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THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book i.

wishing to know the real state of the case, wasmisinformed and misinformed others. But of lateseveral of those long-lost documents (or originalduplicates) found in the Vatican and other dustyarchives show things in a totally different light;and enable a modern to reveal many secrets andrender clear what before had been so obscure thatit appeared a kind of neutral ground where every-body might fearlessly erect their castles. But arethem not too many books already? Yes, withexceptions; and this is one, for it makes what isremote, new; not by any process of fancy, but byrelating the plain facts. This removes one consi-derable difficulty; for otherwise I should not liketo be involved in clouds at such a distance behind.Not for the sake of what may be rancid; but truth—sacred truth which is of all times, and the bestat all times.

Yet, as vantage ground, it is requisite to take aview of our part of the globe in ages immediatelypreceding those to be soon treated of; and, to doso intelligibly, it will be convenient to consider thepublic condition somewhat earlier also, in a few ofthe principal countries as a fair sample of the re-mainder; it appearing to me hard, in any otherway, to account for the universal ferment whichhad kept on increasing little by little—a feeling of