The article looks into the conceptual status of a collection of essays. This subject is investigated by using a number of different methods, of which the most significant ones are analytical, historical and cultural, with a general cultural and philosophical approach to understanding the essence and the semantic scope of the creative functions of a collection of essays. Particular attention is given to the relevance of the creation of a collection of essays as a special art form in the culture of the Silver Age. The article defines the reasons for a collection of essays and its specificity as a form of the presentation of the solely personal thoughts. The most significant characteristics of a collection of essays are identified in the example of the analysis of the collected volume of essays by D. S. Merezhkovsky “Eternal Companions”. Special attention is paid to the creation of the collection of critical essays as a reflection of the author’s thoughts and the era itself. For this purpose, the articles included in the content of the collection are analyzed. The specific subjectivity of the author’s comprehension of the literary works is noted, and in general it is fully consistent with the spirit of the times of the Silver Age. It is emphasized that the essays included in the collection reflect the dynamics of Merezhkovsky’s thoughts. The essays collected in the volume conform with the general mainstream of the author’s thoughts, they can be understood as a single whole, and the collection itself can be regarded as a form of the representation of a creative personality in the artistic culture of the Silver Age. Special attention is given to the personality of the publisher who was a good acquaintance of Merezhkovsky P. P. Pertzov. Following the analytical procedures carried out on the texts in Merezhkovsky’s collection “Eternal Companions”, it is noted that the characteristic features of the author’s ideas present him not only as a literary critic, but mostly as a thinker. Eventually, the general conclusions are made: the collection of essays goes beyond the limits of only one author, the principles of its organization are indicated, and the importance of the author’s interpretation of the literary and cultural events as a whole is noted.
