Culturological Analysis of F. R. Chateaubriand's Book "The Genius of Christianity": Success Factors and the Cultural Category of Sinfulness

Semukhina Elena Aleksandrovna ORCID: 0000-0001-8560-0707 PhD in Philology Associate Professor, Department of Translation Studies and Intercultural Communication, Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov 410008, Russia, Saratov region, Saratov, Polytechnic str., 77 semuh@rambler.ru Other publications by this author     Voloshinov Aleksandr Viktorovich ORCID: 0000-0003-2500-4190 Doctor of Philosophy Professor, Department of History and Cultural Studies, Saratov State Technical University named after Yuri Gagarin. 410008, Russia, g. Saratov, ul. Politekhnicheskaya, 77 alvoloshinov@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Kiryushkina Viktoriya Viktorovna ORCID: 0000-0002-4923-2481 Doctor of Cultural Studies Professor of the Department «History and Political Science» of Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov, Doctor of Cultural Studies, Associate Professor 410008, Russia, 410008, Politechnicheskaya str., 77 cyr72@mail.ru

Among the works of the XIX century there are a number of books of interest to the researcher, since they had a significant impact on the development of philosophical thought, literature and culture in general. These, in our opinion, include the book of the famous French writer, the founder of Romanticism, public figure F. R. Chateaubriand "The Genius of Christianity".

The analysis of this work seems relevant, because today the question of the need to solve problems in the field of intercultural communication is more acute than ever ^{[1, pp. 297-298]}; the success of the latter depends on the degree of understanding of national and cultural characteristics, which often go back centuries ^[2]. Many modern views are based on the ideas and views of the XIX century, since this period is rightly considered the time of the greatest breakthrough of scientific and philosophical thought, the flourishing of all kinds of arts, the formation and development of socio-political trends and trends.

It was during this period that F.R. Chateaubriand's book was conceived and created, filled with deep religious and philosophical meaning, reflecting the existential tragedy of the epoch ^{[3, p. 177]} - "The Genius of Christianity". Her appearance caused an extraordinary response in society: the French, who had recently renounced religion, again felt the need to return to faith.

The undertaken research on the historical factors that influenced the emergence of popularity, as well as the cultural and semantic analysis of the book, only part of which has been translated into Russian to date, allowed us to establish the reasons for the widespread public influence of the work, the influencing effect of which to some extent persists to this day, as well as to find out by what means the author conveys the meaning of the most important categories in particular, the categories of sinfulness, a red thread running through the entire text.

Let us turn to historical analysis to identify which historical factors determined the success of the work.

F.R. Chateaubriand grew up in an aristocratic family that remained religiously loyal to Catholicism; however, like any of his contemporaries, the future writer absorbed the ideas of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau. Researchers of his work write that Chateaubriand treated the main ideas of the Enlightenment very coldly, including atheistic and God-fighting ideas ^{[4, pp. 49-50]}. Nevertheless, in his first work, Essai historique, politique et moral sur les r?volutions anciennes et modernes, consid?r?es dans leurs rapports avec la R?volution fran?aise (in Russian translation, The Experience of the Revolution or Essays on the History, Politics and Morality of Ancient and New Revolutions Considered in connection with the French Revolution) Chateaubriand reduces philosophical ideas to materialism. The reason for this was his half-starved, extremely miserable existence in the status of an emigrant in London: the viscount took part in the military actions of the so-called Army of Princes against the troops of the French Republic, was wounded and taken to the UK, where he found himself without means of livelihood ^{[5, p. 132]}. Sick, hungry, living in extreme poverty in the attic of someone else's house, he felt abandoned by God.

The first work of Chateaubriand read did not attract the attention of the French. Only his mother read her son's essay with great regret. She died soon after. During the same period, some of F.R. Chateaubriand's relatives, friends and acquaintances were imprisoned (including his young wife), some were guillotined. Having experienced such great losses, having read the deathbed letter of his mother, who endlessly regretted the lack of faith of his son, he again turns to religion, and since then considers it his duty to engage in writing for the glory of God. Inspired by his decision, Chateaubriand begins to write the most important work of his life – "The Genius of Christianity" (or in another translation – "The Apology of Christianity").

Chateaubriand returns to his homeland, where he spends whole days working on historical and religious books, trying to combine them into one large work, where background information is presented in such a way that causes tears of emotion among compatriots, and the stories are woven into the general outline of the narrative.

In general, he gets a fairly voluminous volume of more than seven hundred pages, divided into three parts, in which 5-6 books are combined. The author writes about baptism and communion, the Ten Commandments, vices and virtues. He also includes in his work arguments about the poetics of Christianity ^{[6, p. 252]}, about the wonders of nature and evidence of the existence of God, ideas about mathematics and astronomy, historical evidence.

In general, the main idea of Chateaubriand was the desire to show that the Christian religion is much more moral than paganism, it promotes the development of art and science, is a necessary basis for freedom ^{[7, pp. 27-29]}.

At the time when F. R. Chateaubriand wrote his book, most Frenchmen declared that they were, if not atheists, then non-practicing Catholics. This situation was the result of the development and popularity of the ideas of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution that followed, when the denial of faith turned into the destruction and looting of churches and the persecution of church servants. As a result, by 1794 there were no more than fifty parishes throughout the country where Mass was celebrated ^{[8, p. 112]}.

However, it was not so easy for society to abandon its beliefs, as the conditions of the revolutionary situation demanded. Catholic traditions were preserved in many French families. After a period of denial of faith, the time has come to return to it. These social trends were reflected in the act of Napoleon signing the Concordat with Pope Pius VII (1801), according to which Catholicism was declared the religion of the majority of the French. The signing of this treaty was an attempt to overcome religious fragmentation in the country, a demonstration of the desire of the authorities to reconcile with the royalists and with the entire Catholic world, who accused Napoleon of destructive atheism and persecution of believers.

It is at this moment that the book by F.R. Chateaubriand, a writer who masterfully owns a pen, who is able to emotionally describe any historical event, appears. The society was conquered by the "Genius of Christianity", whose author said that he came to the ruins of the destroyed church and revived faith with his one exclamation: "Let there be religion!" ^{[9, p. 54]}.

The fashion for this book was supported by the authorities – in one of the first editions, Chateaubriand publishes an appeal to Napoleon, in which he thanks him for supporting the publication (V ous avez bien voulu prendre sous votre protection cette ?dition du G?nie du Christianisme ^{[10, p. 43]}. / You have decided to take under your protection this edition of the "Genius of Christianity". – zd. and further our translation – E.S.) on behalf of "thirty million Christians who pray for you before the altars that you have returned to them" (Continuez ? tendre une main securable ? trente millions de Chretiens qui prient pour vous au pied des autels que vous leur avez rendus ^{[10, p. 43]}).Since the publication of the book and the growth of its popularity in high society, it has ceased to be shameful to call oneself a Catholic.

Women were especially shocked by the "Genius of Christianity", which affected not only their emotionality, but also became a turning point, after which churches began to open and repair, and church communities started working again.  The latter meant for French women of that period a return to social activity and self-realization not only in the family as a wife and mother.As for the conceptual content of the book, as we have already indicated above, one of the main cultural categories that are represented in it is the category of sinfulness.

She is so important for this work that she managed to "go beyond" the text: faithful readers and contemporaries of Chateaubriand repeatedly accused him of such a sin as pride: after all, he repeatedly declared his most important role in the restoration of the cult in France (recall his peremptory phrase: "Let there be religion!"). The author was also reproached with the fact that in his text he recognizes his opinion as a measure of faith and religiosity. In addition, an assessment of his moral principles was also expressed ^{[11, p. 4-6]}.However, Chateaubriand himself never considered himself to be sinless, he wrote:

«Un livre suffit-il ? Dieu? N'est-ce pas ma vie que je devrais lui pr?senter? Or, cette vie est-elle conforme au G?nie du Christianisme? Qu'importe que j'aie trac? des images plus ou moins brillantes de la religion, si mes passions jettent une ombre sur ma foi" ^{[9, p. 29]}. / "Is one book enough for God? Shouldn't I give my life to him? Does this life correspond to the "Genius of Christianity"? It doesn't matter if I have created more or less brilliant images of religion, if my passions cast a shadow on my faith."In the preface to the "Genius of Christianity" F.R. Chateaubriand emphasizes that the moral laws of religion are among the most important, he puts them in the first place, reflecting on the role of Christianity in society:

"...il a voulu montrer en outre tout ce que les hommes doivent ? cette religion sous les rapports moraux, civils et politiques"... ^{[10, p.VIII]} / "<author>  I also wanted to show everything that people owe to this religion within the framework of morality, society and politics...".In the very content of the book there are several separate chapters in which the author examines sinfulness, including from the point of view of its cultural significance.

Thus, in the chapter "Vices and virtues according to faith," Chateaubriand writes that pride is the main human vice from which all other sins arise: "L'orgueil est si bien le principe du mal, qu'il se trouve m?l? aux diverses infirmit?s de l'ame: il brille dans le souris de l'envie, il ?clate dans les d?bauches de la volupt?, il compte l'or de l'avarice, il etincelle dans les yeux de la col?re, et suit les graces de la mollesse" ^{[10, p. 45]}. / "Pride is the basis of evil, therefore it mixes with various mental infirmities: its luster is noticeable in envy, it explodes in the pleasures of debauchery, it counts the gold of greed, it sparkles in the eyes of anger, and follows the grace of effeminacy."

According to the author, it was because of pride that the division of peoples took place and languages arose, the civilization of Persia, Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire perished. Pride also underlies atheism.Chateaubriand tries to find logic and understanding of nature and the world order in the way it is customary in the Christian tradition to list mortal sins: indeed, pride, the cause of all sins, is followed by less significant envy, lust, greed and anger.

Their position in the hierarchy, following pride, is due to the fact that these vices affect not only one sinner, but also many others. Individual sins (gluttony and laziness) they are the last on the list, as less dangerous and socially insignificant.

Virtues, according to Chateaubriand, appeared in contrast to sins according to the word of God. He recognizes humility as the main one among them, because it is opposed to pride and successfully copes with it.

Thus, the author of the "Genius of Christianity" tries to classify sinful deeds and vices, as well as to find a way to balance or cancel them, recognizing the ability of nature to be in balance.

In the chapter "The Laws of Morality or the Ten Commandments" Chateaubriand examines the moral codes of different civilizations, proving their illogicality, randomness, inconsistency and incompleteness. In his opinion, the Ten Commandments of Christianity are the perfect moral law, which are written in concise, precise and at the same time figurative and poetic language and reflect the highest wisdom. The author of the book considers these facts to be proof of the divine origin of the commandments.

An important argument in favor of his theory about the authorship of the commandments, Chateaubriand believes that they are addressed not to one nation, but to the whole of humanity.

Chateaubriand finds in the Ten Commandments an appeal to the laws of psychology: God commanded us to love our parents for a reason," the author writes, "because loving our children is natural, and it's not worth talking about it specifically. But love for parents is wisely enshrined in the law.

In addition, Chateaubriand writes that, proclaiming the highest values, Christianity does not forget everyday life, but even here there is a connection with the spiritual principle, with the Divine plan. For example, many moral codes of previous civilizations spoke about holidays and non-working days. But only the Christian faith connected the rhythm of weekdays and weekends with the stages of the creation of the universe: "Enfin, les l?gislateurs antiques ont marqu? dans leurs codes les ?poques des f?tes des nations; mais le jour du repos d'Israel est le jour m?me du repos de Dieu. L'h?breu... dans les heures de son obscur travail, n'a rien moins devant les yeux que la cr?ation successive de l'univers ^{[10, p. 56]}. / Finally, the ancient legislators noted in their codes the periods of the holidays of the peoples. And the day of rest of Israel is the day of rest of God himself. Jew... in the hours of his hard work, he has nothing before his eyes but the consistent creation of the universe."

Chateaubriand also considered important the broad possibility of combating sin that the Christian faith gives: a believer can serve God everywhere and always, and not only in the temple, and nothing is required for the education of virtue, the main antagonist of sin.

So, F. R. Chateaubriand believed that sin is a violation of the divine laws given to mankind in the form of the Ten Commandments, the sacredness of the origin of which he proved in his book. The author did not just describe the main sins of a person, but also classified and ranked them, trying to find logic in constructing their traditional list. This approach indicates that by the beginning of the XIX century, faith in France had lost its irrational character, efforts and logical constructions were required to understand its basic postulates.

An analysis of the historical situation in which F.R. Chateaubriand's work was published showed that at that time there was a need in society to restore the Christian religion after decades of disbelief, destruction and closure of churches. This fact proves the universality of the need for faith (cf., for example, the restoration of Orthodoxy in Russia after the Soviet period of atheism), as well as the enduring importance for society and culture of the basic values, rules and categories of religion, including the category of sinfulness.