The English word spleen has come into widespread use in Russia since the time when Sovereign Peter the Great “opened a window to Europe”. Having learned all the charms of Western civilization, Russian nobles began to willingly use the foreign word "spleen", the meaning of which in the original is a dreary depressed mood, melancholy.
British disease
The famous lexicographer Vladimir Ivanovich Dahl, in his Explanatory Dictionary, defines the term as hypochondria, spleen, gloomy thoughts from which the world did not dare, and cites the saying as an illustration: “It seems like an Englishman is in a spline”. The later dictionary of Dmitry Ushakov gives a similar interpretation of what spleen is and appeals to the works of Pushkin and Nekrasov. The first word is mentioned in the novel "Eugene Onegin", where the poet, slightly ironic, speaks of the hero that he was possessed by "an ailment … like an English splen, in short, the Russian blues", as a result of which Eugene was very "cold for life." If we look at the dialectics of the character of the Pushkin hero, we will see that the depression came as a result of a fruitless search for ideas, entertainment, new places and impressions. It used to be that hypochondria developed from the satiety of life, to which the British are most prone.
What is the spleen to blame for?
Probably, everyone knows firsthand what spleen and gloomy thoughts are. In the old days, doctors attributed this to spleen disease, an organ that Dr. James Burnett believes is a reservoir of blood. Until now, the functions of the spleen are not fully understood. But observant British noticed that her diseases are associated with differences in human mood. It is possible to guess what spleen is by studying the entries in the ancient Byzantine collection of church rules “Nomokanone”, where “headache and spleen” are mentioned in the neighborhood with spleen pain.
How to escape from sadness?
It is known that the best way to protect oneself from despondency is to look for joy in the ordinary. Experts advise to “attack” a gloomy mood with a smile as soon as you wake up. Choose joyful orange shades for the eyes - in the decor of the room, clothes, and also surround yourself with aromas of fruits and favorite flowers. Striking a spline will require effort and will. Of course, it’s nice to contact doctors and, following the advice of specialists, check your health.
Russian accent
In Nikolai Nekrasov’s poem “On the Weather, ” the month looks with dismay at the fortress wall of the Peter and Paul Fortress, which leads to “despondency and spleen”. And what other mood can a prison inspire for the “political”, with whom the poet ardently sympathized? Reading these lines, we understand that we are not talking about well-fed melancholy. Rather, it is a portent of significant change. There is no hopelessness in the poem by Sasha Cherny, which became famous thanks to the fact that it became part of the repertoire of the Spleen group. The meaning of the word here has acquired the shade of a blank dream, the expectation of the spring resurrection of the soul.
