Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/483

 The Culture of the Middle Ages 447 >f the period, some of whom studied at his feet : clearness, 187. Abe- richness in imagery, and lightness of touch are said to have lar d's popu- jen the chief characteristics of his teaching. Clearness is, teacher 8 ' ideed, a quality of his written works, though they do not, (From laturally, convey an impression of his oral power. His McCabe ' 8 splendid gifts and versatility, supported by a rich voice, a charming personality, a ready and sympathetic use of human literature, and a freedom from excessive piety, gave him an immeasurable advantage over all the teachers of the day. Beside most of them, he was as a butterfly to an elephant. A most industrious study of the Roman classics that were available, a retentive memory, an ease in manipulating his knowledge, a clear, penetrating mind, with a corresponding clearness of expression, a ready and productive fancy, a great knowledge of men, a warmer interest in things human than in things divine, a laughing contempt for authority, a handsome presence, and a musical delivery, these were his gifts. Nowhere is so much to be found about Abelard's life 188. Abe- and the education of his time as in a certain long, sad a a j to _ s letter which be wrote to a friend describing his troubles, biography. (Summary and which is really a brief autobiography. He tells first of the of his birth in Brittany, not far from Nantes. His father JJJJ^ } had been interested in learning, although a soldier by profession, and had resolved that his children should be reared in letters before they were trained in arms. Abe- lard, the firstborn, decided to surrender all his possessions to his brothers and set forth to seek instruction, especially in logic, preferring the laurels to be won in disputation to the trophies of war, the natural profession of a young nobleman. Consequently [he says] I traversed the various provinces, engaging in disputation and visiting all those places where I heard that the art of logic flourished. I came finally to