The most influential study for me was surely that of Leo Tolstoy’s theory and definition of art, for it is must intelligible to my natural reason. I tend to agree with Tolstoy’s claim that good art communicates the thoughts and emotions of what the artist was feeling, that allows us to empathize with him or her, and to share in a noble meeting of ideas. To task art with a didactic and civic purpose seems to me to be worthy of it, and surely the best pieces of art are those which inspire us to excellence. Coming immediately to mind are the classical epics, Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid – while technically art by virtue of beautiful use of language, they also depict characters in which we are to empathize and learn from, offering us wise guidance and meter for contemplation. It is this sort of art work, along with more modern examples including the works of Shakespeare and Addison, which I find the most moving and rightfully artistic. The visual arts can accomplish similar effect, although in a sporadic and less cathartic fashion. Those works, if underscored by the chief considerations of Tolstoy and the ancients, serve as wholesome subconscious stuff, ennobling the spirit upon their reflection by filling the mind with allegory, wonder and mystery.