On study of the epistolary style of A. S. Matveev (petitions of the exiled nobleman and Bieniasz Budny “Apothtegmata”)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the usage of “the second” Old Russian translation “Apothtegmata” of Bieniasz Budny, a polish writer (d. after 1624), in petitions of A.S. Matveev (1625-1682), the head of the Embassy of the Order, to Tsar Fedor Alekseevich. It is revealed that citations of ancient philosophers, apothegm illustrious rulers of antiquity that are followed with references to anecdotes (moral stories) from ancient history, complied by Bieniasz Budny in his “Apothtegmata”, were frequently referred to. In addition to ancient epistolary genre quotations from the Psalms and other religious books, that were traditionally used in petitions, A.S. Matveev successfully drew analogies between the actions of a Christian king a nd a pagan rulers (i.e. Alexander the Gr eat, Vespa sian, other characters of “Apothtegmata”). Such devices points to the writer’s attitude on true wisdom that, according to A.S. Matveev, leads to perception of virtue, to the ability to distinguish good from evil. The imitation of a dialogue between the disgraced royal servant and the Moscow governor in the petitions of A.S. Matveev is done by combinations of real citations and true-to-life citations from “Apothtegmata” by Bieniasz Budny, which helps the former boyar of the Russian Tsar find answers to complicated questions.