Excerpt from The Life and Pontificate of Leo the Tenth, Vol. 1 of 2 For almost three centuries the curiosity of mankind has been directed towards the age of leo the tenth. The history of that period has not, however, yet been attempted in a manner in any degree equal to the grandeur and variety of the subject. Nor is this difficult to be accounted for. Attractive as such an undertaking may at first appear, it will be found on a nearer inspection to be surrounded by many difficulties. The magnitude of such a task; the trouble of collecting the materials necessary to its proper execution; the long devotion of time and of labour which it must unavoid ably require, and, above all, the apprehensions of not fulfilling the high expectations which have been formed of it, are some of those circumstances which have perhaps prevented the accomplishment of a work which has often been suggested, sometimes closely contemplated, but hitherto cautiously declined. 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.