Description
Excerpt from The History of Taunton Priory, in the County of Somerset
It may probably appear to some of my readers that in the pages which follow, as well as in other of my contribu tions to historical literature, I have invested the Monastic System and the men who exemplified it with too pleasing a garb, and that I have sketched a portrait in which fancy will luxuriate, rather than one which sober seriousness will accept as true. To this I can only answer that I have represented my facts and my actors as I found them. If I have arrived at a false estimate of their merits, it has assuredly resulted from no want of study, nor from any absence of care. One consideration, however, may ex plain the reason of the difference observable between the pictures which I have drawn and those of many whohave been pleased to employ upon the same subjects a totally different colouring. I do not attempt to write mediznval history from modern sources or with modern partialities. Rather it is my endeavour to give as faithful a representation of the times which I seek to illustrate, as many years spent among their records, some consider able investigation into their ways and modes of thought, and much willing submission to the labour and attention which such researches necessarily involve, may enable me to offer. I should indeed be unworthy of the position which I have the honour to hold, and of the manifold means which I have the happiness to possess of arriving at and eliciting truth, were I to use such a position and such means for the elevation of any measure or thing which I conscientiously believe to have been evil. At the same time I have offered no opinion, nor have I ad vanced a question as to how far, or if at all, the Monastic System is applicable to the times in which we live. This would have been altogether foreign to my purpose. I have but endeavoured to exhibit it as it was - not as perfect, for nothing upon earth is so, but marvellously great and inimitably adapted to the ages in which it did its work - and also, with the truthfulness which becomes an historian, to try to disabuse my readers of those false impressions which it has been the too frequent aim of the moderns to create and instil. That such misdirection has in many instances been the result of ignorance as well as malice cannot be denied. Later writers have been content to copy from earlier, without the study of the originals to which they were morally bound to apply themselves; and hence the designedly false portrait which the sixteenth century delineated has been accepted by the nineteenth as a true and faithful likeness. It is high time that thewrong should be amended. For my own part, I repeat, my first object is the knowledge and promulgation of truth; and, if the discovery of it obliges me to relinquish some favourite Opinions, and to surrender some conclusions once accepted as irrefragable, it shall not greatly disturb me, and still less shall it induce me to suppress its declaration and thus do violence to its sacred claim.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This 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.
It may probably appear to some of my readers that in the pages which follow, as well as in other of my contribu tions to historical literature, I have invested the Monastic System and the men who exemplified it with too pleasing a garb, and that I have sketched a portrait in which fancy will luxuriate, rather than one which sober seriousness will accept as true. To this I can only answer that I have represented my facts and my actors as I found them. If I have arrived at a false estimate of their merits, it has assuredly resulted from no want of study, nor from any absence of care. One consideration, however, may ex plain the reason of the difference observable between the pictures which I have drawn and those of many whohave been pleased to employ upon the same subjects a totally different colouring. I do not attempt to write mediznval history from modern sources or with modern partialities. Rather it is my endeavour to give as faithful a representation of the times which I seek to illustrate, as many years spent among their records, some consider able investigation into their ways and modes of thought, and much willing submission to the labour and attention which such researches necessarily involve, may enable me to offer. I should indeed be unworthy of the position which I have the honour to hold, and of the manifold means which I have the happiness to possess of arriving at and eliciting truth, were I to use such a position and such means for the elevation of any measure or thing which I conscientiously believe to have been evil. At the same time I have offered no opinion, nor have I ad vanced a question as to how far, or if at all, the Monastic System is applicable to the times in which we live. This would have been altogether foreign to my purpose. I have but endeavoured to exhibit it as it was - not as perfect, for nothing upon earth is so, but marvellously great and inimitably adapted to the ages in which it did its work - and also, with the truthfulness which becomes an historian, to try to disabuse my readers of those false impressions which it has been the too frequent aim of the moderns to create and instil. That such misdirection has in many instances been the result of ignorance as well as malice cannot be denied. Later writers have been content to copy from earlier, without the study of the originals to which they were morally bound to apply themselves; and hence the designedly false portrait which the sixteenth century delineated has been accepted by the nineteenth as a true and faithful likeness. It is high time that thewrong should be amended. For my own part, I repeat, my first object is the knowledge and promulgation of truth; and, if the discovery of it obliges me to relinquish some favourite Opinions, and to surrender some conclusions once accepted as irrefragable, it shall not greatly disturb me, and still less shall it induce me to suppress its declaration and thus do violence to its sacred claim.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This 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.
Details
Publisher - Forgotten Books
Author(s) - Thomas Hugo
Hardback
Published Date -
ISBN - 9780364194478
Dimensions - 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.2 cm
Page Count - 161
Paperback
Published Date -
ISBN - 9781331933816
Dimensions -
Page Count -
Payment & Security
Your payment information is processed securely. We do not store credit card details nor have access to your credit card information.