“Here Geometry Becomes a Religion”: Metaphorics of non-Euclidean Geometry in Dmitry Merezhkovsky’s Theoretical Reasoning

Abstract

The article examines Dmitry Merezhkovsky’s tendency – previously unnoticed, but variously shown – to present his theoretical reasoning through images and concepts referring to non-Euclidean geometry, as well as through the concepts of multidimensional spaces, mystically interpreted. It is shown that such an approach is a stable figurative-theoretical method of Dmitry Merezhkovsky, to which he resorts in a large number of works – from the earliest to the lates. Geometric and spatial metaphorics dating back to Fyodor Dostoevsky and Vladimir Solovyov, and actively engaged by his contemporaries, is an essential feature of his worldview. It is emphasized that, in contrast to the authors who used the concepts of the “fourth dimension” and “non-Euclidean space” to illustrate occult, mediumistic or astral concepts, Merezhkovsky applies them to Christian mystics, describing the phenomena of “miracle”, “kingdom of God”, “eternal life” and so on. The evolution of the corresponding views of D. Merezhkovsky from 1907 to 1939 is traced, the sources that influenced their formation are established, among which are Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Bugaev, Anton Kartashev, Ernest Renan, Christian apocrypha. It is noted that in a number of cases the corresponding reasoning and images of Merezhkovsky were reflected in the works of Andrei Bely.