Abelard, ab'e-lard (1079-1142), an eminent French philosopher--the lover of Heloise. He was born near Nantes. He gave his share of his father's property to his younger brothers, and devoted himself to a life of scholarship. He went to Paris for an education. This was before the day of printing. Manuscripts were written in Latin; the lecturers spoke Latin; the students conversed, not in French, but in Latin. Pierre was Abelard's name at home, but his fellow students gave him a Latin nickname meaning "Bacon-licker." Young Pierre changed the nickname slightly to "Habelardus," meaning "Bacon-haver," whence the name Abelard, by which he is known. Abelard was a remarkable student. He was particularly fond of logic and disputation. He became a favorite of the leading professor, but argued with him so persistently as to turn friendship into enmity. Abelard had fluency and elegance of speech. He became noted as the greatest speaker and teacher of his day. In the history of philosophy, he is considered one of the "school men," a name given to the scholars of the Middle Ages. The doctrines of Abelard were of intense interest to the thinking young men of his day. He emphasized the duty of obeying one's conscience. He defined sin, not merely as a departure from what is good in itself, but as doing something which the doer himself felt to be wrong. As a deduction from this position, he claimed that a person might commit an act, wrong in itself, but not a sin so far as the doer is concerned. It follows from this doctrine that if a person thinks it wrong to commit an act, he is guilty in doing it, even though the act in itself be not wrong. Assuming that God is all powerful and all wise, and that his acts are to be unquestioned, Abelard answered the query of whether God can do more than he really does do, by saying that, if only the divine power is to be taken into consideration, God can do more than he does, but that, if the divine wisdom be considered, God cannot do more than he now does. As to knowledge, Abelard declared that it is our duty to investigate, and that proper doubt is the open door to investigation. In matters of faith, this eminent teacher laid down the principle that reason must be the basis of faith, for without reason faith cannot be sure of its truth. In this latter doctrine, in particular, Abelard came into conflict with the church, which very naturally insisted that the teachings of the church were authoritative and must not be inquired into. He was driven out of several positions. The story of his fleeing into the wilderness, followed by crowds of loyal students desirous of hearing his lectures, is one of thrilling interest. His doctrines were condemned by church councils. To escape excommunication, he was obliged to recant and to burn his works in public. Abelard was a profound student of philosophy and theology, the learned subjects of his time. He is to be regarded as an early exponent of independence of thought. He was the most eminent thinker of his day. The course of Abelard's life never ran smoothly. At the age of forty he ran away with Heloise, his beautiful pupil, the niece of Canon Fulbert. They were united by a secret marriage which Heloise afterward denied from a fear of obstructing Abelard's progress in the church, no married man being permitted to enter the priesthood. Heloise's relatives took a brutal revenge by breaking into Abelard's apartments and mutilating him in a manner that made him ineligible for high place in the church. Abelard entered a monastery in deep humiliation. Heloise became a nun. Later Abelard founded a chapel and hermitage, called Paraclete, and when he became an abbot, he gave the hermitage to Heloise and her sisterhood for a dwelling. On Abelard's death, his body was delivered to Heloise who buried him at Paraclete. For twenty years she watched his grave and when she died she was buried beside him. In 1817 the remains of Abelard and Heloise were removed to the cemetery of Pere Lachaise at Paris, and were buried in the same sepulcher. A fine sarcophagus with the recumbent figures of the lovers represented on the cover is surmounted by a Gothic canopy. Some of the stones of this monument were brought from the buildings of Paraclete. There is never a lack of fresh wreaths and bouquets of flowers, left by strolling lovers, who regard the tomb of Abelard and Heloise as the shrine of disappointed love. In all this, the modern world has idealized Abelard. Heloise was, indeed, an affectionate, long-suffering woman. Abelard was a brilliant, intellectual, ambitious man. His writing and speaking impressed the philosophy and scholarship of his day profoundly; but he was vain and selfish. Candor compels the student to admit that the tale of undying affection rests chiefly on the unselfish devotion of Heloise. See PERE LACHAISE; SCHOLASTICISM.