of several neighbouring provinces, after the example of those ancient philosophers, who travelled from place to place in search of wisdom. At last, in the twentieth year of his age, he fixed his residence in the celebrated university of Paris, at that time the first seat of learning in Europe. The master, to whom he committed the direction of his studies, was William de Champeaux, in high repute for his knowledge of philosophy, and his skill in the dialectic art. He was at first contented with receiving instruction from so eminent a preceptor: and de Champeaux, flattered by the attention, and proud of the talents of his pupil, admitted him to his friendship. Soon, however, the aspiring youth ventured to contradict the opinions of his master, and in the public school, before a numerous auditory, held disputations with him, in which he was frequently victorious. The jealousy of the master was excited; the vanity of the pupil was inflamed; and a speedy separation ensued. Abelard, elated by the success of his first attempts, felt a degree of confidence in his own powers, which led him, without hesitation, at the age of twenty-two, to open a public school of his own. "I was young indeed," says he, "but confident of myself; my ambition had no bounds: I aspired to the dignity of a professor, and only waited till I could fix on a proper place to open my lectures." (Hist. Calamit.) The place which he chose for this bold display of his talents was Melun, a town ten leagues from Paris, where the court frequently resided. It was not without difficulty that Abelard executed his plan: for de Champeaux, who considered him as his rival, openly employed all his interest against him. After a contest of six months, genius and spirit triumphed over craft and jealousy; Abelard's school was opened, and his lectures were attended by crowded and admiring auditories. Emboldened by this success, and perhaps stimulated by unworthy resentment, Abelard resolved to maintain an open contest with his master, and for this purpose removed his school to Corbeil near Paris. The combatants now frequently met in each other's schools; and the contest was supported on each side with great spirit, amidst crowds of their respective scholars, and other auditors. At length, the young champion was victorious, and his antagonist was obliged to retire.

The constant application and violent exertions which these disputations required, had now so far impaired Abelard's health, that it was become necessary for him to interrupt his labours; and, with the advice of his physician, he withdrew to his native country, where he continued

two years. Upon his return to Corbeil, he found that de Champeaux had taken the monastic habit among the regular canons in the convent of St. Victor; but that he still continued to teach rhetoric and logic, and to hold public disputations in theology. Returning to the charge, he renewed the contest with so much ability, that his opponent was obliged to acknowledge himself defeated; and the scholars of de Champeaux deserted him, and went over in crowds to Abelard. Even the new professor, who had taken the former school of de Champeaux, voluntarily surrendered the chair to the young philosopher, and requested to be enrolled among his disciples. So complete a triumph, while it gratified the vanity of Abelard, could not fail to provoke the resentment of his old master, who found means to obtain the appointment of a new professor, and drive Abelard back to Melun. De Champeaux's motive for this violent proceeding was soon perceived; even his friends were ashamed of his conduct; and he retired from the convent into the country. As soon as Abelard was informed of the flight of his adversary, he returned towards Paris, and took a new station at the abbey on mount St. Genevieve. His rival, the new professor, was unequal to the contest, and was soon deserted by his pupils, who flocked to the lectures of Abelard. De Champeaux too, returning to his monastery, renewed the struggle; but so unsuccessfully, that Abelard again triumphed, modestly adopting the language which Ovid puts in the mouth of Ajax :

Si quæritis hujus

Fortunam pugnæ, non sum superatus ab illo.

"Would you the fortune of this combat know,
I was not vanquished by the mighty foe."

During a short absence, in which Abelard visited his native place, de Champeaux was preferred to the see of Chalons. This circumstance put a final termination to the long and singular contest between these philosophers; and Abelard, perhaps for want of a rival to stimulate his exertions, or possibly through envy of the good fortune of his rival, determined to exchange the study and profession of philosophy for that of theology, and, quitting his school at St. Genevieve, removed to Laon, to become a scholar of Anselm. From this celebrated master he entertained high expectations; but they were soon disappointed. On attending his lectures he found, that, though he possessed uncommon fluency of language, he left his auditors without instruction. You would have thought,"

says Abelard," he was kindling a fire, when instantly the whole house was filled with smoke, in which not a single spark was visible: he was a tree covered with a thick foliage, which pleased the distant eye; but, on a nearer inspection, there was no fruit to be found: I went up to this tree in full expectation, but I saw that it was the fig-tree which the Lord had cursed." (Hist. Calamit.) Abelard gradually retired from these unprofitable lectures, but without offering offence either to the veteran professor, or his scholars. In conversation one of them asked him, what he thought of the study of the scriptures? Abelard replied, that he thought the explanation of them a task of no great difficulty; and, to confirm his assertion by an experiment, he undertook to give them a comment, the next day, upon any part of the scriptures they should mention. They fixed upon the beginning of the prophecy of Ezekiel; and the next morning he explained the passage in a theological lecture, which was heard with admiration. For several successive days, the lectures were, at the request of the audience, continued; the whole town pressed to hear them; and the name of Abelard was echoed through the streets of Laon. Anselm, jealous of the rising fame of this young theologian, prohibited his lectures, under the pretence that so young a lecturer might fall into mistakes, which would bring discredit upon his master. Abelard, whose ambition required a wider field than that of Laon, obeyed the prohibition, and withdrew. Returning to Paris, whither the fame of his theological talents had arrived before him, he opened his school with his lectures on the prophecy of Ezekiel. His auditors were delighted; his school was crowded with scholars; and from this time he united in his lectures the sciences of theology and philosophy with so much success, that multitudes repaired to his school not only from various parts of France, but from Spain, Italy, Germany, Flanders, and Great Britain.

Thus far Abelard has appeared with high distinction, as an able disputant, and a popular preceptor: we are now to view him under a very different character, and, when nearly arrived at the sober age of forty, to see him, on a sudden, exchanging the school of philosophy for the bower of pleasure, and even disgracing himself, as will too plainly appear in the sequel, by forming and executing a deliberate plan for the seduction of female innocence. It happened that there was at this time, resident in Paris, Heloise, the niece of Fulbert, one of the canons of the cathedral church, a lady about

eighteen years of age, of great personal beauty, and highly celebrated for her literary attainments. Abelard, whose vanity had been satiated with fame, and the vigour of whose mind was now enervated by repose, found himself inclined to listen to the call of passion. He beheld with ardent admiration the lovely Heloise, and, confident that his personal attractions were still irresistible, he determined to captivate her affections. Fulbert, who doubtless thought himself honoured by the visits of so eminent a scholar and philosopher, welcomed him to his house as a learned friend, whose conversation could not fail to be highly instructive to his niece. He was soon afterwards prevailed upon, by a handsome payment which Abelard offered for his board, to receive him into his family; and, apprehending no hazard from a man of Abelard's age and gravity, confidentially requested him to devote some portion of his leisure to the instruction of Heloise, at the same time granting him full permission to treat her in all respects as his pupil. Abelard accepted the trust, but, as it seems, without any other intention than to betray it. The hours of instruction were employed in other lessons than those of learning and philosophy; and to such a master as Abelard, it was not surprising that Heloise was a ready scholar. a ready scholar. Fulbert's respectful opinion of the philosopher, and his partiality for his niece, long concealed from him. an amour, which was become the subject of general conversation. At length the discovery burst upon him like a clap of thunder. He reproached his own wilful blindness; he lamented the disgrace of his niece; he execrated the treachery of Abelard, and resolved never to forgive it. In the breast of Heloise, every other sentiment was absorbed in passion for her seducer. Upon discovering her pregnancy, it was thought necessary for her to quit her uncle's house, and Abelard conveyed her to Bretagne, where his sister was prepared to receive them. Here Heloise was delivered of a son, to whom they gave the whimsical name of Astrolabus. Abelard, upon the birth of the child, proposed to Fulbert to marry his niece, provided the marriage might be kept secret: Fulbert consented, and Abelard returned to Bretagne to fulfil his engagement. Heloise, partly out of regard to the honour of Abelard, who e profession bound him to celibacy, and partly from a romantic notion that love like hers ought not to submit to ordinary restraints, at first gave Abelard a peremptory refusal. He, however, at last prevailed, and they were privately married at Paris. Heloise from this time

his retreat was soon discovered, and threats and persuasions were in vain employed to recal him: at lasthe obtained permission to retire to some solitary retreat, on condition that he should never again become a member of a convent.

The spot which he chose was a vale in the forest of Champagne, near Nogent upon the Seine. In this solitude, accompanied by only one ecclesiastic, Abelard, in 1122, erected a small oratory, which he dedicated to the Trinity, and which he afterwards enlarged and consecrated to the Third Person, the Comforter, or Paraclete. Here he was soon discovered, and followed by a train of scholars. A rustic college arose in the forest, and the number of his pupils soon increased to six hundred. Jealousy again provoked hostility. Norbert, a zealous fanatic, and Bernard, a gloomy enthusiast, who enjoyed great popularity in this neighbourhood, united their efforts to bring Abelard into discredit. The philosopher, who had already suffered so much from the violence of bigotry, took the alarm, and was meditating his escape, when, through the interest of the duke of Bretagne, and with the consent of the abbot of St. Denys, he was elected superior of the monastery of St. Gildas, in the diocese of Vannes, where, though not without frequent and grievous vexations, he remained several years.

About this time, Suger the abbot of St. Denys, on the plea of an ancient right, obtained a grant for annexing the convent of Argenteuil, of which Heloise was now prioress, to St. Denys, and the nuns, who were accused of irregular practices, were dispersed. Abelard, informed of the distressed situation of Heloise, invited her, with her companions, eight in number, to take possession of the Paraclete. Happy in being thus remembered in the moment of distress by the man to whom her soul was devoted, she joyfully accepted the proposal: a new institution was established; Heloise was chosen abbess; and, in 1127, the donation was confirmed by the king. Abelard, now abbot of St. Gildas, paid frequent visits to the Paraclete, till he was obliged to discontinue them through fear of his enemies among the monks, who carried their hostility against him to such a height, as to make repeated attempts upon his life.

It was during Abelard's residence at St. Gildas, that the interesting correspondence passed between him and Heloise, which is still extant, and that Abelard wrote the memoirs of his life, which come down to the year 1134. The letters of Heloise, in this correspondence, abound with proofs of genius, learning, and taste, which might have graced a better age. It is upon these

letters that Mr. Pope has formed his " Epistle from Eloisa to Abelard;" a piece, which is entitled to the highest praise for its poetical merit, but which deviates in many particulars from the genuine character and story of Heloise, and culpably violates moral propriety; as Mr. Berrington has clearly shown in his judicious critique. (Hist. of Abelard, p. 240, &c.) Here, too, Abelard probably wrote his "Theology," which again subjected him to persecution. William, abbot of St. Thierry, the friend of Bernard, now abbot of Clairvaux, whose disaffection towards Abelard has already appeared, brought a formal charge against him for heresy in thirteen articles, copied chiefly from the work just mentioned. Bernard, (Epist. Bernard. ad innocent.) after an unsuccessful private remonstrance, accused Abelard to pope Innocent II. of noxious errors and mischievous designs. Abelard, with the concur rence of the archbishop of Sens, challenged his accuser to appear in a public assembly, shortly to be held in that city, and make good his accusation. The abbot at first declined accepting the challenge, but afterwards made his appearance, and delivered to the assembly the heads of his accusation. At this instant Abelard, perhaps from! the apprehension of a popular tumult, rose up and said, "I appeal to Rome." This formal appeal did not prevent the council from examining the charges, and pronouncing Abelard's opinions heretical. It was, however, judged necessary to inform the bishop of Rome of the proceedings, and to request his confirmation of the sentence. In the mean time Bernard, by letters written to the Roman prelates, strongly urged them to silence, without delay, this dangerous innovator. His importunity succeeded; and the pope, without waiting for the arrival of Abelard, pronounced his opinions heretical, and sentenced him to perpetual silence and confinement: an arbitrary proceeding which could admit of no apology. Immediately upon being informed of the decision of the council of Sens, Abelard had set out for Rome, in hopes of being permitted to plead his own cause before the holy father. On his way, he called at Cluni, a monastery on the confines of Burgundy. Here he met with a kind reception from Peter Maurice the abbot. During his stay, Reinardus, abbot of Citeaux, arrived on the friendly errand of effecting a reconciliation between Abelard and Bernard. To the united entreaties of Reinardus and Peter, Abelard yielded; and he returned with the former to an interview with Bernard, in which a reconciliation took place. At Rome, however, the premature and unjust sentence had been passed, and, without some friendly interposition, must be

executed. The kind-hearted Peter undertook this office, and succeeded. A letter which he wrote to Rome, accompanied with a submissive apology on the part of Abelard, and with a declaration of his faith, in which he appears to have yielded to the stern necessity of his situation, obtained his pardon, and he was permitted to end his days in the monastery of Cluni.

At Cluni the cloistered philosopher was retired, studious, and devout. The monks of the convent importuned him to resume the business of instruction; in a few occasional efforts he complied with their solicitation; and his lectures were heard with undiminished applause. But his health and spirits were too much enfeebled to support these exertions. The symptoms of debility and disease increased. An ineffectual attempt was made by his friends to renew the expiring flame in the pure air of the priory of St. Marcellus, near Chalons, to which place he was removed a short time before his death. Abelard died in his 63d year, on the 21st of April, 1142. His body was sent to Heloise to be interred in the convent of the Paraclete. Heloise survived her husband 21 years, a pattern of conjugal affection, and monastic virtue.

ment."

The amour, which has given Abelard so much celebrity in the annals of gallantry, will certainly not entitle his name to a place in the tablet of moral merit: it will remain an eternal blot upon his memory. In Heloise, the criminality, though not obliterated, was palliated by youthful ardour and inexperience; and extreme sensibility, romantic attachment, noble generosity, and disinterested invincible constancy, united to throw a veil over human frailty. But in Abelard, every circumstance, instead of excusing, aggravated the offence. At forty, "the hey-day of the blood is tame, and waits upon the judgIt was not a juvenile indiscretion of which Abelard was guilty, but, according to his own confession, the seduction of innocence, deliberately planned, and resolutely executed. It was accompanied with breach of confidence, violation of duty, and degradation of character. Except in the grant of the Paraclete as an asylum to Heloise and her sisterhood, an uniform selfishness appears in Abelard's conduct, which admits of no apology; unless we transfer the blame from the man to the profession, and reprobate that system of superstition, which, by the unnatural injunction of clerical celibacy, has given birth to innumerable irregularities and enormities. Viewed apart from this disgraceful affair, Abelard appears with more advantage. His writings, indeed, will not give the reader a high idea of his genius or taste: but it cannot be

questioned, that the man who could foil the first masters of the age at the weapons of logic, could draw round him crowded and admiring auditories, and could collect scholars from different provinces and countries wherever he chose to form a school, must have possessed extraordinary talents. He must be allowed the credit not only of having made himself master of the philosophy and theology of the age, such as they were, but of having boldly advanced, beyond the time, into the region of new opinions. Had his love of truth been equal to his thirst of fame, and had his courage in adhering to his principles been equal to his ingenuity in defending them, his sufferings and persecutions might have excited more regret, and his title to honourable remembrance would have been better established. Upon the whole, of Abelard it may perhaps with truth be said, that he was too vain to be truly great, and too selfish to be eminently good, and that his character is rather adapted to excite admiration than to command respect.

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His principal works, written in Latin, arè, "An Address to the Paraclete on the Study of the Scriptures ;"" Problems and Solutions ;" "Sermons on the Festivals," "A Treatise against Heresies;' "An Exposition of the Lord's Prayer;" "A Commentary on the Romans ;"" A System of Theology ;" and his Letters to Heloise and to others. These, with some other pieces, were collected and edited from the MSS. of Amboise, in 4to, at Paris, in 1616. Abelardi Historia Calamitatum, Epistolæ, &e: Gervaise, Vie d'Abelard. Fleury, Hist. Ecc. tom. 14. Bayle. Moreri. Berrington s History of the Lives of Abelard and Heloifa.-E.

ABEN-EZKA, ABRAHAM, a celebrated Jewish rabbi, was born at Toledo in Spain, in 1099, and died at Rhodes in 1174. He travelled for the acquisition of knowledge, and far surpassed his brethren of that period both in sacred and profane learning. His knowledge procured him, in this dark age, the titles of The Wise, The Great, and The Admirable. His commentaries on scripture have been much esteemed. He also wrote "Elegantia Grammaticæ," printed in 8vo. at Venice in 1548, and "Jesud-Mora," an exhortation to the study of the Talmud, now become very scarce. His style is concise and obscure. Wolfii Bibl. Heb. p. 146. Moreri.-E.

ABEN-MALLER, a learned rabbi of the seventeenth century. He explained the grammatical sense of the Bible in a work, to which he gave the fanciful title of "The Beauty of Holiness," published at Amsterdam in 1661. It was written in Hebrew, and afterwards trans