The knout is not the devil, but it will seek out the truth. Wide is the gateway leading into a boyár’s court, but narrow--out of it. Slavery drinks mead, and freedom water. --From Quarterly Review, vol. cxxxix. THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Iván Tikhónovich Pososhkóv. (1670-1726.) An interesting figure that belongs both to the old and the new régime is Pososhkóv. He was the son of a peasant and had received no other education than what he could pick up from the reading of church books. He also acquired a knowledge of arithmetic, a rare science for the men of the older generation, and of grammar, and much practical experience in his wanderings through Russia. Being a good business man and a close observer of current events, he became very rich, owned several factories, and carried on commerce on a large scale. He had brought from his peasant home the religious piety of the old order of things, but at the same time was shrewd enough to see the advantages of reform, which he favoured to the best of his ability. His son was among the first Russians who were sent abroad to be instructed. He provided him with ample means and a written _Father’s Testament to his Son, with a Moral, in Confirmation of Holy Writ_. This _Testament_ belongs in the same category as the _Domostróy_ (see p. 126), but the spirit of reform has softened many of the ancient crudities. Of his other works the most interesting is his _The Book on Poverty and Wealth, That is, An Exposition of what Causes Dire Poverty and Abundantly Increases Wealth_, which is characteristic of the transitional stage of Russia. In this work, Pososhkóv combines shrewd guesses on economic problems with crude conceptions of their solution. “THE BOOK ON POVERTY AND WEALTH” FROM THE CHAPTER “ON MERCHANTS” The merchant guild must not be disregarded, for without merchants no country, neither large nor small, can exist. The merchant is the companion of the military: the soldier fights, and the merchant aids him by furnishing him with all the necessaries. For this reason an unstinted care should be bestowed upon them, for as the soul cannot exist without a body, even so the soldier cannot get along without the merchant; nor can the merchant get along without the soldier. A country expands through the profession of war, and is beautified through commerce. Consequently the merchants must be protected against offenders, so that they receive not the least insult from government officials. Many unthinking people disdain the merchants, loathe them and offend them without provocation, and yet there is no condition of life which can get along without the merchant.