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ABELAKD ABBL1TK& 



Cain. Tin' latter was a tiller of the ground, A. n 

 shepherd, lioili I irons' lit an otlcring liefoiv |)i<> 

 I.onl; (:iiu the first fruits of tlic groun.i : A. tlie 

 lirsllinijs of his (lock, (itxl accepted the oilenni; uf 

 V.; i lie offering of Cain lie rejected. The latter, 

 i it'll liy envy, murdered his brother in the field. 

 Tlni < > ili' first murder on t-artli was commuted. The 

 opinion of several Christian fathers, that A. died nn- 

 niarrietl, lias given rise to the sect of AMitcs or 

 IMunitf-s, (q. v.) The church considers the offcr- 

 ina: of A. as the pattern of a pure and holy offering, 

 pleasing to (iod, and ( 'hrist himself calls him the JIM. 

 ABKI.AHD, Peter, originally Ahailard, a monk of 

 Ihe order of St Benedict, equally famous for his 

 learning and for his unfortunate love of Heloise, was 

 horn in lo;;i, near Nantes, in the little village of 

 Palais which wus the property of his father Ber- 

 rnuer. His inclination led him to the study of the 

 sciences ; and in order to devote himself fully to phi- 

 losophy, he ceded to his brothers his rights of pri- 

 iiinoeniuire and his estates. He studied poetry, rhe- 

 toric, philosophy, jurisprudence, and theology, the 

 <ireck, Hebrew, and l>atin languages, and soon be- 

 c.iiue familiar with them ; but scholastic philosophy 

 chiefly engaged his attention. Though Bretagne 

 then possessed many distinguished scholars, A. soon 

 iict|iiired all they could teach. He went therefore 

 to Paris, the university of which attracted students 

 from all parts of Europe. William de Champeaux 

 was tin- most skilful disputant of his time. A. made 

 so good use of his instructions, Uiat he was often 

 % ictorious over his master, in contests of wit and lo- 

 gical acumen. The friendship of Champeaux was 

 soon succeeded by enmity, in which his other scho- 

 lar took part, and A., who had not yet completed 

 his -j-^d year, escaped the consequences of their ill- 

 will, by fixing himself at Melun, where he was 

 soon followed by a multitude of young men, who 

 were induced by his reputation, to leave the schools 

 of Paris, in order to attend his lectures. Envy pur- 

 sued him here, and he left Melun for Corbeil, 

 where he was no less admired and persecuted. In 

 compliance with the advice of his physicians, he 

 soon after remitted his labours, for the purpose of 

 restoring his disordered health by a journey to his 

 native place. After two years, he returned with 

 rejiovated strength to Paris, became reconciled to 

 his former teacher, and opened a school of rhetoric, 

 the fame of which soon deprived all the others of 

 their pupils. He lectured on rhetoric, philosophy, 

 and theology, and educated many distinguished 

 scholars, among whom were the future pope, Celes- 

 tin II., Peter 'of Lombardy, bishop of Paris, Beren- 

 ger, bishop of Poictiers, and St Bernard. At this 

 time, there resided at Paris, a young lady, by name 

 Heloise, niece to Fulbert, a canon of that city, then 

 of the age of 17 years. Few ladies surpassed her 

 in beauty, none equalled her in genius and know- 

 ledge. A., though already of the age of 39 

 years, became inspired with such violent love 

 for Heloise as to forget his duty, his lectures, 

 and his fame. Heloise was no less susceptible. 

 Under the pretext of finishing her education, A. ob- 

 tained Fulbert's permission to visit her, and finally 

 became a resident in the house of the canon. The 

 lovers lived several months in the utmost happiness, 

 occupied more with their love than with their studies. 

 But the verses in which A. celebrated his passion 

 were circulated in Paris, and finally reached the eyes 

 of Fulbert. He separated the lovers, but too late ; 

 Heloise was already pregnant, A. fled with her to 

 Bretagne, where she was delivered of a son, who 

 died, however, early. He now resolved to marry her 

 secretly. F. was obliged to give his consent, and 

 Heloise, who, from a lake delicacy, preferred to be 



his mistress rather than his wife, ami had formerly 

 written to him that she would not deprive the world 

 of so great a man liy domestic cares, at last consented. 

 The marriage was performed, and, in order to keep 

 it secret, Heloise reni.iined with her uncle, whilst A, 

 retained his former lodgings, and continued his lec- 

 tures. They saw each oilier lint seldom; Fulbcrt, 

 however, thought the reputation of his niece would 

 be injured liy this secret union, and made it known ; 

 but Heloise, valuing A.'s fame higher than her own 

 good name, denied her marriage with an oath. Ful- 

 bert manifested his anger by ill treatment ; to deliver 

 her from which, A. carried her away a second time, 

 and placed her in the convent of Argenteuil. Mil 

 bert erroneously believed it was intended in force her 

 to take the veil, and under the influence of rage, he 

 subjected A. to an ignominious mutilation. A. be- 

 came, in consequence, a monk in the abbey of St 

 Denis, and Heloise took the \eil at Argenteuil. 

 After time had somewhat moderated his grit 1 !', he re- 

 sumed his lectures, and incurred new persecutions ; 

 his enemies accused him of heresy at the council of 

 Soissons, 1122, on account of his Kssay on the Tri- 

 nity. They succeeded in having it declared hereti- 

 cal, and he was condemned to burn it with his own 

 hands. Continued persecutions obliged him at last 

 to leave the abbey of St Denis, and to retire to a 

 place near Nogent-sur-Seine, where lie built an ora- 

 tory, which he dedicated to the Holy Ghost, and 

 called it Paraclete. Being subsequently appointed 

 abbot of St Gildas de Ruys, he invited Heloise and 

 her religious sisterhood to reside at his chapel, Para- 

 clete, and received them there. The lovers saw each 

 other here again for the first time after a separation 

 of 11 years. A. lived afterwards at St Gildas, which 

 afforded him but a gloomy residence, troubled by un- 

 successful attempts to reform the monastery, and 

 struggling always with his love for Heloise, and the 

 hatred or the monks, who even threatened his life. 

 St Bernard, who had long refused to proceed against 

 a man whom he esteemed, finally yielded to the re- 

 peated remonstrances of his friends, laid the doctrines 

 of A. before the council of Sens, in 1140, had them 

 condemned by the pope, and obtained an order for 

 his imprisonment. A. appealed to the pope, pub- 

 lished his defence, and went to Rome. Passing 

 through Cluny, lie visited Peter the Venerable, who 

 was aubot there. This humane and enlightened di- 

 vine effected a reconciliation between him and his 

 enemies ; but A. resolved to end his days in retire- 

 ment. The severe penances which he imposed upon 

 himself, together with the grief, which never left his 

 heart, gradually consumed his strength, and he died,a 

 pattern of monastic discipline, in 1142, at the abbey 

 of St Marcel, near Chalons-sur-Saone, at the age 

 of 63 years. Heloise begged his body, and had him 

 buried in the Paraclete, with the view of reposing in 

 death by his side. In 1800, the ashes of both were 

 carried to the museum of French monuments at Pa- 

 ris, and, in Nov. 1817, were deposited under a chapel 

 within the precincts of the Church of Monamy. A. 

 was distinguished as a grammarian, orator, logician, 

 poet,musician, philosopher, theologian, and mathe- 

 matician ; but he lias left nothing to justify the re- 

 putation which he enjoyed among his contemporaries. 

 He excelled in the art of disputation. His doc- 

 trines were often reprehensible, and his behaviour 

 censurable. His love and his misfortunes have se- 

 cured his name from oblivion ; and the man, whom 

 his own century admired as a profound divine, is now 

 celebrated as the martyr of love. The letters of A. 

 and Heloise liave been often published, in the origin- 

 al and in translations. 



ABELITES, Abelians, or Abelonians. St Augustine 

 gives this name to a Christian sect, which probably 



