ABELARD ABENAQUS 19 of Abelard in the philosophical movement of his age is well described by M. Cousin: "A hero of romance within the church, a refined spirit in a barbarous age, a founder of a school, and almost a martyr to an opinion, everything conspired to make Abelard an extraordinary personage. But of all his titles, that which gives him a separate place in the history of the human mind is his invention of a new philosophical system, and his application of this system and of philosophy in general to theology. Doubtless before Abelard might be found some rare examples of this dangerous process, although a useful one, even in its errors, to the progress of reason; but it is Abelard who established it as a principle ; who contributed more than any other to found scholasticism, for scholasticism is nothing else. After Charlemagne, and even before, there was taught in several places a little of gram- mar and logic ; religious instruction, too, was not wanting, but this instruction was limited to a more or less regular exposition of sacred dogmas ; it might suffice for faith, but did not nurture intelligence. The introduction of dia- lectics into theology could alone produce that spirit of controversy which is the vice and the honor of scholasticism. Abelard is the chief author of this introduction; he is, then, the principal founder of the mediaeval philosophy, so that France has not only given to Europe, through Abelard, the scholasticism of the 12th century, but also at the beginning of the 17th century has given, in Descartes, the destroyer of this same scholasticism, and the father of modern philosophy. And there is no incon- sistency in this ; for the same spirit which had raised the ordinary religious instruction to that systematic and rational form which we call scholasticism, would alone be able to rise above that form, and to produce philosophy properly so called. Thus the same country was able to support, with an interval of a few centuries, Ab61ard and Descartes. We dis- cover also, through the many differences of these two men, some striking resemblances. Ab61ard sought to give an account of the only thing which could be studied in his time the- ology; Descartes has given account of what it was permitted to study in his time man and nature. The latter recognized no authority but that of reason ; the former undertook to introduce reason into authority. Both doubt, both investigate ; they seek to understand all that is possible to man, and to rest only in cer- tainty. This is their spirit in common, which they borrow from the French spirit, and this fundamental feature of resemblance causes many others ; as, for example, that clearness of language which springs spontaneously from definite and precise ideas. It may be added that Abelard and Descartes are not only both Frenchmen, but that they belong to the same province, to that Brittany whose inhabitants are distinguished by so lively a sense of inde- pendence and so strong a personality. Thence, in these two illustrious compatriots, with their native originality, with dispositions to admire moderately what was done before their time and in their time, came the love of indepen- dence, pushed often into a quarrelsome spirit ; confidence in their own strength and contempt of their adversaries ; more of logical connec- tion than of solidity in their opinions ; more sagacity than comprehensiveness; more of vigor in the temper of their mind and charac- ter than of elevation and profoundness in their thought ; more of ingenuity than of common sense, satisfied with the perfection of their own views rather than rising to universal reason." The works of Abelard were collected by Francois Amboise and Andre Duchesne, and first published at Paris in 1616. The best edition of his works is that of Cousin (Paris, 1850), who has accompanied the principal writings of the author with admirable critical and expository notices. The narrative of his life is contained in his autobiography entitled Historia Calamitatum suarum. Pope has ver- sified some of the supposed letters between the lovers. The most important modern works on the biography of Ab61ard are by Fessler, Abalard und Heloise (2 vols., Berlin, 1806) ; Mme. Guizot, Essai sur la vie et les ecrit* cPAbailard et d? Heloise (Paris, 1839) ; R6mu- sat, Abelard (2 vols., Paris, 1845); Bohringer, Kirchengeschichte (vol. iv., 1854); Wilkens, Peter Abalard (Gottingen, 1855). ABELITES, Abelians, Abelonians, or Abelonites, a sect of Christians, probably of Gnostic origin, who, though practising marriage, denounced sexual intercourse as a service of Satan, main- taining that thereby original sin was perpetu- ated. As Abel had not been married, they took their name from him. Their numbers were recruited by children whom they brought up in pairs of each sex under one roof. They existed about the 4th century, and are men- tioned by St. Augustine. They lived near the city of Hippo in Africa. The name ABELITES wa& given in the 18th century to the members of a secret society, whose professed object was to cultivate the honesty and candor of Abel, whom they took for their model and patron. ABEN, Aven, Ebn, Ibn, Arabic patronymic- prefixes to proper names, corresponding to the Hebrew ben, son of. (See BEN.) ABENAQUIS, or Abnakis (Men of the Eastern Land), a group of Indian tribes of the Algon- quin family, originally occupying the present state of Maine, and comprising the Canibas or Abenaquis proper on the Kenn'ebec, the Etechemins or Malecites as far as the river St. John, and, according to some, the Pennacooks j on the Merrimack and the Sokokis west to the I Connecticut. They were approached early in | the 17th century by the English and French, j but adhered to the latter, whose missionaries converted most of them to Christianity. They figure constantly in the New England border i wars under the name of Tarranseens, but were ! finally overthrown and their missionary Rale
