Kozma Prutkov
Encyclopedia
Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy , was a Russian poet, novelist and playwright, considered to be the most important nineteenth-century Russian historical dramatist...
and his cousins, three Zhemchuzhnikov brothers, Alexei, Vladimir and Alexander, during the later part of the rule of Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
.
The four distinguished satirical poets used this pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
as a collective pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
to publish aphorism
Aphorism
An aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates...
s, fable
Fable
A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
s, epigram
Epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....
s, satiric
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, humorous and nonsense verse
Nonsense verse
Nonsense verse is a form of light, often rhythmical verse, usually for children, depicting peculiar characters in amusing and fantastical situations. It is whimsical and humorous in tone and tends to employ fanciful phrases and meaningless made-up words. Nonsense verse is closely related to...
s in the 1850s–1860s, most notably in the literary magazine "Sovremennik
Sovremennik
Sovremennik was a Russian literary, social and political magazine, published in St. Petersburg in 1836-1866. It came out four times a year in 1836-1843 and once a month after that...
" (The Contemporary).
According to the Biographical data on Kozma Prutkov, Prutkov was born on April 11, 1803 and died on January 13, 1863.
He worked for the government of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
his entire adult life. In 1820, Prutkov entered military service as a Hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
only for the uniform. He worked at the Assay Office (Пробирная Палата) from 1823 until his death, ending up as its director.
Quotes
- "When casting pebbles into water, look at the ripples being formed thereby. Otherwise this activity will be an empty amusement."
- "Where is the beginning of the end that comes at the end of the beginning?"
- "If you have a fountain, plug it up. Let the fountain too have a rest."
- "If you see a "buffalo" sign on an elephant's cage, do not believe your eyes."
- "If ever asked: What's more useful, the sun or the moon, respond: The moon. For the sun only shines during daytime, when it's light anyway, whereas the moon shines at night." (This aphorism is usually associated with Mullah Nasruddin.)
- "One cannot embrace the unembraceable."
- "Watch!" (In Russian "Бди!")
- "When it concerns art, every tailor has views of his own."
- "Every expert is like a gumboil: his fullness is one-sided."
- "Not every general is stout by nature."
- "Snap a mare on the nose and she will flap her tail."
- "God placed death at the end of life to give us time to prepare for it."
- "If you want to be happy, be so." (frequently misattributed to Count Leo TolstoyLeo TolstoyLev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
) - "If you want to be handsome, enroll in the Hussars."
- "Sometimes, zeal can overcome even reason."
- "How pathetic is any constitution at sight of well-kept ammunition!"
- "Don't tell jokes to the ladies, for these jokes are stupid and obscene"
- "Even oysters have enemies" - quoted by Jack NicholsonJack NicholsonJohn Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
at the 2010 AFI Life Achievement AwardAFI Life Achievement AwardThe AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute on February 26, 1973 to honor a single individual for his or her lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion pictures and television....
ceremony for Mike NicholsMike NicholsMike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
(without naming the author Kozma Prutkov), also quoted as "Even an oyster has enemies". - (Original Russian: И устрица имеет врагов! No. 86 in: Плоды раздумья - Мысли и афоризмы)