CRITICISM ?
in  1898  his  remarkable  book  with that  title  gave  his  reply .
communicate  what  the  artist  has felt :
in  this ,  that  one  man  consciously by means of  certain  external  signs , hands  on to  others  feelings  he  has lived  through ,  and  that  others are  infected  by  these  feelings  and also  experience  them .
metaphysicians  say ,  the  manifestation  of some  Idea  of  beauty  or  God ;  it is  not ,  as  the  aesthetic physiologists  say ,  a  game  in  which man  lets  off  his  excess  of stored-up  energy ;  it  is  not  the expression  of  man 's  emotions  by external  signs ;  it  is  not  the production  of  pleasing  objects ; and ,  above  all ,  it  is  not pleasure  but  it  is  a  means  of union  among  men  joining  them  together in  the  same  feelings ,  and indispensable  for  the  life  and progress  towards  wellbeing  of  individuals and  humanity .
art  besides  Tolstoy 's  own  and  those which  he  denounced .
just  two  assertions  will  have  to content  us :  first ,  some  works have  been  intended  by  their  makers to  be  seen  as  art ;  second , there  is  a  consensus  today  that other  works  are  to  be  described  as art .