Letters of Abelard and Heloise
barbarity of his enemies, named him to the abbey of St. Gildas, in
the diocese of Vannes, at the desire of the monks who had already
elected him for their superior. Here he thought he had found a refuge
from the rage of his enemies, but in reality he had only changed one
trouble for another. The profligate lives of the monks, and the
arbitrariness of a lord, who had deprived them of the greater part of
their revenues, so that they were obliged to maintain their
mistresses and children at their own private expence, occasioned him
a thousand vexations and dangers. They several times endeavoured to
poison him in his ordinary diet, but proving unsuccessful that way,
they cried to do it in the holy sacrament. Excommunications, with
which he threatened the most mutinous, did not abate the disorder. He
now feared the poniard more than poison, and compared his case to his
whom the tyrant of Saracuse caused to be seated at his table, with a
sword hanging over him, fastened only by a thread.
Whilst _Abelard_ thus suffered in his abbey by his monks, the
nuns of Argenteuil, of whom _Heloise_ was prioress, grew so
licentious, that Sugger, abbot of Dennis, taking advantage of their
irregularities, got possession of their monastery. He sent the
original writings to Rome; and having obtained the answer he desired,
he expelled the nuns, and established in their place monks of his
order.
Some censorious people upon reading this passage, will be apt to
entertain strong suspicions of _Heloise_, and judge it probable
that a governor does not behave well when dissoluteness is known to
reign in the society. I have never read that she was included by name
in the general scandal of the society, and therefore am cautious not
to bring any accusations against her. Our Saviour says, _No one
hath condemned thee, neither do I condemn thee._
_Heloise_, at her departure from the convent of Argenteuil,
applied to her husband; who by permission of the Bishop Troies,
gave her the house and chapel of the _Paraclete_, with its
appendages; and placing there some nuns, founded a nunnery. Pope
Innocent II. confirmed this donation in the year 1131. This is the
origin of the abbey of the _Paraclete_, of which _Heloise_
was the first abbess. Whatever her conduct was among the licentious
nuns of Argenteuil, it is certain she lived so regular in this her
new and last retreat, and behaved herself with that prudence, zeal,
and piety, that she won the hearts of all the world, and in a small
time had abundance of donations. _Abelard_ himself says she had
more in one year than he could have expected all his life, had he
lived there. The bishops loved her as their child, the abbesses as
their sister, and the world as their mother. It must be owned some
women have had wonderful talents for exciting Christian charity.
The abbesses which succeeded _Heloise_ have often been of the
greatest families in the kingdom. There is a list of them in
the _Notes_ of _Andrew du Chene_ upon _Abelard's_ works,
from the time of the foundation in 1130, to 1615; but he has not
thought fit to take notice of Jane Cabot, who died the 25th of June
1593, and professed the Protestant religion, yet without marrying, or
quitting her habit, though she was driven from her abbey.
After _Abelard_ had settled _Heloise_ here, he made
frequent journies from Britany to Champaign, to take care of the
interest of this rising house, and to ease himself from the vexations
of his own abbey. But slander so perpetually followed this unhappy
man, that though his present condition was universally known, he was
reproached with a remaining voluptuous passion for his former
mistress. He complains of his hard usage in one of his Letters; but
comforts himself by the example of St. Jerom, whose friendship with
Paula occasioned scandal too; and therefore he entirely confuted this
calumny, by remarking that even the most jealous commit their wives
to the custody of eunuchs.
The thing which gives the greatest handle to suspect _Heloise's_
prudence, and that _Abelard_ did not think himself safe with
her, is his making a resolution to separate himself forever from her.
During his being employed in establishing this new nunnery, and in
ordering their affairs, as well temporal as spiritual, he was
diligent in persuading her, by frequent and pious admonitions, to
such a separation; and insisted, that in order to make their
retirement and penitence more profitable, it was absolutely necessary
they should seriously endeavour to forget each other, and for the
future think on nothing but God. When he had given her directions for
her own conduct, and rules for the management of the nuns, he took
his last leave of her and returned to his abbey in Britany where he
continued a long time without her hearing any mention of him.
By chance, a letter he wrote to one of his friends, to comfort him
under some disgrace, wherein he had given him a long account of all
the persecutions he himself had suffered, fell into Heloise's
hands. She knew by the superscription from whom it came, and her
curiosity made her open it. The reading the particulars of a story
she was so much concerned in renewed all her passion, and she hence
took an occasion to write to him, complaining of his long silence.
_Abelard_ could not forbear answering her. This occasioned the
several Letters between them which follow this History; and in these
we may observe how high a woman is capable of railing the sentiments
of her heart when possessed of a great deal of wit and learning, at
well as a most violent love.
I shall not tire the reader with any farther reflections on the
Letters of those two lovers, but leave them entirely to his own
judgment; only remarking, that he ought not to be surprised to find
_Heloise's_ more tender, passionate, and expressive, than those
of _Abelard_. She was younger and consequently more ardent than
he. The sad condition he was in had not altered her love. Besides,
she retired only in complaisance to a man she blindly yielded to; and
resolving to preserve her fidelity inviolable, she strove to conquer
her desires, and make a virtue of necessity. But the weakness of her
sex continually returned, and she felt the force of love in spite of
all resistance. It was not the same with _Abelard_; for though
it was a mistake to think, that by not being in a condition of
satisfying his passion, he was as _Heloise_ imagined, wholly
delivered from the thorn of sensuality; yet he was truly sorry for
the disorders of his past life, he was sincerely penitent, and
therefore his Letters are less violent and passionate than those of
_Heloise_.
About ten years after _Abelard_ had retired to his abbey,
where study was his chief business, his enemies, who had resolved to
persecute him to the last, were careful not to let him enjoy the ease
of retirement. They thought he was not sufficiently plagued with his
monks, and therefore brought a new process of heresy against him
before the Archbishop of Sens. He desired he might have the liberty
of defending his doctrine before a public assembly, and it was
granted him. Upon this account the Council of Sens was assembled, in
which Louis the VII, assisted in person, in the year 1140. St.
Bernard was the accuser, and delivered to the assembly some
propositions drawn from _Abelard's_ book, which were read in the
Council. This accusation gave _Abelard_ such fears, and was
managed with such inveterate malice by his enemies, and with such
great unfairness, in drawing consequences he never thought of, that,
imagining he had friends at Rome who would protect his innocence, he
made an appeal to the Pope. The Council notwithstanding his appeal,
condemned his book, but did not meddle with his person; and gave an
account of the whole proceeding to Pope Innocent II. praying him to
confirm their sentence. St. Bernard had been so early in
prepossessing the Pontiff, that he got the sentence confirmed before
_Abelard_ heard any thing of it, or had any time to present
himself before the tribunal to which he had appealed. His Holiness
ordered besides, that _Abelard's_ books should be burnt, himself
confined, and for ever prohibited from teaching.
This passage of St. Bernard's life is not much for the honour of
his memory: and whether he took the trouble himself to extract the
condemned propositions from _Abelard's_ works, or intrusted it
to another hand, it is certain the paper he gave in contained many
things which _Abelard_ never wrote, and others which he did not
mean in the same sense imputed to him.
When a few particular expressions are urged too rigidly, and
unthought of consequences drawn from some assertions, and no regard
is had to the general intent and scope of an author, it is no
difficult matter to find errors in any book. For this reason,
Beranger of Poitiers, _Abelard's_ scholar defended his master
against St. Bernard, telling him he ought not to persecute others,
whose own writings were not exempt from errors; demonstrating, that
he himself had advanced a position which he would not have failed to
have inserted in this extract as a monstrous doctrine, if he had
found them in the writings of _Abelard_.
Some time after _Abelard's_ condemnation, the Pope was
appeased at the solicitation of the Abbot of Clugni, who received
this unfortunate gentleman into his monastery with great humanity,
reconciled him with St. Bernard, and admitted him to be a Religious
of his society.
This was _Abelard's_ last retirement, in which he found all
manner of kindness; he read lectures to the monks, and was equally
humble and laborious. At last growing weak, and afflicted with a
complication of diseases, he was sent to the priory of St. Marcel
upon the Saone, near Chalons, a very agreeable place, where he died
the 21st of April 1142, in the 63d year of his age. His corpse
was sent to the chapel of _Paraclete_, to _Heloise_, to be
interred, according to her former request of him, and to his own
desire. The Abbot of Clugni, when he sent the body to _Heloise_
according to the custom of those times, sent with it an absolution,
to be fixed, together with his epitaph, on his grave-stone, which
absolution was at follows:
"I Peter, Abbot of Clugni, having received Father _Abelard_
into the number of my Religions, and given leave that his body be
privately conveyed to the abbey of the Paraclete, to be disposed of
by _Heloise_ Abbess of the same abbey; do, by the authority of
God and all the saints, absolve the said _Abelard_ from all his
sins*."
* _Ego Petrus Cluniacensis Abbas, qui Pet. Abselardum in monacum
Cluniacensem recepi, & corpus ejus surtim delatum Heloissa
abbatissae & monialibus Paracleti concessi, authoritate
omnipotentis Dei & omnium sanctorum, absolvo eum pro officio ab
omnibus peccatis suis._
_Heloise_, who survived him twenty years, had all the leisure
that could be to effect the cure of her unhappy passion. Alas! she
was very long about it! she passed the rest of her days like a
religions and devout Abbess, frequent in prayers, and entirely
employed in the regulation of her society. She loved study; and being
a mistress of the learned languages, the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew,
she was esteemed a miracle of learning.
_Abelard_, in a letter he wrote to the Religious of his new
house, says expressly, that _Heloise_ understood these three
languages. The Abbot of Clugni, likewise, in a letter he wrote to
her, tells her, she excelled in learning not only all her sex, but
the greatest part of men**. And in the calendar of the house of
the Paraclete she is recorded in these words: _Heloise, mother and
first abbess of this place, famous for her learning and religion._
I must not here pass by a custom the Religious of the _Paraclete_