 But the problem with drawing the distinction this way is that objects other than the work of art itself often have to be consulted in order to know what the work means, and many of these objects have to be regarded as legitimate sources of information, lest interpretation become impossible. The OED is consulted by even the best of critics, and social histories are many times needed to understand cultural and historical references. Beardsley knows as much and, from “The Intentional Fallacy” onward, insisted on the legitimacy of such sources. But as drawn, the distinction between direct and indirect evidence doesn’t distinguish between dictionaries and diaries, and Beardsley never did define the direct evidence/indirect evidence distinction with sufficient precision to put one on one side of the critical fence, and the other on the other, and have them stay put. Perhaps the distinction can be drawn in some way along the lines indicated above (which are suggested by Beardsley’s own remarks), but more rigor and a principled argument would be needed.