Evening star., 1928-03-11

co IrMl!y% RoScellin replied that he
could only conceive of the three per-
sons rs three gods, At once the
church censured him: and the Council
Of Soissons in 1892. baCe him either re-
tract or die. He did not choose to die.
William of Champeaux seized the
other horn Of the great dilemma and
proclaimed that the universal is the
er1inently real: that the class is losi-
cally prior TO its individuals and con-
Sututes them by entering them: that
humanity makes Peter James and
John. So man was real in addition TO
Oil individual men: truth was more
Than a collection of all truths. and the
encrch was certainly more than its
members. 1T is this realism" which
appears even today in the notion that
group mind" exists in addition to
The minds and thoughts Of the indi-
Vdusls composing society; there is
no error 50 old but that some cotem-
poraries cherish it,
Abelsrd overtlrew all this with a
laugh. Humanity" make Peter, James
and John? This Peter would not be-
leVe Il, Humanity is not merely
word. as Roscellin thought; it was a
conception which our minds formed by
observing those clements which Peter,
James and John had in common. or by
psrceiving that they lived together.
These common elements were real;
therefore the universal or class name
vas not an empty breath tFlatus
vocis. Roscellin had saidl, and norii-
ralisna, though on the right track. was
unnecessarily extreme. But these ele-
Iaents were in the individuals. not out
S.co Of them: society has reality only
through the social behavior and feel
!~s1 ot men: it is not something added
- tsleSe men. therefore realism was
v'Tonc, ana the best solution of the de-
bate VAS conceptionalism.
Very weu.' countered william. "cn
This basis the whole has no reality aside
from the parts, the church has no
reality aside frcm its members chow.
then. can il be the bride OF Christie.
ani God has no reality apart from the
constituents OF the universe. This was
heresv. punishable With DEATH"
Aoeiard did not believe it deserved so
conclusive refutation, and he went on
to teach the 3.00o students who gath
cred about him that the time had come
for man 70 have intelligence as we'll
a. faith: that the time had come TO
put aside absurdities that would have
made the ancients smile. A little doubt
would be salutary in the midst OF this
multiplying wilderness Of dogmas and
creeds: For the first key to wisdom
is called Interrogation diligent and un-
ceaSin- g. . BY doubling We are
LED to inquiry. and from inquiry We per-
ceive the truth His students agreed
with him:
They were calling for human and
philosophical arguments and insisting
upon something ineligible. rather than
mere words saying that there had been
more than enough of talk which the
mind could not follow; that II was i'm
possible 10 believe what was not under
stood in the first place. and that it was
ridiculous for any one to set forth to
otfers what neither he nor they could
nationally conceive"
How could the adult minds among
the unconyerted peoples Of the world
Be brought over 10 Christianity unless
the faith were at least clothed in rea-
son2 How absurd it was" said Abe
lard bravely, Ito force orthodoxy upon
q hereto By threatening injury TO his
body. instead of pursuading him tack
TO faith By appealing TO his intelli-
Fence" mo one" he writes. can be
refute6 except from premises which ne
comedies He envied the intellectual
freedom cf Plato and Aristotle. and
scorre6 the common notion Of mis- time
4 that these men. like all who had never
tcen received into the one true faith, |
had been damned TO he'll forever The |
time had come. he thought, when Eu-
rope was old enough to begin 70 reason
once more He foresaw the develop
ment Of the new science. which he
called 6alectic. and predicted that the
eee Of reason would follow he age Of
faith. With Abeiard the Western FIJI
YoDcan mind came 10 brilliant
puberty: schoiasticism was to be its
adolescence, the Renaissance its coming
Of age.
Had Ahelard spoken merely these alb
stgact3ons the world might never have
heard or injured him. But he pro-
cee6ed 70 show very concretely where
faith fell when II relied on tradition
and authority rather than reason; he
compiled. in treatise which he called
Sic e. Non' lYes and No, the opinions
cf the church fathers on various points
Of th7olcgy and ethics: and, with the
imp Of oeviiiry In him. arranged these
opinions IN opposite columns. so that
zach opinion was balanced and nul!:Hed
By a contradictory judgment OF equal
authority. He made no effort - -eco J.
Gle these contradictions but left thetn
Caring AZ the reader. suggesting all ;he
tnorgy problems which medieval doc
tTiue concealed. Why does evil exist IN
o world created by an ornnipotent and
benevolent God? Why did God create
human beings destined. in his omnis-
Gent .oreknowiecge. 70 everiaGting hell?
These questions were raised, and left
unanswered. nothing could have been
Elose Irritating 10 orthodox minds
Inevitably AbelaTc gai1ed a swarm
of enemies about him. His pupils
loved hin: they spoke ri him as the
greatest p53iosopF1cr that had ever
I.eo. End ne was half inclined 10 agree
With them. But William o! Cham
p@auz. whose pupils deserted him.
plotted secretly for revenge, St Ber-
rar6. shepherd cog cf the Christian
f1ock. ready 70 bite any strange crea-
t1re that should frighten the sheep,
fung back q, hbelard's "intcjligo ut
ersdans" II understand In order 70 be-
"CTedo " michigan" Il believe IN order
70 1pdersta1lc): the faith II the right
sot@ oe!ae*es,' taid Bernard indignant
~. II does not dispute. But this man.
suspicious of 600. has no mind 10 be-
ii@Se ~h2t his reason has not previously
srg1e6" ks6 An9eiga himself. under
T8ofn kE>elagc had studied for time
Is i-aoy1, &c lie not hear what his re-
bell.oa25 pupil thought of him and
would later pu, into writing?
i came therefore " this cid man
yilo owed his name rather ~ l0ng
familiarity ts2Sn 10 hts intelligence oY
his memory 70 Wj3om II any came
kn1cking On isis c0os m uncertainty As
" some question he departed more
uncertain stll!. indeed. ne Was admir-
e9le IN o7e eyes u his hearers. nut 81
ne account IN the sight Of his qufs~
tlrners His f1uency u words was ad-
n1fya9ie. bVt IN q sen8e they we're con-
teppt3Dle sro d@yoiG " reason When