I*] 



Huss, and other fifteenth-century reformers, the authority 

 of the Church and the very existence of Christianity were 

 seriously menaced ; (2) that, on account of the failure 

 of the Inquisition to stem the current of scepticism, large 

 sums of money were offered for the discovery of ancient 

 writings which would bear testimony to the divine autho- 

 rity of the Church and the divine establishment of 

 Christianity; (3) that, in consequence of this bribe, shoals 

 of writings were forged by needy monks and scholars, 

 and attributed to ancient authors ; and (4) that among 

 these forgeries were the " Annals " of Tacitus, which 

 were composed by Bracciolini and re-written by the 

 Hirschfeldt monk in a style as nearly as possible like a 

 very old copy of the " History " of Tacitus, which was 

 supplied to him as a guide. 



