Thomas Sebastian Byrne

"The translator, while in Rome in 1899, picked up a copy of the work in a book-store. He was attracted by the title, and still more by the table of contents. No book he had read on the subject seemed quite satisfactory. He began to read this, and was fairly carried away by its order, its precision, its luminous teaching, its deep spirituality and its common sense. When he had read it through, he put it aside for some months and then took it up again. It was even more instructive, edifying and delightful than when first read, thus fulfilling in a measure the conditions of a classic."