The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-28

which gave an impulse to philosophy as well as to art and enterprise. The prim- um, mobile of the new system was motion, in distinction from the rest. which marked tho old monastio retreats" The Real ist, represented by the Raven, and the Nominalists, represented by the Ego. the inquiring spirit of that age, were led re- |spectively by St. Bernard and Peter Abe lard. Bernard9was a firm believer oftNor- man descent, who preached the second crusade and was the fierce master of the medieval orthodox argument, excommu- nioation and threat of hell fire. Lord tells that Bernard said to- a runaway monk: Thou fearest watches, and lasts and manual labor, but these are light to one who thinks of eternal fire. The remem- brances of outer darkness takes away all horror from solitude. Place before thine eyes the wailing and gnashfna oftteeth. the fury of those fires that can snever be extinglhshed." That harsh spirits which destroyed the hopes of Christians.s once so glad and ready for death, did not always characterize the Scandinavian religion. Its primitive brightness gave place to despair and dark predictions kith the progress of the Norsemen's struggle against nature at its worst and in the course of their career of violence and pill lage and 1awless conquest, and the Chris
 
 and horror from its sufferings at the hands. of barbarian conquerors. To both
 Unmerciful disaster
 F followed fast and followed faster,
 Till their songs one burden bore Till the burden of their Hope that
 Melancholy burden bore
 Of "Never-nevermore."
 And who was Abelard to question, ridi- cule, defy and finally succumb to this prophet of despair? Near the main en- trance to the cemetery at Paris stands a beautiful Gothic tomb. the Mecca of lov- CTS whose fingers eternal1y entwine it with flowers, for beneath it lie the un- f1ftunate lovers whom a harsh eoclesi- eAtical custom made hero and heroine of 2le most pathetic of love stories, life time of devotion in separation-the bril- liant poet and priest Abelard and his de- voted wife Heloise. An. English reviewer has stated justly what Abelard would have been had not his love for Hefoise marred his life-work and ruined his worldly success. This from the Westmin- ster Review: without her he would stand forth a great and striking figure in the 18th century-something moro con- spicuous than our own Wickliffe, if some- thing less than Germany's Martin Luther. As it was he left his indelible mark on the age in which he lived as bold re- ligious reformer, 0 profound philosopher and thinker, an orator of surpassing elo- quence-as 8 man who in no small degree assisted in bringing about some of those vast changes which bridge over the great gulf separating the intellect of the pres ent day from the intellectual darkness OF the Middle Ages"
 The intellectual triumphs of Southern France, that splendid civilization, sprang from the discussion in which Abelard dis tinguished himself as a champion of purer religion, more reasonable faith, and, a, more enlightened civilization, rest ing on the operations of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, for whom he named his retreat near Paris, the Paraclete. the seat of his lectures to 5000 disciples of great est promise-one became pope GInnocent I'D, 19 cardinals, and 100 bishops.
 The reader of the Raven will notice that the spirit begins with ridicule of the Raven, then moro seriously questions it, and finally raves with disappointment, bitterness and revolt, and that is the his- toricaI order Of the intellectual move ments of the 18th century, which culmin- ated in the war of the pope on the Albi- genses, of Southern France, including the gallant troubadours.
 Amid the bitterness, contention, and desperation of the spirit in that perturbed time. the poem indicates a beautiful in- terlude.
 'Then methought the air grew denser, Perfumed from an unseen censer
 Swung by Seraphim whose footballs
 Tinkled on the tufted fioor'
 ic hat tf,,1o all h,,re ofc which has "caused many literary students to wonder how it was that during tho marvellous 18th century, amid all the chaos of shattering and building up of empires, such sudden and simultaneous chords of melody were shot crosswise throughout the length and breadth of Europe. interpenetrating Iceland and Provence, Aquitaine and Austria, Nor mandy and Italy, with an irresistible de- sire for poetic production" It was the misty fairy hour, the golden dawn of Percival, of Tristran, of the Niebilungen- lied, of the Athurian legends, of the men, nesingers and the troubadours. Especial fly dear to the human heart were the bright and sparkling. soft and sweetest lays fthe mennessingers, poems of love and friendship, sang by court poets in praise of woman, and eliminating In the glorifcation of the Virgin Mary, for the nobest of the mennessingers paid homage to the Christian religion. and sang in the service of God. The tumultuous spirit of that age sought comfort of these seraphic utterancesI
 " Wretch I cried, thy God hath lent
 thee
 By these angels He hath sent thee
 Respite-respite and nepanthe
 From the memories of I,en0rei
 Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepanthe,
 And forget this last I.enore'"