Tolstoy as Man and Artist with an Essay on Dostoevsky (1901) is a work
of literary criticism by Dmitriy Merezhkovsky. Having turned from his
work in poetry to a new, spiritually charged interest in fiction,
Merezhkovsky sought to develop his theory of the Third Testament, an
apocalyptic vision of Christianity's fulfillment in twentieth century
humanity. In this collection of essays on Tolstoy and Dostoevsky,
Merezhkovsky explores the spiritual dimensions of the written word by
examining the interconnection of being and writing for two of Russian
literature's most iconic writers. For Dmitriy Merezhkovsky, an author
who always wrote with philosophical and spiritual purpose, the figure of
the artist as a human being is a powerful tool for understanding the
quality and focus of that artist's work. Leo Tolstoy, author of such
classics as War and Peace and Anna Karenina, developed a reputation
as an ascetic, deeply spiritual man who envisioned his art as an
extension of his political and religious beliefs. Dostoevsky, while
perhaps more interested in the psychological aspects of human life,
pursued a similar path in such novels as The Brothers Karamazov and
Crime and Punishment. In Merezhkovsky's view, these writers came to
embody in their lives and works the particularly Russian conflict
between truths both human and divine. Tolstoy as Man and Artist with an
Essay on Dostoevsky is an invaluable text both for its analysis of its
subjects and for its illumination of the philosophical concepts explored
by Merezhkovsky throughout his storied career. With a beautifully
designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of
Dmitriy Merezhkovsky's Tolstoy as Man and Artist with an Essay on
Dostoevsky is a classic work of Russian literature reimagined for
modern readers.
