IMPUDENCE AND BOLDNESS IN N. S. LESKOV'S STORIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS: CHRISTIAN ASPECT OF APPREHENSION

The issue of frequent confusion of the notions of impudence and boldness in patristic texts is explained through the problem of confusing vice and virtue. In the context of virtuousness and sinfulness, these two notions became the focus of two stories from N.S. Leskov’s cycle on the righteous: ? Odnodum (The Singlethought) and The Pygmy, where they are crucial for understanding and interpreting the notion of official duty. Leskov's characters both show Christian mercy and prove a wonderful example of a Christian view of official duty, when every dutiful act turns into a higher service that requires true boldness. The choice between an act of justice and an act of mercy, therefore, turns into a choice between the word and spirit of law stemming from Evangelical lawfulness and legalism. In the context of the two approaches to justice, we also touch upon the question of royal service under Emperor Nicholas I.