Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Vol. 1 of 6: Begun in the Year 1641; Books I-IV
It is a difficult province to write the history of the civil wars of a great and powerful nation, where the king was engaged with one part of his subjects against the other, and both sides were sufficiently in?amed: and the necessity of speaking the truth of several great men, that were engaged in the quarrel on either side, who may still have very considerable relations, de scended from them, now alive, makes the task invidious, as well as difficult.
We are not ignorant that there are accounts contained in this following History of some eminent persons in those times, that do not agree with the relations we have met with of the same persons published in other authors. But, besides that they who put forth this History dare not take upon them to make any alterations in a work of this kind, solemnly left with them to be published, whenever it should be published, as it was delivered to them; they cannot but think the world will gene rally be of Opinion, that others may as likely have been mistaken in the grounds and informations they have gone upon, as our author; who will be esteemed to have had Opportunities, equal at least with any others, of knowing the truth, and, by the candour and impartiality of what he relates, may be believed not to have made any wilful mistakes.
However, all things of this nature must be submitted, as this is, with great deference to the judgment of the equal reader; who will meet, in his progress through this work, with many passages, that, he will judge, may disoblige the posterity of even well meaning men in those days much more then of such as were crafty, cunning, and wicked enough to design the mis chiefs that ensued: but he shall meet with none of malice, nor any but such as the author, upon his best information, took to be impartially true. He could not be ignorant of the rules of a good historian, (which, Cicero says, are such foundations, that they are known to every body, ) That he should not dare to speak any falsehood, and should dare to speak any truth. And we doubt not, but through the whole progress of this History he will be found to have given no occasion of suspecting his writings guilty of partial favour or unjust enmity; and we hope, that the repre senting the truth, without any mixture of private passion or animosity, will be so far from giving offence to any ingenu'ous man of this time, that it will be received rather as an instruo tion to the present age, than a reproach upon the last.
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