nd
serfs to that one of his children who should prove "the most successful
in the sciences"; and one of Prince Antiokh's brothers having married a
daughter of Prince D. M. Galitzyn, one of the most influential men of
the day, Peter the Great naturally adjudged him the heir to the estate.
This embittered Prince Antiokh Kantemir, and he revealed his wrath
against the Emperor and his party in his first two notable satires,
which appeared about the time the Empress Anna Ioannovna ascended the
throne (1730). Galitzyn was one of the nobles who were ruined by this
event, and Prince Kantemir recovered a portion of his rightful
possessions. In 1731 his powerful protection secured him the appointment
of diplomatic resident in London. Thence he was, later on, transferred
to Paris, and never returned to Russia. Before his departure to London,
he wrote five satires, several fables and epistles, none of which were
printed, however, though they won him great reputation in cultivated
society, where they circulated in manuscript copies. Satire was quite in
the spirit of the age, and Kantemir devoted himself to it. He displayed
much wit and keen observation. In all, he produced nine satires, four
being written during his sojourn abroad. In Satire Second, entitled,
"Filaret and Evgeny," or "On the Envy and Pride of Cantankerous Nobles,"
he describes the arrogance of the nobility, and their pretensions to the
highest posts, without any personal exertion or merit, solely on the
merits of their ancestors; and here he appears as a zealous advocate of
Peter the Great's "Table of Ranks," intended to put a stop to precisely
this state of affairs, by making rank depend on personal services to the
state. The Third and Sixth Satires are curious in that they clearly
express the author's views on his own literary activity, and also on
society and literature in general. The Sixth Satire, written in 1738, is
the most important, as showing Kantemir's own nature, both as a man and
as a writer.

One of the men most in sympathy with Peter the Great was Vasily
Nikititch Tatishtcheff (1686-1750), who was educated partly in Russia,
partly abroad. He applied his brilliant talents and profound mind to the
public service, first in the Artillery, then in the Department of Mines,
later on as Governor of Astrakhan. In pursuance of a general plan for
useful literary labors, Tatishtcheff collected materials for a
geography, which he did not finish, and for a history