Semantics of Ancient Words and Expressions in the Poetry of M. Kuzmin

The article examines the use of untransliterated lexemes, idioms and phraseological combinations, quotations from monuments of classical literature, and reminiscences of ancient literature in the works of various genres written by the poet in different years; the expression of the Greek-Latin language culture in Kuzmin’s poetics is clarified. The Greek and Latin inclusions perform not only structural and intertextual functions, but also enrich the content, filling the central images of the works with “eternal” semantics. Each of the considered expressions (Sine sole sileo, Victori Duci, et coetera, Θάλασσα, Ἄβραξας, Pax Romana, Fides Apostolica…, Orbis pictus, Natura naturans…, Ultima Thule) has a unique meaning: from metaphors of creativity and the image of a spiritual mentor to an erotic allusion, a symbol of secret knowledge, imperial myth, confessional motif and cultural memory. Kuzmin’s sources of Greek and Latin phraseology included epic poems and lyrical texts written by ancient authors (Virgil, Horace), Greek historiography (Herodotus, Xenophon), idiomatic expressions assimilated from Latin in Russian poetic works (A. Fet, K. Balmont), as well as the Philosophical thesaurus of European thought of the New Age (B. Spinoza) based on the Latin lexis. Kuzmin’s interest in antiquity was preserved throughout his creative path, as manifested in various forms and under various circumstances, and the Greek and Latin languages, along with the languages of modern Romanesque cultures, are the foundation of hislanguage skills.