Sentence:  We are thankful to the author for sparing us learned historical <WSD>disquisitions</WSD> about the antiquity of Egypt. We have some of these, but not too much, and none at all of the theories that are so valuable to the owner, and to no one else. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A lengthy, formal discourse that analyses or explains some topic;  a dissertation or treatise.