Page:The Roman index of forbidden books.djvu/26

18  discipline, is not at all bent on proscribing books. Works like the one mentioned are never put on the Index unless it is quite clear that the mischief to be feared from them will far outweigh the good they may do. Scholars and students well grounded in their faith, who have a real and legitimate cause for reading a forbidden book can easily obtain a dispensation.

It is clear from the preceding explanations that a book may sometimes be dropped from the Index. This is done when a book has long ceased to be dangerous, or a cause of dissension, or if it has fallen into oblivion. Thus Pope Leo XIII caused to be expunged about a thousand titles. This does not imply a reproach for the authorities of former centuries, much less the giving up of an iota of the old principles.

Suppose a person were so well grounded in faith and virtue, so thoroughly versed in theology, philosophy, and the natural sciences, that the reading of books e. g.