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length opened, he obliged his boarder to quit the family. Soon after, the niece, finding herself pregnant, wrote to her lover,who advised her to leave Fubert. She complied with the advice of Abelard, who sent her to his fifter's house in Britany, where fhe was delivered of a son, and in order to pacify the canon, Abelard offered to marry Heloise privately. This proposal pleased the uncle more than the niece, who, from a strange fingularity in her paffion, chose rather to be the mistress than the wife of Abelard (d). At length, however, fhe confented to a private marriage; but even after this would, on fome occafions, affirm with an oath that he was ftill unmarried. Fulbert, being more defirous of divulging the marriage, to wipe off the afperfion brought upon the family, than of keeping his promife with Abelard not to mention it, often abused his niece when the obftinately denied her being Abelard's wife. Her husband thereupon fent her to the monaftery of Argenteuil, where, at his defire, fhe put on a religious habit, but not a veil. Heloife's relations looking upon this as a fecond piece of treachery in Abelard, were tranfported to fuch a degree of refentment, that they hired ruffians, who forcing into his chamber in the night, deprived him of his manhood (e). This infamous treatment made Abelard retire to a cloyster, there to conceal his confufion; so that it was fhame, and not devotion, which made him put on the ha (d) Mr. Pope makes Eloife thus express herself in her letter to Abelard; How oft, when press'd to marriage, have I said, Curfe on all laws but those which love has made? Should at my feet the world's great master fall, Himself, his throne, his world, I'd fcorn them all : Not Cæfar's emprefs would I deign to prove; No, make me mistress to the man I love.

If there be yet another name more free,

More fond than miftrefs, make me that to thee!
Oh! happy ftate! when fouls each other draw,
When love is liberty, and nature law.

(e) This cruel misfortune is alluded to in the following lines of the fame epistle:

Alas, how chang'd! what fudden horrors rife !
A naked lover bound and bleeding lies!
Where, where was Eloife? her voice, her hand,
Her poynard had oppos'd the dire command.
Farbarian, ftay! that bloody ftroke restrain;
The crime was common, common be the pain.
I can no more, by fhame, by rage fupprefs'd,
Let tears and burning blushes fpeak the reft---~

Still on that breaft enamour'd let me lie,
Still drink delicious poifon from thy eye,
Pant on thy lip, and to thy heart be prefs'd,
Give all thou canft---and let me dream the rest,

bit in the abbey of St. Dennis. The diforders of this houfe, where the abbot exceeded the reft of the monks in impurity as well as in dignity, foon drove Abelard from thence; for having taken upon him to cenfure their behaviour, he thereby became fo obnoxious, that they defired to get rid of him. He retired next to the territories of the count of Champagne, where he gave public lectures, and drew together such a number of hearers, that the other profeffors, whose pupils left them to go to Abelard, being ftung with envy, began to raise perfecutions against him. He had two formidable enemies in Laon, who perceiving the prejudices done to their schools in Rheims by his great reputation, fought an oppor tunity to ruin him, and they were at last furnished with a handle by his treatife on the Trinity, where they pretended to have discovered a moft dreadful herefy (f), and for this purpose they prevailed on their archbishop to call a council at Soiffons, in the year 1121. This council, without allowing Abelard to make his defence, fentenced him to throw the book into the flames, and to fhut himfelf up in the cloyfter of St. Medard. Soon after he was ordered to return to the convent of St. Dennis. Here happening to fay, that he did not believe their St. Dennis was the Areopagite mentioned in fcripture, this expreffion was immediately laid hold of, and carried to the abbot, who was overjoyed at it, because it gave him an opportunity of blending a ftate crime with an accufation of falfe doctrine. The abbot immediately called a chapter, and declared that he was going to deliver up to the fecular power a man who had audacioufly trampled on the glory and diadem of the kingdom. Abelard, knowing these menaces were not to be defpifed, fled by night into Champagne; after the abbot's death, he obtained leave to lead a monaftic life wherever he pleased. He now retired to a folitude in the diocefe of Troies; there he built an oratory, which he named the (Paroclet), where great numbers of pupils reforted to him. This revived that envy by which he had been so often perfecuted; and he now fell into the most dangerous hands, having drawn upon himself the fury and malice of St. Norbert and St. Bernard, who fet up for being reftorers of the ancient difcipline; enthusiasts whom the po

yet he is not accused of Sabellianifm, but of Tritheifm. This is his comparifon, As the three popofitions of a fyllogifm are but one and the fame truth; fo the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft are one and the fame ef

(f) It was alledged that Abelard admitted three Gods, though it is certain he was orthodox with regard to this mystery. The comparifon he drew from logic, tends rather to make the divine perfons one, than to multiply the effence of God to three; and fence.

C 4

pulace

Abelard.

pulace followed as new apoftles. They raifed fuch calumnies against him, as hurt him greatly with his principal friends, and those who still continued to efteem him durft not fhew him any outward marks of their friendship. His life became fo uneafy to him, that he was upon the point of flying to fome country where chriftianity was not profeffed; but fate determined otherways, and he was brought anew amongst Chriftians, and monks worfe than Turks. The pift, p. 32. monks of the abbey of Ruis, in the diocefe of Vannes, having chosen him their fuperior, he now hoped he was got into a quiet afylum; but it foon appeared that he had only exchanged one evil for another. He endeavoured to reform the corrupt manners of the monks, and took the revenues of the abbey out of their hands, fo that they were now obliged to maintain their concubines and their children at their own expence. This ftrict though laudable behaviour raised a great fpirit against him, and brought him into many dangers (g). About this time the abbot of St. Dennis having expelled the nuns from Argenteuil, Abelard, in pity to Heloife their priorefs, made her a prefent of the Paraclet, where she took up her refidence with fome of her fifter nuns. After this he made feveral journeys from Britany to Champagne, to settle Heloife's affairs, and to relax himself from the cares and uneafinefs he met with in his abbey; for notwithstanding the horrid ufage he had received by means of Heloife's relations, they fill spread malicious calumnies against him (b). In 1140, he was accused of herefy before the archbishop of Sens. He defired he might be permitted to make his defence, and a council was accordingly fummoned for that purpose, at which king Lewis the feventh was prefent, and St. Bernard appeared as his accufer. They began by reading in the af fembly feveral propofitions extracted from the works of Abelard, which fo alarmed him, that he appealed to the pope. The council nevertheless condemned the propofitions, but determined nothing in regard to his perfon, and they fent ar

(g) The monks attempted feveral times to poifon him; but not being able to effect that by his ordinary food (for he was aware of their defigns) they tried to poifon him with the facramental bread and wine. One day he abstained from a difh which had been prepared for him, and his companion who eat it, died inftantly. Abelard excommunicated the most rebellious of his monks; but to no purpose, for at last he was

more afraid of a dagger than of poifon; fo that he ufed to compare himself to the man whom the Sicilian tyrant placed at table with him under a drawn fword, fufpended only by a thread. Abelard. epift. p. 39.

(b) Though his enemles knew he was incapable of fatisfying a woman, they yet affirmed that fome remains of fenfual delight ftill engaged him to his mistress,

account

account of their proceedings to pope Innocent II. praying him to confirm their determination. The pope complied with their requeft, and ordered Abelard to be confined, his book to be burnt, and that he should never teach again. His holinefs, however, fome time after, foftened the rigour of this fentence, at the interceffion of Peter the Venerable, who had not only received this heretic into his abbey of Clugni, but had even brought about a reconciliation betwixt him and St. Bernard, who had been the chief promoter of his perfecution in the council of Sens. In this fanctuary at Clugni Abelard was treated with the utmost humanity and tendernefs; here he gave lectures to the monks, and his whole behaviour fhewed the greatest humility and induftry. At length, having become infirm, and being afflicted with the fcurvy, and many other diforders, he was removed to the priory of St. Marcellus, a very agreeable place on the Saon, near Chalons, where he died on the 21st of April, 1142, in the fixty-third year of his age. His corpfe was fent to Heloife, who depofited it in the Paroclet.

ABELLY (Lewis) bishop and count of Rhodes. He was born at Paris, and for fome time rector of St. Joffe in that city. He wrote feveral pieces, and amongst the rest a treatise on divinity, intitled Medulla Theologica; whence Boileau gave him the epithet of Moëlleux. The principles and tenets laid down in this performance differ greatly from thofe of the Janfenifts (a). He wrote alfo The life of Vincent de Paul, founder and first superior-general of the congregation of the Miffion; a book on The principles of Chriftian morality; one on Herefies; and another on The tradition of the church with regard to the worship of the virgin Mary. This laft piece, a fecond edition of which was printed. at Paris in 1675, gave great pleasure to the Proteftants, because it furnished them with a weapon against those who endeavoured to perfuade them, that if any thing was overftrained in this kind of worship, it arofe wholly from the extravagant conceits of the monks, which abuse the bishops were daily reforming. It ferved alfo as an excellent handle against a piece published by the bishop of Condom: and indeed Mr. Abelly became the protector, as it were, of the most extravagant notions relating to the devotion of the virgin Mary, fo that he quite defeated the efforts of this bishop, and of those

(a). Abbé le Camus, a strong Jan. ' when Abelly wrote it.' Menagifenift, (peaking of this piece, fays, ana, p. 65. ift Dutch edition. that the moon was in the wane

per

25

Genefis xx.

cap. 11.

perfons who published or approved of the treatise entitled, The bleffed virgin's falutary advice to her indifcreet devotees. Mr. Abelly was doctor of divinity in the faculty of Paris, and made bishop of Rhodes, when Mr. de Perefixe, the king's preceptor, was promoted to the archiepifcopal fee of Paris. When he was fo far advanced in years as not to be able to perform his paftoral function, he refigned his bishopric, and retired to the house of St. Lazare, where he died on the 4th of October, 1691, in the eighty-eighth year of his age.

ABIMELECH, king of Gerar, a country of the Philiftines, was cotemporary with Abraham. The patriarch having retired into this prince's country with his family, his wife Sarah, though in her nintieth year, was not fafe; for Abimelech became fo fmitten with her beauty, that he carried her off with a refolution to marry her. Abraham might have prevented this accident, had he declared himself the husband of Sarah; but being afraid of his life, he thought proper to give out that she was his fifter, and prevailed upon her to call him her brother. It is believed that the king of the Philiftines was afflicted with a diftemper which rendered him impotent; but however this be, we are told he was not permitted to Jofeph. Antiq. lib. I. gratify his paffion for Sarah, having been warned in a dream that the was the wife of a prophet, and that he should die if he did not reftore her to Abraham. The king accordingly gave her back to him, reproaching them at the fame time for their falfe affirmations. Abraham, amongst other excuses, faid, fhe was really his fifter, being born of the fame father, though of a different mother, for which we have the authority of fcripture. Jofephus (according to M. Bayle) falsely supposes that Abraham declared Sarah was his brother's daughter, and that upon the reftitution of Sarah, Abimelech and Abraham made a covenant. It is true, fays he, that the covenant of Beer-fheba was made between them; but this was fome years after. Jofephus, contrary to the authority of Mofes, makes this covenant prior to Ifaac's birth; whereas the scriptures fix it after the rejection of Ifhmael, which was not till after Ifaac was weaned (a). Jofephus alfo tells us,

Jofeph.
Antiq. ib.

Cen. xxi.

31, 32.

(a) Theodore Beza expreffes himfelf thus in regard to Jofephus: Hoc ego femel pronuncio, quod tu nunquam falfum effe oftendes, fi verus eft multis locis Jofephus, mentitum

that

effe multis locis Mofem et facros omnes fcriptores. Sed nos potius iftos pro veris ipfius Dei interpretibus, illum vero pro facerdote rerum "facrarum valde imperito, atque etiam

negligente

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