History of the Popes, Volume I: Their Church and State

"...Ranke has given us not only history, but literature, showing that the noble language which he wielded was adapted, not merely for setting forth the investigations of science and the speculations of philosophy, but also for clothing human thought and historical facts in garments of grace and beauty..." --William Clark, Special Introduction, 1901

History of the Popes: Their Church and State in three volumes, by German historian Leopold von Ranke, was first published in German in 1834-36, ...