b o o k peter xi. buried at Mofcow, and of the late unfortunate Peter
■ , hi. interred in the convent of St. Alexander Neviki. The
tombs are of marble, oi the fame form as thofe at Mofcow
and Novogorod, namely, in the ihape of a fquare coffin ; and
have all, excepting one, an infcription in the Ruffian tongue:
when i law them, they were covered with gold brocade, ,
bordered with filver lace and ermine. 1 viewed, not without
a peculiar kind o f veneration and awe, the fepulchre which
contains the body of Peter I» who founded the greatnefs of
tire Ruffian empire : the fternnefs, or rather the ferocity, of
whofe difpolition, neither fpared age nor fex, nor the deareft
connections ; and who yet, with a ftrong degree of com-
pundion, was accuftomed to fay of himfelf, “ I can reform
“ my people, but I cannot reform myfelf.” A * royal hifto-
rian has juftly obferved of Peter, that he compenfated the
cruelties of a tyrant by the virtues of a legiflator. We mull
readily allow that he conliderably reformed and civilized his
fubjeds ; that he created a navy ; that-he new -modelled and
difciplined his army; that he promoted the arts and fci*
ences, agriculture and commerce ; and laid the foundation
of that glory which Ruffia has fince attained. But, inftead
of crying out in the language of panegyriok,
Erubefce, ars I Hie vir maxi mus tibi nihil debuit :
Exulta, natura I Hoc ftupendium tuum eft + :
We may, -on the contrary, venture to regret, that he was
not taught the leffons of humanity; that his fublime and
* Pierre I. mourut dans ces circoriftancës, de Branbebonrg.
laiffant dans le monde plutôt la reputatioH + Btuih ,-art ! this hero owed thee nothing,,
d’un homme extraordinaire, que d’ un grand Exult, nature ! for this prodigy is all
homme, & couvrant-des cruautés cTun Tiran thy own. .
des vertus d'un legijiateur. Hift. de la Maifon See Gordon s Life o f Peter. V . II.
r unruly
unruly geriius was not controuled and improved by proper c h a p .
culture ; nor his lavage nature correded and foftened by the>_Il_j
¡refinements o f art. And i f Peter failed in enlightening the
S his fubjeds as touch as he wiffitd, the failure was
principally occaiioned by his own precipitate temper, by the
chimërical idea o f introducing the arts and fciences by force
and of performing in a moment what muff be the gradual
Work of time ; by violating the eftabliffied cuftoms of his
people ; aftd,-to eantradidion to thé didates o f found policy
requiring an immediate facrififce of thofe prejudices which
had been fanctified by ages. In a word, his failure was the
failure of a fuperior genius wandering without a guide •
and the greateit eulbgium we-can juftly offer to his extraord.
nary Charader, -is to allow that his virtues were his own,
■and his defeds thofe of his education and country.
- ■ Peter thé Great was born at Mofeowon the 30th o f Maw
. . f 672 ; and died at Peteriburgh On the 28th of Tanu-
ary, I 7 2 5,in the 53d year of his age, and in thë44;th of a
glorious ;reign.
I -bbftrved near the tomb of Peter feme Turkiffi colours ::
t ey were taken m the naval engagement of Tchefme, dif-
played-during a folemn proceffion in honour of that vidorv
andrhen placed by the hand of the prefent emprefs at the
tomb of the fovereign who was the founder of the Ruffian
navy. 1
Near thofe of Péter repofe the allies of his fécond wife
and fucceflor1Catharine I. the beautiful Livonian, who, by a
wonderful train of events, was exalted from a cottage to unbounded
fovereignty ..
In the vault of this church, but without any. tomb or infcription,
lies Alexèy ion of Peter I. who fell a facrifice to
* See the Account o f Catharine I. in Chap. V I I . o f this Book.
V o L -L T t t 4. 8he