Sentence 2 in Angel
This is a sentence in Russian from Angel. It is composed of 15 words.
Дух отрицанья, дух сомненья На духа чистого взирал И жар невольный умиленья Впервые смутно познавал.
English translation
The spirit of denial, the spirit of doubt looked at the pure spirit And the heat of involuntary tenderness For the first time dimly recognized.
Description
Analysis of the phrase in context.
Here the focus shifts to the demon’s internal world, revealing that he is not merely an external embodiment of evil but also a being defined by negation and doubt.
As he fixes his gaze upon the pure spirit—symbolized by the angel—he is unexpectedly stirred by a new and unbidden warmth.
This “жар невольный умиленья” represents an involuntary spark of tenderness, a feeling that is entirely foreign to his usual state of skepticism and denial.
The phrase “впервые смутно познавал” underscores that this is a nascent, confused emotion, hinting at the beginning of an internal transformation.
In this way, the line deepens the poem’s exploration of how even the darkest soul can be touched by the light of purity, challenging the boundaries between good and evil.
As he fixes his gaze upon the pure spirit—symbolized by the angel—he is unexpectedly stirred by a new and unbidden warmth.
This “жар невольный умиленья” represents an involuntary spark of tenderness, a feeling that is entirely foreign to his usual state of skepticism and denial.
The phrase “впервые смутно познавал” underscores that this is a nascent, confused emotion, hinting at the beginning of an internal transformation.
In this way, the line deepens the poem’s exploration of how even the darkest soul can be touched by the light of purity, challenging the boundaries between good and evil.
Word sources
A quick overview of the meaning of each word and its etymology.
| дух | дух | spirit | Inherited from Proto-Slavic *duxъ. |
| отрицанья | отрицание | negation | отрица́ть (otricátʹ) + -а́ние (-ánije) |
| дух | дух | spirit | Inherited from Proto-Slavic *duxъ. |
| сомненья | сомнение | doubt | |
| На | на | Inherited from Proto-Slavic *na, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-. | |
| духа | дух | spirit | Inherited from Proto-Slavic *duxъ. |
| чистого | чистый | clean | Inherited from Proto-Slavic *čistъ. |
| взирал | взирать | to look | Perhaps вз- (vz-) + -зира́ть (-zirátʹ), with reduction of *взз- to вз-; compare взыва́ть impf (vzyvátʹ), воззва́ть pf (vozzvátʹ). |
| И | и | and | From the early Cyrillic letter iže, from Greek Η (I, eta). |
| жар | жар | heat | Inherited from Proto-Slavic *žārъ, perhaps together with жара́ (žará) from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰēr- (“heat”, root noun), from *gʷʰer- (“heat, hot”). |
| невольный | невольный | forced | не- (ne-) + во́льный (vólʹnyj) |
| умиленья | умиленье | Alternative form of умиле́ние | |
| Впервые | впервые | for the first time | From в- (v-) + первы́е (pervýje). Compare Polish wpierw. |
| смутно | смутно | vaguely | сму́тный (smútnyj) + -о (-o) |
| познавал | познавать | to cognize | позна́ть (poznátʹ) + -ва́ть (-vátʹ) |