niversity of Paris.]

[Sidenote: Abelard.]

About the latter part of the eleventh century a greater ardour for
intellectual pursuits began to show itself in Europe, which in the
twelfth broke out into a flame. This was manifested in the numbers who
repaired to the public academies or schools of philosophy. None of these
grew so early into reputation as that of Paris. This cannot indeed, as
has been vainly pretended, trace its pedigree to Charlemagne. The first
who is said to have read lectures at Paris was Remigius of Auxerre,
about the year 900.[818] For the two next centuries the history of this
school is very obscure; and it would be hard to prove an unbroken
continuity, or at least a dependence and connexion of its professors. In
the year 1100 we find William of Champeaux teaching logic, and
apparently some higher parts of philosophy, with much credit. But this
preceptor was eclipsed by his disciple, afterwards his rival and
adversary, Peter Abelard, to whose brilliant and hardy genius the
university of Paris appears to be indebted for its rapid advancement.
Abelard was almost the first who awakened mankind in the ages of
darkness to a sympathy with intellectual excellence. His bold theories,
not the less attractive perhaps for treading upon the bounds of heresy,
his imprudent vanity, that scorned the regularly acquired reputation of
older men, allured a multitude of disciples, who would never have
listened to an ordinary teacher. It is said that twenty cardinals and
fifty bishops had been among his hearers.[819] Even in the wilderness,
where he had erected the monastery of Paraclete, he was surrounded by
enthusiastic admirers, relinquishing the luxuries, if so they might be
called, of Paris, for the coarse living and imperfect accommodation
which that retirement could afford.[820] But the whole of Abelard's life
was the shipwreck of genius; and of genius, both the source of his own
calamities and unserviceable to posterity. There are few lives of
literary men more interesting or more diversified by success and
adversity, by glory and humiliation, by the admiration of mankind and
the persecution of enemies; nor from which, I may add, more impressive
lessons of moral prudence may be derived.[821] One of Abelard's pupils
was Peter Lombard, afterwards archbishop of Paris, and author of a work
called the Book of Sentences, which obtained the highest authority among
the scholastic disputants. The resort of students to P