In the first volume, Tsubouchi stated that the essence of novels is to describe human nature and description of the society and public morals should come next, and in the second volume he showed specific approaches.
上巻において、小説で大切なことはまず人情を描くことで、次に世の中の様子や風俗の描写であると論じ、下巻において具体的な方法を示す。