80. Речь при заложении в Москве Триумфальных ворот

(Said on August 17th, printed in the Moscow Gazette of 1829, in the Christian Reading of 1829 and in the collections of 1835, 1844 and 1848). According to the sovereign will of the Most Pious Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, a solemn gate should be erected in this place in memory of the unforgettable days of Alexander the Blessed, in memory of domestic disasters, rewarded with victories and glory, in memory of the revival of this Reigning City, almost destroyed by the cruelty of enemies, marvelously preserved by the Providence of God, restored with great love for the Fatherland the former splendor and splendor. Therefore, we are gathered here now to invoke God’s blessing on the foundation and construction of this monument. The Christian rule is that every deed and undertaking be sanctified by the word of God and prayer. The thought of a monument is most often associated with the thought of the glory of the people and deeds that form the subject of the monument; but if it were only human love of glory to create monuments, then we would try in vain to sanctify a work from which its spirit and intention would take away its inner dignity, like a worm from the fruit in which it is hidden. So, in order to reliably invoke God’s blessing on the visible foundation of a monument, one must first reliably establish its invisible foundation, that is, the motivation and intention with which it should be created. The natural, simple, and in its simplicity, pure motivation for the creation of public monuments should lie in love for the Fatherland and gratitude to people who, due to their generally useful deeds, are worthy of living in the memory of the Fatherland. To make sure of this, let us take our thought to the beginning of private monuments, which in origin should have preceded public ones, since the family preceded the state. – The son loves to sit under the tree, under which he often saw his father sitting, and enjoyed the conversation of fatherly love and experienced wisdom: in this case, the tree is a monument of the father for the son, and what makes it a monument is filial love; but since they remind the past only to one who knows it, and a person wants to make memorable for others what is unforgettable for him: then from the lack and imperfection of natural monuments, the idea should have been born to build artificial monuments. What man did, in time the people began to do it, which is the same man, only multiplied: and thus public monuments arose. If love for the Fatherland invents public monuments, then statesmanship uses this invention. – The monument is a silent preacher, who, in some respects, may be superior to the speaker, because he does not stop the sermon entrusted to him, and thus it reaches the whole people, and many successive generations. – A monument is a book that does not need to be looked for in the book depository, because it lies on the way; and thus it is read by those who did not think to reveal it. Having noticed this, state wisdom favors the construction of monuments, so that they, in turn, instill in the people the same love for the Fatherland that inspired the idea of ​​building them, and so that, proclaiming the virtues and deeds of their ancestors, they encourage their descendants to the same virtues and deeds. Thus, if God deigns to erect the monument now being founded, it will proclaim the invincible courage of the Blessed King and with him the blessed people, the great sacrifices made by the King and the people for the salvation of the Fatherland, and the great salvation acquired by great sacrifices. A lesson truly worthy of the attention of posterity! Thus we already find that there are monuments that are sacred in civil terms. But since we are called for the sanctification of the Christian, we will not hesitate to show that civil monuments can be worthy of such sanctification, precisely when their deep foundation is piety and gratitude to God, the Supreme Author of beneficial events for human society, and for the beneficence of memorable events. In the book of Kings, after describing the invasion of foreigners into the Holy Land and the victory won over them through the prayer of the Prophet Samuel, the following is read: “And Samuel took one stone, and set it between Mizpeth and between the old one, and he called its name Abenezer; that is, a stone of help; and he said: Until the Lord help us” (1 Samuel 7:12). Here is a monument, without a doubt blessed and sacred, because with it the name of the Lord Helper is blessed and hallowed. There is no doubt, and the Most Pious Nicholas, indicating this place for the monument, said in his heart: “Here the Lord will help us.” A man whose name I do not want to pronounce passed here, with devastation kind to him, through the Capital to Petrov’s house lying nearby: he made himself a short-lived monument worthy of himself, the fire of Petrov’s house; he reached this far; and it was no longer possible for him to go further; he returned to hasten to his own destruction. “From here the Lord help us.” Let us therefore, together with the Most Pious Sovereign, lift up our reverent hearts to God the Helper, and again call upon His help, so that this monument may be erected in thanksgiving and glory to Him and as a gracious instruction to future generations. - Let him proclaim the past help of the Lord, and let him encourage him to trust in the future help of the Lord. May our Most Pious Sovereign enter through these solemn gates into His first-throne City for many years, with the glory of victories and with the joy of peace. May the enemy never enter through these gates, and may the intruder never escape through them. - May the faithful City proceed through them forever to meet the lawful and beloved Tsar. City, until now marvelously saved by God! “Let it be called” henceforth, according to the Prophet, “your salvation has been taken away, and your praise is your gate” (Is. 60:18). You might be interested in: