Page:An Index of Prohibited Books (1840).djvu/207

 the Memoirs and the first volume (first edition) of Ranke's work, were published in the same year, 1834 — the Memoirs at the beginning of the year, as far as my recollection serves — Ranke's Popes, of course, as the fact will prove, at a later part of the year. Now it would be nothing very extraordinary, in this case, since the only portion of his history in which he had any concern with Tridentine matters was confined to the first volume, if he had omitted all reference to certain English memoirs of the Council: unless, indeed, this view were contradicted by an express assertion of his own, that he had purposely neglected those English memoirs for certain alleged reasons. It is well known by those who have any acquaintance with the Berlin professor's able, but far from faultless, work, that his views of the transactions which he records are very summary and sketchy; and that in rather an arbitrary manner, as well as degree. It is likewise to be observed, that the author has pretty exclusively confined himself to the MSS. documents to which he had access, generally pretermitting printed and common sources. And it is the fact, that in his brief outline of the two first assemblies of the Council of