Read the passage. Many hundred large volumes have been published upon this controversy but the books of the Big-Endians have been long forbidden and the whole party rendered incapable by law of holdin?

The passage is discussing a controversy between the Big-Endians and the Small-Endians, likely a reference to a political or religious conflict where the Big-Endians' literature has been banned and their party members restricted by law. The conflict seems deep-rooted and significant, given the extensive literature published on the topic.