That our life is a game of Queen of Spades. “What is our life? A game! Another lyrical digression
(Rhetoric on the verge of casuistry)
Man is a playing animal.
Charles Lamb
Let's finally figure out what our life is, who we are in it and why?
These questions have worried people for thousands of years; we are not the first to raise this question head-on. But there are either many answers or none at all. Great minds, as a rule, posed the question about the meaning of life without answering it; more often they only assumed one or another answer. And God save me from declaring that life is this and that, its meaning is this and that, and therefore we must live this way and not otherwise.
P.I. Tchaikovsky wrote a wonderful aria to Herman in The Queen of Spades, and people who do not know the opera heard the famous thesis of the hero: “What is our life? – Game!..”, they often use it as a quotation, completely disregarding the meaning of both the phrase and the aria itself, where it is further sung: “... today you, and tomorrow I...” From these positions, we will consider the topic approved by the editors.
“We are not asked whether we want to be born into this world or not.” Few people do not know this postulate, few people do not use it. Again, without giving it any importance. Circumstances, emotions, stress, etc. force us to utter such phrases. It’s another matter when your child comes up and either asks directly, or in the heat of the moment shouts out: “Why did you give birth to me?!” And then moms and dads throw up their hands in confusion - there’s nothing to answer.
Someone once (I won’t lie, I don’t remember) connected the above postulate with the game: indeed, this is a game with the Supreme, He didn’t ask us, He gave us to our parents, and they, accordingly, gave us life. And come on, friend, play, otherwise you will lose. And we play, everyone, as best they can. We've been playing all our lives. Is life like a game? Undoubtedly!
Any game presupposes a goal: you need to reach a certain final, get around someone, beat someone, and at the same time win by scoring N number of points. Moreover, the rules in such a game are more than free and conditional. And everyone moves towards the intended goal in accordance with their upbringing, level of intelligence, outlook, degree of claims and pretensions and other bells and whistles.
Somewhere in the first third of the distance it becomes completely clear to us how complex, tricky, tough and even cruel this game is. Someone pauses, someone leaves the race, someone slows down, and someone continues to fool around, jumping from level to level, without thinking about their partners in this game: just to reach the goal first and grab a big jackpot along the way. . And our children look at us and listen...
LYRICAL DIGRESSION
I am an actor, acting is my element, my life. Excitement is inherent to me by the nature of my profession. Just don’t confuse this excitement with the excitement of, say, a card player. The essence of these passions is different. I am excited by the excitement of knowledge and research. Following another classic, Shakespeare, I can say that “All the world is a stage. There are women and men in it – all actors, and each one plays more than one role.”
Agree, the great Englishman was right. For fifteen years on stage, I have tried on so many masks that sometimes it is difficult to distinguish where I am and where the character I played is. These are the costs of the profession. It is difficult to remain yourself, and not only on stage. But, on the other hand, my profession obliges me to observe life, to observe people, their manifestations in different situations, how their character, temperament, and intellectual component influence these manifestations. And every year I become convinced of the correctness of Shakespeare’s formulation. Everyone is playing, everyone!!! And children, too.
At this point the lyrical digression is over and the reflection on the given topic continues.
Any game is a certain comprehension, a certain set of experience. As the level of play increases, experience increases and knowledge increases. Leveling up comes with bonuses. This is the law of the game, the law of life.
The game is imposed on the child from the very beginning of his life. First, the child learns to respond with a smile to the parent’s smile, then, while playing, the child learns to walk, remember, speak, and do something. As you grow older, the stakes in this game increase: “Do this!” - "And what I get for this?" Sound familiar? Familiar.
But this is on the one hand... On the other hand, today a child is surrounded by so much information that even an adult is unable to digest. Television is the main provider of information. As a result, children become more aggressive, materialistic, and uncontrollable.
ANOTHER LYRICAL DIGRESSION
I have many friends among children. One boy (8 years old) comes up with such types of weapons, such methods of torture, that you are amazed. Even his most intelligent parents are often in a stupor. And the guy plays, showing how something explodes, how someone scatters into pieces.
Another boy (3 years old) adores his father and doesn’t think much of his grandparents (his parents deliberately limit him from watching TV, very scrupulously monitor what he watches, offer him specific films and cartoons), he is a writer at his age , his rich imagination seethes and pours out on adults, and his grandparents cannot meet his playful and energetic demands. My nephew (7 years old) has been raving about Spider-Man for several years now.
He runs to his parents and reports that he defeated the villains (before that, for several hours we heard screams and screams, groans and growls, various kinds“thousand!”, “wow!”, “bang!”), and who these villains are, why they are villains is not important to him. At the same time, they all use our expressions, words from TV, plots of imported cartoons, usually from the Jetix channel or similar ones.
Nonsense, aggression, violence become the conditions of the game whose name is life. These are, let’s say, the proposed circumstances of a given level, and we, the players, must guess the rules of our behavior at this level, must go through it, guide our children through it, gain our experience, provide our children with experience and move on to the next level.
These examples, in general, are private, and may seem petty and even grumpy to some, but this, of course, is only part of the puzzle. (Here, by the way, is another comparison between life and games.)
I continue.
Given the topic, further conversation can now be exclusively about the rules of this game. About discovering them, formulating them for yourself, following them and (in no case or!) about not following them. The most remarkable thing is that the rules in this game are set by the players themselves. Not by us, but by those who played long before us. We use their experience, appropriate it for ourselves, again - according to our ideas about them (the rules), our intellect, character, temperament...
“Everything has already happened once...” Life develops in a spiral. The history of mankind is the history of costume, first of all. How difficult it is, for example, for today's writers, so much has been written and analyzed before them that, it seems, there are no topics left for research. And they stir up already analyzed topics in a new way, twist the postulates and truths accepted by their ancestors this way and that, often suck out new meanings out of thin air, and reveal the “lies of the centuries.” Why not a game? And such actions are not always dictated solely by their desire to remain among best players, as evidenced by the Gallery of Honor in any game.
But what’s also interesting: people rarely learn from other people’s mistakes, only from their own. And having learned, having been burned, having collided, he understands in hindsight that this “already happened once.” So it turns out that experience is the number of bumps on your head. This is how it is in any game: the cards matched exactly this way, the dice gave exactly this combination, you pressed exactly the right button while passing the level. And the rules were like this...
The game of life offers a great variety of temptations. One can even consider that these temptations are the original rules of the game. The game of life offers countless paths, they are also the rules. As in the Russian epic: “If you go to the right, you will lose your horse, if you go to the left, ...”
It is impossible not to choose your path, that is, not to accept certain rules of the game. On the one hand we are beckoned by religions, on the other hand we are seduced by vices, on the third by knowledge, on the fourth... Yes, there are many of them, paths, no doubt. And having started to walk along one path, we either continue to walk along it, or we run across to another road. And so in a circle, and without end, and without end.
One thing can be said with confidence: in order to lead your children onto some path in life, you need to decide on your own. This is extremely difficult, gentlemen, adults, you know this as well as I do. But we have to. Otherwise, in the case of children, a fairy tale about a white bull will come out. Our children will walk in circles, like a goat tied to a peg.
At a meeting with Andrei Mironov’s audience, Shchukin students asked: “How to live?” He replied: “Honestly.” You have to play fairly. If life is a game, then let's play by the rules. The natural question is: what are these rules that we need to formulate for ourselves? What are you even talking about if throughout the entire article you only talk about some ephemeral concepts and the incomprehensible experience of your ancestors?
And what I’m talking about is precisely this, my friends, that in our age of speed we have relied so much on technological progress and the “maybe” known only to us, that we have completely forgotten who we are and where we come from. I’d rather keep silent about “why” altogether. The fact remains: we have become lazy, we have become ignorant and impolite, dull-witted, uninquisitive and incredibly uninteresting to ourselves. It is IMPOSSIBLE to realize oneself without the experience of past generations! We can’t decide for ourselves, what do we demand from our children, gentlemen?
The rules of the game, whose name is “LIFE,” are right under our noses; we just need to see them and accept them. And you shouldn’t look at this game with the eyes of a doomed person. We must play! It so happens that we all play all the time, some more, some less, some luckier, some not so much, but the result in any case depends only on us.
Fate? Rock? Fatum? You will still remember the Paroks, those from Ancient Greece. They may exist, but if you turn to the Greeks for an example, you should remember that these citizens always tried to beat the gods, argue and even deceive them. And the Jewish Yahweh generally left man to determine his own destiny. Did not know? You see...
Sorry, dear readers, if I somehow hurt your pride, I didn’t want to offend anyone. It was not my intention at all to teach or give recipes, I only wanted to identify the problem in accordance with the topic. But my observations of life, of people, of myself force me to draw these disappointing conclusions. At some point in my life, I clearly understood that a silver platter does not exist in nature, although I damn well want it to exist. And if it does arise somewhere, then a little later you have to pay for it.
And this is the main rule of the game. And you need to learn, you need to draw your own path, looking back at those walking next to you, supporting, pushing someone forward, carefully bypassing someone at turns, being disappointed in someone, gaining something and someone, losing, saying goodbye... The game This one is fascinating and educational. “If only I knew, if only I knew, if only I knew!..” - exclaimed Chekhov’s three sisters. But it’s impossible to know in advance, that’s the point of interest. You can only find out what's around the bend by looking behind it. History generally does not tolerate the subjunctive mood.
LAST LYRICAL DIGRESSION
My favorite poet Yuri Levitansky wrote this poem:
I slowly learned to live.
Studying was difficult for me.
Moreover, it was often possible
Postpone the lesson until later.
And again, again to those basics,
Bury your head in paper.
Sesame, I say, open up!..
Sesame does not open.
It was possible to quote him in full, and not only him; Levitansky has excellent poems. But I deliberately do not bring it. Find it, read it, get to know yourself.
And back to the game! The stakes are rising.
Oleg Teploukhov
Have you noticed that many articles begin with the quote “What is our life? A game!”, which is mistakenly attributed to Shakespeare? and got the best answer
Answer from Ella Kuznetsova[guru]
The whole world is a theater.
There are women, men - all actors.
They have their own exits, departures,
And everyone plays more than one role.
Seven acts in that play. First the baby... etc.
Shakespeare. As you like it. Act 2, scene 7, Jacques' monologue. The translation by Shchepkina-Kupernik may sound slightly different in another translation.
The original source of Shakespeare's words: “All the world is a stage. There are women, men - all actors in it” - works of the Roman writer Gaius Petronius. His line "Mundus universus exercet histrionam" adorned the pediment of the building that housed the Globe Theater, for which Shakespeare wrote his plays (Google).
Well, with Herman’s aria, everything seems to be clear.
Answer from Yergey Smolitsky[guru]
Nowhere and never did Pushkin write anything like this.
Libretto for the opera Queen of Spades"Wrote Modest Tchaikovsky, and he also wrote the words for all the arias.
Actually, it’s strange not to remember that Pushkin’s “Queen of Spades” was written in prose.
I have never seen any articles where the words you cited are attributed to Shakespeare. I would like to see a journalist who could allow something like this to happen.
Answer from Mary Magdalene[guru]
Herman's Aria from the opera "The Queen of Spades"
That our life is a game,
Good and evil, just dreams.
Work, honesty, old wives' tales,
Who is right, who is happy here, friends,
Today you, and tomorrow me.
So give up the fight
Seize the moment of luck
Let the loser cry
Let the loser cry
Cursing, cursing my fate.
What is true is that there is only one death,
Like the shore of the sea of bustle.
She is a refuge for us all,
Which of us is dearer to her, friends?
Today you, and tomorrow me.
So give up the fight
Seize the moment of luck
Let the loser cry
Let the loser cry
Cursing my fate.
Answer from Nina Demyanova[guru]
What is our life? A game! This is Pushkin - the Queen of Spades.
Answer from 3 answers[guru]
Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Have you noticed that many articles begin with the quote “What is our life? A game!”, which is mistakenly attributed to Shakespeare?
Answer from 3 answers[guru]
These lines from an epigram written by Pushkin 170 years ago can, to a certain extent, be attributed to the author himself, a passionate, addicted person, a gambler:
Poet-player, oh Beverly-Horace,
you lost heaps of banknotes,
And silver, the heritage of the fathers,
And horses, and even coachmen -
And with joy to the map,
to the villainess
I would put it
a notebook of my poems...
The entire high society of both capitals then played cards.
“A society of rich players formed in Moscow... He came to St. Petersburg. Young people flocked to him, forgetting balls for cards and preferring the temptations of the pharaoh to the seductions of red tape.”
And on rainy days
They were going
Often;
They bent - God forgive them! -
From fifty
One hundred.
And they won
And they unsubscribed
Chalk.
So on rainy days,
They were studying
Business.
Preference was practically not played during the time of Pushkin; the peak of its popularity in Russia occurred in the second half of the last century. Serious, reputable players then played whist and its North American variety, Boston.
“Generals and privy councilors abandoned their whist to see such an extraordinary game.”
It is Pushkin who writes in “The Queen of Spades” about the third, decisive day - when Hermann bet 188 thousand on the card (as it seemed to him, on the ace).
Hermann played against the bank (held by Chekalinsky) in Pharaoh. Let us dwell in some detail on this game and the dramatic events occurring in the story.
The rules of the pharaoh are extremely simple: the punter pulls out the desired (known only to him) card from one deck and places it face down on the table. The banker takes another deck, shuffles it and begins to distribute cards one at a time into two piles. If the banker's card, equal in value to the punter's card, lands to his left, the punter wins, and to the right, the banker wins.
This game is akin to “heads-tails”: the probability of winning and losing is the same. The mathematical expectation of winning is zero (0.5*1 + 0.5*(-1) = 0), which means the game is fair (harmless). There is, however, one caveat here.
With unlimited long game Against a casino with infinite capital, even a harmless game of punter will inevitably lead to bankruptcy. Hermann would not have escaped it if, wanting to significantly increase his capital (47 thousand), he constantly bet on this amount against Chekalinsky, who “spent his entire century playing cards and once made millions.” Therefore, in order to turn 47 thousand into 376, he, oddly enough, chose the right strategy, bending, like the gambling Chaplitsky, “passwords” and “passwords-ne”. And although the probability of winning three times in a row by “sample” is only 12.5% (1/23), it is still significantly higher than the probability of gaining this amount by playing, following the example of the cautious Sirin, “mirandole” (the probability, for example, of making seven times “ rue" is equal to 1/128).
Hermann, alas, was unlucky - he turned around: “instead of an ace, he had a queen of spades.” The readers were lucky - a wonderful story appeared.
And although close friend Pushkin's poet Pyotr Vyazemsky wrote:
Friends! Who wants to be smart
According to the proverb, he will do:
He will sell books, buy maps, -
It suddenly became interesting to know who was the first to say the phrase that our life is a game? I typed into the search engine and pressed search, it gave several answers, here they are:
1. “Pushkin said”
2. "Pushkin... Queen of Spades..."
3. “Life is a theater, and everyone plays their role in it.”Shakespeare said so
4. "That's right! Shakespeare is a smart man."
And now, I will give an excerpt from the interpretation of St. Matthew the Evangelist, given to us by the Holy Father John Chrysostom, spoken by him many, many centuries before Shakespeare and Pushkin.
“So, beloved, let us be afraid to hear these words. Our life is not a game, or better said, real life is a game, but the future is not a game. Or maybe not only a game, but even worse. It does not end in laughter, but it also causes great harm to those who do not want to carefully improve themselves. Tell me: how do we, who create magnificent houses, differ from children,
playing and building houses? What is the difference between their dinner and our luxury?
There is none, except that we do it with torment. If we don't
we notice the insignificance of all this, there is nothing surprising in that, because
we have not yet become men. And when we do, we’ll find out that these are all children’s
fun. Coming to adulthood, we laugh at children's activities, although in
in childhood we consider these activities very important and, collecting shards and
dirt, we are no less vain than those who build high walls. And yet,
what we have built soon collapses and falls; and even if it were worth it, what do we need
would it be good? So are our magnificent houses. They can't accept a citizen
heavenly, and the one who has the highest fatherland will not want to dwell in them; but how
We destroy children's toys with our feet, so he overthrows ours with his spirit.
building. And how we laugh at children crying about the destruction of what they built
house, so he not only laughs, but also cries when we cry for our homes,
because he has a compassionate heart, and sees great things for us from this
harm. So let's be husbands. How long will it take for us to crawl on the earth? How long
to be proud of stones and trees? How long to play? And if only they played! No,
we abandon our very salvation. And like children who neglect learning, and
those who engage in games only are subject to severe punishment, so we, having exhausted
put all his efforts into everyday pursuits, and finding himself unable to give to
in fact, we will bear the responsibility for spiritual teaching, which after death will be required of us
extreme punishment. And no one can deliver us, even if it were a father, even if
brother, or someone else. But everything to which we are now devoted will perish, and the torment
what comes from this will be endless and unceasing. This is what happens with
children, when their father, for their laziness, completely destroys all their children's toys,
and through this makes them cry incessantly. And to assure you of the truth
words of mine, I will present such a thing that people most of all consider worthy
respect, namely, wealth, and I will contrast it with spiritual virtue, which
you wish: then you will clearly see all his poverty. So let's imagine two people
(I’m not talking about covetousness, but about wealth correctly acquired), and
let one of them multiply his property, let him cross the seas, cultivate
land and uses all sorts of other methods to acquire; although I don't know
can he, by doing so, make a legal acquisition, but let us assume that he
acquires benefits legally. So be it; let him buy fields
slaves and so on, let there not be a single untruth in his acquisition.
On the contrary, let another, equally rich, sell his fields, sell his houses,
golden and silver vessels, gives to those who demand; let him ease the lot of the poor,
heals the sick, helps those in need; let him release from the bonds alone
leads out of the mines, frees others from being strangled, frees captives
from punishment... Which side would you like to be on? However, I have not yet spoken about
the future, but for now about the present. So, which one of them would you like to follow?
the one who collects gold, or the one who saves others from misfortune?
Whether the one who buys fields, or the one who has appointed himself to serve
to the human race? Is it the one who is surrounded by a lot of gold, or the one
which is crowned with countless accolades? Isn't this last one likened to
some angel who came down from heaven to correct other people? But the other one doesn't
Is he more like some kind of child who collects everything without purpose or meaning than
for age? If the legal acquisition of wealth is so worthy of laughter, and
is a sign of extreme madness, then how can one not call him the most unfortunate of all who
is he also collecting it unjustly? If even now he is worthy of great laughter, then
what tears will his life be worthy of after death, when he joins that
Gehenna and deprivation of the kingdom."
That our life is a game,
Good and evil, just dreams.
Work, honesty, old wives' tales,
Who is right, who is happy here, friends,
Today you, and tomorrow me.
So give up the fight
Seize the moment of luck
Let the loser cry
Let the loser cry
Cursing, cursing my fate.
What is true is that there is only one death,
Like the shore of the sea of bustle.
She is a refuge for us all,
Which of us is dearer to her, friends?
Today you, and tomorrow me.
So give up the fight
Seize the moment of luck
Let the loser cry
Let the loser cry
Cursing my fate.
Translation of the song - Herman's Aria. What is our life Game!
(Translation of the lyrics by P.I. Chaikovsky. Queen of Spades - Herman's Aria. What is our life Game! into English #english version, in English)That our life is a game,
Good and evil, only dreams.
Work, honesty, fairy-tales for woman,
Who is right, who is happy here, friends,
Today you, and tomorrow I.
So throw away the fight,
Catch a moment of luck,
Let the loser cry,
Let the loser cry,
Swearing, cursing his fate.
That's right - the death of the one,
As the sea shore bustle of the city.
All of us a refuge for it,
Who's she mile of us, friends,
Today you, and tomorrow I.
So throw away the fight,
Catch a moment of luck,
Let the loser cry,
Let the loser cry,
Cursing his fate.
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- P.I. Chaikovsky. Queen of Spades - Herman's Aria. What is our life Game!
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