What a Pushkin, what a son of a bitch! year: What a Pushkin, what a son of a bitch! "What a Pushkin, what a son of a bitch!" (; sometimes separated by exclamation mark instead of comma) is a catchphrase and winged word from Alexander Pushkin's correspondence with one of his friends, poet Pyotr Vyazemsky. The phrase commonly expresses a joy after finishing one's work and appears particularly in several Russian literary works. In a letter dated circa November 7 or beginning of October, 1825 Pushkin, celebrating his finished drama "Boris Godunov" wrote to Vyazemsky: That was preceded by what Pushkin wrote to Vyazemsky on July 13 of the
What Is a Nation? French citizen has to have forgotten the massacre of Saint Bartholomew, or the massacre that took place in the South in the thirteenth century. While many nations, such as France, begin with a feudal regime such as a monarchy, others, such as the United States and Switzerland, are formed by acts of consensual aggregation. France and many others, however, survived their feudal roots while maintaining their identity. Renan inquires what is the organizing principle? It can't be race, because France is "Celt, Iberian, German...The most noble countries, England, France and Italy, are the ones where the blood is most mixed."