First published in Russian, one of the most famous works of the famous English writer and critic William Hazlitt (1778-1830) "Table Talks" (1821) is thirty-three essays on a wide variety of topics (about great and small, about the past and future, about the ignorance of scientists, about genius and common sense, about picturesque and ideal, about fear of death, about travel, etc.). Hazlitt's image as an essayist is manifested in his amazing ability to comprehensively study the subject under consideration, each time to find something new, unexpected, admire the usual, express an original idea of ​ ​ things worn to the point of banality. He never falls into a moralizing tone, into abstruse reasoning, his philosophy is the philosophy of an ordinary person, distracted from everyday life, who saw the colorful world of reality and art behind the grayness of life's routine. Of particular interest to the writer is a person, his life, character traits, abilities and talents, advantages and disadvantages; nature as the basis of being and the main measure for artistic creativity; social phenomena; art and literature - and Hazlitt sometimes interprets everything in such a way that completely collapses or forces us to critically reconsider our long-standing ideas about the world.