On ‘spiral’ and ‘eternal recurrence:’ a hitherto unpublished letter by A. Losev

The paper contains a hitherto unpublished letter written by A. Losev to D. Maksimov, an Alexander Blok scholar, in 1975. The epistle comes as a reply to Maksimov’s inquiry about the philosophical origins of two of Blok’s concepts: the idea of the ‘spiral-shaped’ path of his artistic journey and that of ‘eternal recurrence.’ The latter features prominently in Maksimov’s monograph Blok’s Poetry and Prose [ Poeziya i proza Al. Bloka ] (1975). The concept of the ‘spiral-shaped’ trajectory is considered in his article, On the Spiral-Shaped Path of Evolution in Literature (Towards the Study of A. Blok’s Evolution) [ O spiraleobraznykh formakh razvitiya literatury (K voprosu ob evolyutsii A. Bloka) ] (1976). A comparison between Maksimov’s article and Losev’s letter included in this publication shows how the literary critic builds up on Losev’s suggestions and criticisms. Losev also emphasizes the importance of antique remini scences, but his detailed explanation of this point remains largely unaddressed by Maksimov.