she will still be constant. He may be
imprisoned, perhaps for life, yet there is always the hope of his
release or of his escape; and some women will be faithful to him and
will watch for his return. But, given a situation which absolutely bars
out hope, which sunders two souls in such a way that they can never be
united in this world, and there we have a test so terribly severe that
few even of the most loyal and intensely clinging lovers can endure it.

Not that such a situation would lead a woman to turn to any other man
than the one to whom she had given her very life; but we might expect
that at least her strong desire would cool and weaken. She might
cherish his memory among the precious souvenirs of her love life; but
that she should still pour out the same rapturous, unstinted passion as
before seems almost too much to believe. The annals of emotion record
only one such instance; and so this instance has become known to all,
and has been cherished for nearly a thousand years. It involves the
story of a woman who did love, perhaps, as no one ever loved before or
since; for she was subjected to this cruel test, and she met the test
not alone completely, but triumphantly and almost fiercely.

The story is, of course, the story of Abelard and Heloise. It has many
times been falsely told. Portions of it have been omitted, and other
portions of it have been garbled. A whole literature has grown up
around the subject. It may well be worth our while to clear away the
ambiguities and the doubtful points, and once more to tell it simply,
without bias, and with a strict adherence to what seems to be the truth
attested by authentic records.

There is one circumstance connected with the story which we must
specially note. The narrative does something more than set forth the
one quite unimpeachable instance of unconquered constancy. It shows
how, in the last analysis, that which touches the human heart has more
vitality and more enduring interest than what concerns the intellect or
those achievements of the human mind which are external to our
emotional nature.

Pierre Abelard was undoubtedly the boldest and most creative reasoner
of his time. As a wandering teacher he drew after him thousands of
enthusiastic students. He gave a strong impetus to learning. He was a
marvelous logician and an accomplished orator. Among his pupils were
men who afterward became prelates of the church and distinguished
scholars. In the Dark Ag