My interest in the Allegory of the Snake dates back to my childhood, when a family friend Anatoli Ivanovich Zimin, a prominent scientist and religious mystic, used it to compare Russia in times of troubles to a snake:
“People say, Be wise as a serpent. But what is the wisdom of a serpent? He knows the secret of eternal youth. Just shed your skin, even if it makes you sick and helpless for a while, then coil up and wait in the shadows, for the new skin to grow, and make you young again. That is exactly what Russia has been doing from time to time.”
This intriguing allegory is totally consistent with the Russian mystical explanation of why it so happens that, while all other civilizations bloom and wither away (botanically speaking, as the great Russian Slavophil thinker and author of Russia and Europe Nikolai Danilevsky was a botanist by profession), Russia alone has been blessed by God’s Providence with the gift of eternal rejuvenation. (The magical bird Phoenix, continually resurrected from its ashes, has also been used as an allegory for Russia.)
And now the big question, in case someone should wonder. How can something so “evil” as a snake can be used as an allegory for Russia, without implying that Russia herself must be evil by association?
The answer is short and convincing, as it appeals to the authority of none other than Jesus Himself. To begin with, Russia isn’t a snake, but rather like a snake, which makes an important difference. After all, the ability to shed skin does not define the snake as such, especially when used as an allegory. Now, here is what Jesus commands his disciples, in Matthew 10:16:
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
Apparently, there is no evil in being “as a serpent” (as long as you do not do harm), if Jesus Ipse says so!
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