Patronage is given to a brave man, an invincible warrior. Royal attention is not an accident or a whim, but a reward for exploits on the battlefield. But the author of the story speaks of Savva's connection with the tsar much earlier, even before the Smolensk campaign, when the reader does not yet know that the dissolute merchant's son will become a war hero. “On some occasion, the tsar himself clearly taught (became known) about him,” the author writes about Savva, when he and his “imaginary brother” ended up in Moscow. Here, the boyar Semyon Lukyanovich Streshnev, the sovereign's brother-in-law, paid favorable attention to Savva. The patronage of the royal brother-in-law for some reason infuriates the demon. “The devil spoke to him (Sawa) with fury: “Why do you want to despise the royal mercy and serve his serf? You are now, and yourself, arranged in the same order, already more and the king himself is noble (known) thou hast done.” What does it mean? Why does the demon say that Savva “now himself is arranged in the same order,” that is, he has become equal to the royal relative and boyar? The answer is a fairy tale. The author, as it were, evades explanations, but this does not mean at all that the reader of the 17th century. didn't understand what he was referring to. For a man of Ancient Russia, a fairy tale was a close, “eternal companion” from childhood. And just a fairy tale explains this episode. It, as a rule, ends with the marriage of the hero to the royal daughter and his subsequent accession to the throne. The son-in-law, the relative, and not the son or other blood relative of the sovereign, usually reigns. The demon implies this: why bow to the royal brother-in-law if Savva becomes the royal son-in-law? And then, as it were, preparations for a fabulous triumph continue. For this reason, the author transfers the action to Smolensk, in order to allow Savva to distinguish himself. Here he is already a hero, he completed something like a fabulous test - he defeated three "combatants". But here the author breaks off the fabulous course of events, returning to the plot knots of the “miracle”. Sickness (a consequence of transgression) is described, then repentance and, finally, healing and forgiveness (expiation of sin). In artistic terms, these switches from one plot prototype to another, from a religious legend to a fairy tale and then back to a religious legend are extremely important. This is a kind of literary "deception", because the author creates the effect of a deceived expectation. Such a technique is not typical of the Middle Ages, when etiquette dominated literature, when a familiar plot situation entailed another equally familiar one. This technique is typical for the art of the new time, in which the unexpected, the unusual, the new are valued. The author of The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn has already overcome medieval etiquette, because he keeps the reader in constant suspense, switching from one storyline to another. It would be wrong to see this as a literary game or artistic inconsistency. "The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" is not a mosaic of ill-fitting fragments taken from different compositions. This is a thoughtful, ideologically and artistically integral work. Savva is not destined to achieve fabulous happiness because God judges, and Savva sold his soul to Satan. The demon, so similar to a fairy-tale magical assistant, is in fact the antagonist of the hero. The demon is not omnipotent, and the one who trusts in him will certainly fail. Evil begets evil. Evil makes a person unhappy. Such is the moral conflict of the story, and in this conflict the demon plays the primary role. The demonic theme in The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn is the tragic theme of duality. The demon is the "brother" of the hero, his "second self". In Orthodox ideas, every person living on earth is accompanied by a guardian angel - also a kind of double, but an ideal, heavenly double. The author of The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn gave a negative, "shadowy" solution to this topic. The demon is the shadow of the hero, the demon personifies the vices of Savva, the dark that is in him - frivolity, weak will, vanity, voluptuousness. The forces of evil are powerless in the fight against the righteous, but the sinner becomes their easy prey, because he chooses the path of evil. Savva, of course, is a victim, but he himself is to blame for his misfortunes. “The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn” is full of signs of a “rebellious age”, when the age-old foundations of ancient Russian life were broken. The author seeks to convince the reader that his work is not fiction, that it is "true". This illusion of lifelikeness is served, in particular, by the reality of the character's surname. In the merchant class of the XVII century. one of the prominent places was occupied by the wealthy Grudtsyn-Usov family. It is possible that the story reflected some real troubles experienced by this family. It is quite possible that some dissolute underage from the Grudtsyn-Usov family seduced the married merchant's wife (or that the merchant's wife seduced the underage). It is even possible that the undergrowth tried to “dry” the merchant’s wife with the help of Satan: according to the sources of the 18th century, as established by N.N. Pokrovsky, there are dozens of attempts to conclude a “pact with the devil”, and love failures were the most frequent motive. Such a loser wrote on a piece of paper about his agreement to sell his soul (a signature in blood is not required), wrapped a stone in paper (the stone was taken for gravity) and threw it into the mill whirlpool, where, as it was believed, evil spirits dwell (cf. the saying “In a still whirlpool devils are found"). If this was done in the 18th century, then even more so it could have been done a century earlier. And yet, the introduction of a real family, a real name, a real address into the text is, above all, a literary device. Not the truth of the incident described, but the "truth" of his work, its authority, weight, significance, the author tried to assert in this way. In the artistic conception of the author, the idea of ​​diversity, diversity of life is very important. Her variability captivates the young man. But a perfect Christian must resist this delusion, for for him earthly existence is decay, sleep, vanity of vanities. This idea occupied the author so much that he allowed inconsistency in the construction of the plot. Savva Grudtsyn made a pact with the devil in order to quench his sinful passion for the wife of Bazhen II. The devil, for his part, fulfilled the obligation: “Sava again came to the house of the Bazhenov and was in his former stingy business.” But a letter is received from Kazan, from which it is clear that Grudtsyn Sr. found out about his son's debauchery and wants to come for him. And then Savva suddenly forgets about his demonic, all-consuming passion, leaving his mistress forever. The hero will never remember her again, and the reader will not know anything. Why in this case was to sell the soul? Did Savva cool off because he was afraid of his father? Couldn't the all-powerful "imaginary brother" somehow settle the matter, detain the father? Let us give the word to the demon: “Brother Savvo, how long will we live here in one small city? Let’s go to other cities and take a walk.” “Good, brother, speak,” Savva approves of him. This means that Savva Grudtsyn sold his soul not only for love, but also for “walking” around Russian cities, seeing the world, enjoying life, knowing its variability and diversity. Thus, the inconsistency of the plot pays off with the integrity of the character of the protagonist. According to his views, the author of the story is a conservative. He is horrified by carnal passion, like any thought of enjoying life: it is a sin and destruction. But the power of love-passion, the attractiveness of a motley life has already captured his contemporaries, entered the flesh and blood of a new generation. The author opposes new trends, condemns them from the standpoint of church morality. But, like a true artist, he admits that these trends are firmly rooted in Russian society.

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During the Time of Troubles, the merchant Foma Grudtsyn-Usov lived in Veliky Ustyug. Having endured many troubles from the invasion of the Poles, he moved to Kazan - the Poles had not yet reached there. He lived in Kazan with his wife until Mikhail Fedorovich reigned. And he had a twelve-year-old son Savva.

Foma went to trade sometimes in Sol Kama, sometimes in Astrakhan, and sometimes in the Shakhov region. And he taught his son the merchant business. Once Foma went to the Shakhov region, and sent Savva to trade in Sol Kama.

Having reached the city of Orel, Savva stopped at a hotel. In this city, he met his father's friend named Bazhen II, who invited Savva to live in his house. The young man agreed. Bazhen was the third marriage married to a young woman. Bazhen's wife persuaded Savva to commit adultery, and for a long time they lived in sin.

The Feast of the Ascension has arrived. On the eve of the holiday Bazhen and Savva visited the church. Late in the evening, when Bazhen fell asleep, his wife came to Savva and incited the young man to fornication. He was afraid to commit sin on such a great holiday. Then the woman became angry and decided to give the young man a magic potion to drink.

In the morning, Bazhen and Savva went to church, and meanwhile the evil woman prepared a potion. After the service, Bazhen and Savva went to visit the governor. Then they came home, and Bazhen's wife gave the young man a magical drink. Savva immediately began to yearn for her. And the woman after that began to slander the young man and ordered him to be expelled from the house. Bazhen, although he felt sorry for Savva, did not contradict his wife. The young man left with great sorrow.

Savva returned to the hotel. He lost weight from love anguish, his beauty began to fade. The host and his wife, seeing this, were perplexed. They secretly called the sorcerer and asked him about the young man. The sorcerer, looking into the magic books, told the story of Bazhen's wife, but the hotelier and his wife did not believe.

Once Savva went for a walk outside the city in a field. He thought that he would serve even the devil if he helped him return Bazhen's wife. Behind Savva heard a voice calling him. Turning around, he saw a young man. The young man approached and told that he also comes from the Grudtsyn family. He called Savva brother. Savva told his new brother about his misfortune. The young man promised to help if Savva wrote some manuscript. Savva, without thinking, wrote everything from dictation and did not even understand the meaning of what he wrote. In fact, this young man was not a man, but a demon. And handwriting was a denial of God.

The young man advised Savva to immediately go to Bazhen. He obeyed. Bazhen and his wife joyfully greeted Savva. And again he began to live in sin with Bazhen's wife.

Savva's mother heard rumors about her son's bad life. She wrote to Savva to return to Kazan. But the son did not listen.

The demon, having met Savva again, told this time that he comes from a royal family. He showed Savva a beautiful city from the mountain and called it the city of his father. The demon called Savva to go bow to his father-king. Friends entered the royal chambers. On the throne sat the prince of darkness, around him stood young men with scarlet and black faces. Savva approached the ruler, promised to serve him and gave the king his manuscript. Then Savva and the demon, having had a meal, left the city. Bes promised to help the young man in everything.

At this time, Foma Grudtsyn returned to Kazan. His wife told him that Savva did not want to return home and did not answer letters. The father wrote another letter to his son, but, having received no answer, he decided to go to Oryol for his son.

And the demon, having learned that Foma Grudtsyn was heading to Orel, persuaded Savva to go for a walk in different cities. The young man agreed and went with him, without even warning Bazhen and his wife.

In one night, the demon and Savva overcame a huge distance - they appeared in the city of Kuzmodemyansky, and the next day - on the Oka, in the village of Pavlov Perevoz. There, walking around the market, Savva saw a poor old man who looked at him and cried. The young man approached and asked about the reason for the tears. The elder said that he was crying about Savva himself, who is obedient to the devil in everything. When the young man returned to his demon friend, he scolded him for talking with the elder. Then the "brothers" went to the city of Shuya.

And Foma Grudtsyn arrived in Oryol and learned about the disappearance of his son. No one could say where Savva had gone. Foma waited for his return for a long time, and then returned home. After some time, he died in sorrow, and Savva's mother was left a widow.

At this time, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich was recruiting soldiers for the war with the Polish king. Savva signed up as a soldier, and the demon was his squire. The recruits were brought to Moscow and placed under the command of a German colonel, who immediately saw that Savva was skilled in military science. The colonel fell in love with Savva and put him at the head of three companies of recruits. Thanks to the help of the demon, Savva's subordinates were always provided for and satisfied with everything. Even the tsar was aware of Grudtsyn's successes.

The king's brother-in-law, the boyar Streshnev, found out about Savva and wanted to bring him into his house, but he, on the advice of the demon, refused.

The regiments were already ready to march near Smolensk. Savva lived in the house of the centurion Yakov Shilov. One night the demon carried Savva to Smolensk. For three days they watched the defensive work of the Poles and were invisible. On the fourth day they became visible, and the Poles tried to catch them, but could not: Savva and the demon crossed the Dnieper, as if by land. Then they again found themselves in Moscow.

When the regiments moved to Smolensk, the demon on the way advised Savva to go out to duels against those mighty warriors whom the Poles would send out of the city.

For three days in a row, the regiments expelled the bogatyrs from the city. Savva defeated all three. But his courage aroused the hatred of the boyar Shein, who commanded the regiments. The boyar ordered the daredevil to return home. Savva and the demon again went to Moscow. The young man again stopped at Yakov Shilov's. The demon came to him during the day, and at night he dwelt in hellish dwellings.

Savva fell seriously ill. Yakov Shilov's wife persuaded him to confess and take communion. I called a priest from the church of St. Nicholas in Grachi. During confession, the patient saw a crowd of demons around him. He told the priest about it, but he did not see anyone.

After confession, the unclean spirit began to torment Savva greatly. Yakov Shilov and his wife brought the news of Savva's illness to the attention of the king. The king ordered to put guards who would make sure that the young man did not commit suicide.

On the first day of July, the patient saw the Mother of God in a dream. She promised to save the young man from illness if he took monastic vows. Savva agreed, and the Mother of God ordered him to come to the temple for the feast of the Kazan Icon. The young man told about the vision to the soldiers who guarded him, as well as to the centurion and his wife. Yakov Shilov brought the message to the Tsar himself.

When the feast of the Kazan Icon came, the tsar ordered the sick Savva to be brought to the church. He was laid near the temple on a carpet. During the service, a voice was heard from heaven: "... Be healthy, and do not sin against that!" And an apostate letter, once written by Savva, fell from above. But all words were erased from him. The young man got up from the carpet, entered the church and prayed before the icon of the Virgin. Then he told his story to the king.

Returning to the house of Yakov Shilov, Savva distributed his property to the poor and became a monk in the Miracle Monastery, where he lived for many years and died.

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