the theological students performed ecclesiastical
dramas; and travelled about during the holidays, to exhibit their
skill in other cities. The scenes which they had to repeat most
frequently, were the three Children in the fiery furnace, and Haman's
execution. The tragedies of Simeon of Polotzk, in the Old Slavic
language, had great success in the middle of the seventeenth century.
Their renown penetrated from the convents to the court; where they
were performed before Tzar Fedor, the predecessor of Peter.[12] His
minister, Matveyef, the Slavic Mecaenas of his time, and himself a
writer, invited the first stage-players to Russia; and at his
instigation, the first secular drama, a translation of Moliere's
"Medecin malgre lui," was played before the gratified princesses and
their enraptured maids of honour. The sister of the two Tzars, the
Tzarevna Sophia, was a great patroness of the dramatic art: and was
herself the author of several tragedies and comedies, which were acted
before her by her ladies.

This latter portion of the first period, poor as it is, has
nevertheless several books of travels to exhibit. A merchant of
Tver, Athanasius Nikitin, travelled in the year 1470 to India, visited
the Dekkan and Golconda, and gave on his return a description of those
countries. Two other merchants of Moscow, Korobeinikof and Grekof,
described a century later their travels through Syria, Palestine and
Egypt. Fedor Baikof, Russian envoy to China, published likewise a book
of travels in that remarkable country.

In the department of history, this portion of the first period was
surprisingly productive. Not only were the Annals of the venerable
Nestor, the basis of all Slavic history, continued by the monks with
fidelity and zeal; but a whole series of other annals, biographies of
single princes, and chronographies, were produced; and even some
foreign nations received their share of attention.[13] The reader
however must not expect to find a vestige of philosophical genius, nor
a philosophical representation of the events. Entirely unacquainted
with classical literature, the Greek writers of the Byzantine age were
their only models. The best that can be expected is a dry and faithful
narrative of facts.[14]

The weakest part of the literature of this later portion of the
period, is the theological branch; a sketch of which however may not
be inappropriate here. It is true, that the _Improvement_ of the old
church books was e