Peter the Great and Iurisperitus Pufendorf

Abstract

The article is devoted to the history of the creation and publication in 1726 of the Russian translation of S. Pufendorf s book «De officio hominis et civis iuxta legem naturalem» in its relationship with the ideological preferences of Peter I. Traditionally this translation considers as a sign of the tsar's interest in treatises on natural law. Moreover, it is believed that sush treatises influenced Peter to use the concept of the «common good» in justifying his activities. It is shown that the appearance of this translation related to Peter's desire to receive a textbook on jurisprudence in Russian, and not with any of his special sympathies for Pufendorf s legal ideas. Accordingly, it is necessary to analyse Peter's interest in religious and moral-political literature and historical writings for searching ideological sources from which Peter drew inspiration related to the concept of the common good / common benefit. © 2023 Aquilo. All rights reserved.