PIDLOSOPBICAL VIEWS AND POUTICAL THEORY 209qualities of the basic principle of existence. And although there .is
really nothing new in the world - an echo of his religious pessimism- the forms in which this world can manifest itself are extremely
varied. There is always plenty to study and examine in order to know
and understand the world in its fundamental unity of activity. As we
shall have occasion to point out, he practiced himself what he preached.
His lively curiosity about nature, people, religions, ideas never faltered.
For instance, his governorship of Siberia is remembered for the
stimulation and support he gave to the scientific investigation of that
immense region.
But the physical world in itself, however varied and worthy of our
attention, is of only secondary interest to Speransky. All man's studies
and investigations to discover the unifying principle of nature have as
their real purpose and goal the attainment of God. For God is the
first absolute cause of phenomena. That is why wisdom and true
moral knowledge are an essential part in the attainment of this know-
ledge of God. 1 Besides the strictly religious purpose, the study of the
world is also important for another reason. Being one, the world is
spiritual as well as material. 2 And man is the instrument by which
this spiritualisation of the world of nature takes place. "Man is the
way and door through which the physical world passes to a spiritual
[form]." 3 Man is a necessary part of the universe, of its unity and
harmony. Therefore, to Speransky the place, character, and features
of man's individual and social life are of great {importance and
concern too.
In the social and moral spheres, the problems are similar to those
in the physical realm. It is again a matter of transcending the seeming
diversity and conflicting character of human and social forms, to give
man a positive role in the world. Here too the original. impulse and
consideration are religious, the attainment of a proper knowledge of
God. But this attainment is impossible as long as the individual is alone
and isolated. True, individual prayer and mystical experience are of
great help in this, and Speransky does not cease to advise his friends
and acquaintances to practice them. But in traditionally Russian
Orthodox fashion, he does not think this sufficient. He knows that
man is a social animal and even in things spiritual he is helped by
intimacy and communion with fellow men. He, therefore, advises
1 Speranskii, "Filosofiia," Pamiati, p. 773.
2 " ••• everywhere and in all corners of the earth there is a general movement
from the material to the spiritual." Speranskii, letter to S. S. Uvarov, 18 Sept. 1819
(from Irkutsk), in Pamiati, p. 232.
3 Speranskii, "Vremia i prostranstvo," Pamiati, p. 777.