The materials of the collection cover a little-studied stage in the development of French aesthetics at the beginning of the 19th century. It includes: fragments from the treatises of P. S. Ballanche "On the feeling considered in its relationship with literature and fine arts" and "Experience on public institutions"; fragments from the books of F. R. de Chateaubriand "The Genius of Christianity" and "Experience on English Literature"; "Reflections on Tragedy" and other articles by B. Constant; excerpts from J. Joubert's "Diaries." All works included in the collection are published in Russian for the first time.