The article is one of considerable performances of Салтыкова in protecting of revolutionary young people from the so-called "antinihilistic" criticism| was marked censorship in an annual review as "reprehensible" and as characterizing direction of the "Home messages". Because image of "new man" is Марка Волохова - in the novel of Гончарова "Precipice", essentially, closed up with a that idea about revolutionaries, that "антинигилистичесяая" literature implanted, Салтыков devoted the article mainly to this theme. In a letter to Некрасову of Mays, 22 1869 of Салтыков reported that wrote the article "concerning "Precipice", id est not touching a novel, and philosophy of Гончарова" actually. The question in the article is about three basic problems the decision of that explains the салтыковскую estimation of work of Гончарова : 1) about attitude of work of writer toward his world view, 2) oh attitude of society toward progress, in particular - to development of front-rank philosophical and natural-science idea, 3) about the role of the largest literati of 40th in modern public motion.