Leo Tolstoy, translator of Aesop's fables

This article discusses Leo Tolstoy's works created in his crisis period, the late 1860s - early 1870s. The object of the study is the formation of a new language in the ABC book within his teaching. The process is considered through the writer's dedication to Greek translations of Aesop's fables, which he regarded as an important literary part of his textbook. Tolstoy puts forward strict requirements to the literary material of the ABC book in accordance with his pedagogical concept. The demands concern themes and the ideological content as well as the language of the text. Close attention is paid not only to literature, which forms moral and ethical frameworks for education, but also to numerous stories in natural sciences, ethnography, geography, history, which differ from the material in the relevant educational publications of that time. A special role belongs to the language which expresses Tolstoy's thought of "correct" narration. The writer is consistent in attempts to improve the educational material and confirms his views by the ABC book itself and by pedagogical articles of theoretical and applied character. The study of the writer's work, his views, the materials of the ABC book shows the key features for the analysis of the translated fables. They are national spirit and psy-chologism expressed in the combination of imagery, lexis and syntax. The comparative analysis of the fables (46 sources) with drafts emphasises a set of techniques and demonstrates the hard work on the language. Such was Aesop's vernacular in Tolstoy's opinion. Choosing Aesop's fables for the translation, the writer brought together the national consciousness of Antiquity people and simple Russian people through the similarity of a harmonious world view, simplicity and clarity of reality perception and a great creative potential. By using a broad cultural context when creating images, a careful selection of vocabulary and syntax, Leo Tolstoy tried to convey simplicity and accuracy of the national language and to deepen the psychology for the readers' thoughtful perception. This is reflected in the choice of themes (vices and morality) and in expanding them through the images complicated by the folk and Christian senses. Also it is reflected in an effort to give the language a special narrative characteristic, making it closer to ordinary people's language, which expresses folk traditions. E.G. Babayev, analysing Tolstoy's techniques, underlines his specific attitude to the text of the fables and speaks about the importance of the poetic principle.

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