THE MEDIEVAL MIND 83 



In the ninth century the mystical theory of Erigena, 

 a native of the British Isles and disciple of Origen, a 

 theory based on the idea of the divine as the only 

 reality, contained a fusion of Platonic and Aristotelian 

 views, and the discussion only became acute later. 

 In the eleventh century pure nominalism appears 

 in Berengarius of Tours (999-1088), and later in 

 Roscellinus (d. c. 1125), who, holding the sole reality 

 of the individual, reached a tritheistic conception of 

 the Trinity, and at once crystallized, especially in 

 William of Champeaux and Anselm, the opposing 

 realism, and established it as the orthodox view for 

 several centuries. But its inherent difficulties led 

 to many varieties of the theory, and an interminable 

 discussion waged in the schools and employed all 

 the philosophic interests of the scholastic dialecticians 

 for two hundred years. Abelard, a Breton noble by 

 birth, attacked his master, William of Champeaux, 

 and himself taught a modified Aristotelian realism 

 verging on a nominalism not so consistent as that 

 of Roscellinus. In Abelard the doctrine of the Trinity 

 was reduced to the conception of three aspects of the 

 Divine Being. Abelard showed signs of rationalism, 

 such as the pregnant statements that " doubt is the road 

 to enquiry," that " by enquiry we perceive the truth," 

 and that "it is necessary to understand in order to 

 believe," a saying that may well be compared with 

 the " Credo quia impossibile " of the patristic Tertul- 

 lian, and the " Credo ut intelligam " of Anselm. Abe- 

 lard was called to account by St Bernard, who held in 

 abhorrence the wisdom of this world, and did much 

 to fan the growing spirit of ecclesiastical suspicion 

 which saw heresy everywhere. In this controversy 



