30 Facts About Hryhorii Skovoroda

Hryhorii Skovoroda, Gregory Skovoroda or Grigory Skovoroda was a philosopher of Ukrainian Cossack origin who lived and worked in the Russian Empire.

Hryhorii Skovoroda was a poet, a teacher and a composer of liturgical music.

Hryhorii Skovoroda received his education at the Academia Mohileana in Kiev.

Hryhorii Skovoroda was born into a small-holder Ukrainian Registered Cossack family in the village of Chornukhy in Lubny Regiment, Cossack Hetmante, Russian Empire, in 1722.

Hryhorii Skovoroda was a student at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy but did not graduate.

Hryhorii Skovoroda spent the period from 1745 to 1750 in the kingdom of Hungary and is thought to have traveled elsewhere in Europe during this period as well.

For most of the period from 1753 to 1759, Hryhorii Skovoroda was a tutor in the family of a landowner in Kovrai.

Hryhorii Skovoroda is known as a composer of liturgical music, as well as a number of songs to his own texts.

Hryhorii Skovoroda was described as a proficient player on the flute, torban and kobza.

Hryhorii Skovoroda translated a number of works from Latin into Russian.

Hryhorii Skovoroda requested the following epitaph to be placed on his tombstone:.

Different views exist about the nature of the language in which Hryhorii Skovoroda wrote his works.

Hryhorii Skovoroda integrated some elements from Latin, Greek, and other languages, including a significant amount of Western-Europeanisms.

Literary scholar Leonid Ushkalov states that Hryhorii Skovoroda's language is a "lingua mixta [mixed language]" which differs greatly from the Russian of 18th-century Ukrainian authors from Kharkiv.

Hryhorii Skovoroda appears to have been aware of the uniqueness of his language and defended it from criticisms.

Hryhorii Skovoroda's language seemed "dead" to later readers, writes Shevelov, since the Russian of the upper classes in the Sloboda Ukraine region had by then become almost identical to standard Russian and had become more secular.

Hryhorii Skovoroda was fluent in Latin, which was the language of instruction at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy during his matriculation there.

Hryhorii Skovoroda wrote a number of short poems in Latin, including fables.

Hryhorii Skovoroda had a very good knowledge of German and apparently knew some French.

Hryhorii Skovoroda's works were not printed during his life, due to censorship by church officials.

Hryhorii Skovoroda was highly educated in different languages, in particular, Latin, Greek, German.

Hryhorii Skovoroda could read religious literature in German and was influenced by German pietism.

Hryhorii Skovoroda taught that "all work is blessed by God", but distribution of wealth outside the circle of God called unforgivable sin.

Hryhorii Skovoroda taught that the only task of philosophy was to seek the truth and to pursue it.

Hryhorii Skovoroda was very gentle and observant in relation to others.

Hryhorii Skovoroda was a private tutor for Vasily Tomara and a mentor as well as a lifelong friend of Michael Kovalinsky, his biographer.

Hryhorii Skovoroda's teaching was not limited to academia nor to private friends and during his later years as a "wanderer" he taught publicly the many who were drawn to him.

Hryhorii Skovoroda taught that one finds his true calling by self-examination.

Hryhorii Skovoroda introduced a well founded idea that a person engaged in an in-born, natural work is provided with a truly satisfying and happy life.

In 1787, seven years before his death, Hryhorii Skovoroda wrote two essays, The Noble Stork and The Poor Lark, devoted to the theme of education where he expounded his ideas.