An Ecclesiastical History, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 of 6: From the Birth of Christ, to the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century, in Which the Rise, Progress, and Variations of Church Power Are Consid

Excerpt from An Ecclesiastical History, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 of 6: From the Birth of Christ, to the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century, in Which the Rise, Progress, and Variations of Church Power Are Considered in Their Connexion With the State of Learning and Philosophy, and the Political History of Europe During ThatI cannot persuade myself, that the complaints we hear frequently of the frivolous nature of the public taste in matters of literature, are so far to he relied on, as to make me despair of a favourable reception of the following work. A History of the Christian Church, composed with judgment, taste, and candour, drawn, with uncommon discernment and industry, from the best sources, enriched with much useful learning and several important discoveries, and connected with the History of Arts, Philosophy, and Civil Government, is an object that will very probably attract the attention of many, and must undoubtedly excite the curiosity of the judicious and the wise. A work of this nature will be considered by the Philosopher as an important branch of the history of the human mind, and I need not mention a multitude of reasons that render it peculiarly interesting to the Christian.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.