LYOF N. TOLSTOÏ
XIX
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
IS WITHIN YOU
WHAT IS ART?
COUNT TOLSTOÏ PLOWING
From the Painting by Repin
THE NOVELS AND OTHER WORKS OF
LYOF N. TOLSTOÏ
THE KINGDOM OF
GOD IS WITHIN YOU
——
WHAT IS ART?
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1902
Copyright, 1899,
By THOMAS V. CROWELL & CO.
INTRODUCTION
The present volume contains two contrasting treatises.The first is religious, and shows in Count Tolstoï's earnestand eloquent manner the meaning of Christ's wordswhich he takes for his text,—"The Kingdom of Godis within you." The outward forms of religion, howeverhelpful they may be to some souls, are not essential;the superstitions with which Faith sometimesclothes or masks herself may or may not be uplifting;but the foundation of Christianity is the truth containedin Christ's words, his simple, plain, undogmatic commandsand prohibitions.
One word sums it all up, and that word is Love. Ifthe world should take love for its guiding star, it isevident that all the evils of the world would cease,—wars,crimes, poverty, ambitions; the millennium wouldcome! Count Tolstoï shows how that blessed periodmay begin in every man. The translation of this beautifuland inspiring book has been made by Mrs. AlineDelano of Boston.
In answering the question, "What is Art?" CountTolstoï analyzes and tests the various definitions givenby other writers. He shows up with merciless severitywhat he considers the fallacy in the popular delusionthat the fetish of Art pardons bestiality, obscenity, andwhatever conduces to stimulating the passions. Thework is strongly controversial, and attacks unsparingly[vi]many of the popular notions of the day, as, for instance,that "Art is the manifestation of some mysterious ideaof God," or "the expression of man's emotions by externalsigns," or the production of pleasing objects.He believes that art has a loftier function, and he proceedselaborately to argue in favor of this universalactivity, which should be to effect a union among menso that they may have the same noble feelings andprogress together toward universal and individual well-being."Art for art's sake" is meaningless to him. Itis interesting to notice that the most original and independentof the French critics has recently taken practicallythe same ground in a lecture, in which he assertsthat it is the critic's business to test art and literature,and that art has a most intimate relation with morality.
Much of the book is racy and amusing; much of it isabstruse, and requires close attention. But whether onefollows the author in his individual opinions or not, itcannot be denied that the general tone of the treatiseis helpful and uplifting, and that it is based on soundcommon sense. Mr. Aylmer Maude of England is thetranslator of this work, and has had the benefit ofCount Tolstoï's own sug