[Poetry] penetrates to the central...

[Poetry] penetrates to the central parts of hearts, observes their hid curves, and depicts their passions. Always holding to a moral goal, it inspires to suitable works, to all that is uplifting and refined, it celebrates the prowess of those doomed to immortality. There [in the heavens], it finds expression in amazement at the universe, in trembling honor for the Incomprehensible. That is the purport of genuine poetry! That is on what account it is called the organ of the the godheads and the one inspired according to it, a poet (66).

Dmitriev views shortcomings in himself that hold him humble when describing his accomplishments. He calls Derzhavin "Poet" without any hesitation, still modesty and a sense of inadequacy make it hard for him to claim the same title himself. Instead of disappointment or bitterness at this selfrealization, although Dmitriev's summation reveals a mysterious sense of gratitude: "I have to thank my prosperous star, for hardly any of my contemporaries traveled the author's walk of life with les anxiety and more virtuous fortune" (66). This is quintessential Dmitriev, with the acknowledgment of his succes restrained by the modest suggestion that he is the beneficiary, rather than the agent, of succes and an indirect relation to his place as barely one part of a larger literary community.