Excerpt from A Sketch of the History of the Church of England to the Revolution, 1688 The best excuse which can be made for the publication of a work such as that which is now offered to the world, is the plain statement of the reasons which originally led to its composition, and of the objects which the author had in view when he commenced the task. And if, when the undertaking is accomplished, the same reasons still exist either in part or whole; if his labours be calculated to supply a want which in any measure continues to be felt, he must trust that the kindness of the public will excuse that vanity which induces him to hope that his exertions may in some degree contribute to supply a desideratum among the elementary works of our country. The author of the present sketch discovered, after he had been admitted into orders, that the knowledge of English ecclesiastical history which he possessed was very deficient. It was a point concerning which information was not to be readily obtained, but in which he felt that he ought to have made diligent search during the professional preparation of himself, on which every educated man, who is engaged in the instruction of others, is peculiarly bound to enter; he was distressed, that his knowledge of the sects among the philosophers of Athens was greater than his information on questions which affect the Church of England; and he determined to devote a considerable portion of those few hours which a laborious employment left at his disposal to the study of the history of our own church. 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.