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In The Kingdom of God Is Within You, Leo Tolstoy argues that the heart of Jesus' teaching is the command not to resist evil by force, so that a true Christian must refuse military service, violence and the power of the state, whatever the churches teach. In What Is Art? he asks what art is for and gives a startling answer: true art passes on genuine feeling and unites people, and by this test he rejects much of the most admired art of his day, including most of his own novels.
Context and significance
The Kingdom of God Is Within You was banned in Russia and published abroad in 1893; it deeply moved the young Mohandas Gandhi in South Africa, who later corresponded with Tolstoy. What Is Art? followed in 1897 and 1898. This volume collects both, translated by Aline Delano. Read Tolstoy's late story Master and Man.
About the author
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), born at Yasnaya Polyana and a veteran of the Crimean War, wrote two of the summits of the novel, War and Peace and Anna Karenina.
In later life he preached simplicity and non-violence in The Kingdom of God Is Within You, a book that deeply influenced Gandhi.