The collection was composed of works of old Russian oratorical prose of the 11th-17th centuries. Solemn and didactic "words," "words" - panegyrics and teachings went into the book. Of particular interest are the oldest surviving monuments of oratory of Kievan Rus of the XI-XII centuries. (teachings of Theodosius Pechorsky, the famous "Word on Law and Grace" by Hilarion, solemn "words" by Kirill Turovsky and others), as well as works of such famous authors as Maxim Grek, Avvakum Petrov, Simeon Polotsky. The teachings of the 11th-17th centuries, which condemn all kinds of human vices (drunkenness, laziness, gluttony, chattiness), are combined in the section "Soul medicine."