Theobald, count of Blois, elder brother to Stephen king of England, was alfo much guided by the counfels of Bernard, and he was furely a very extraordinary character. Though a powerful prince, he lived in abftemiousness, fimplicity, and plainnefs. Nothing indecent was permitted to be faid* or done in his prefence. His care and munificence in relieving the afflicted was wonderful: in a famine he opened his ftore-houses to the poor: his life, in fhort, was devoted to the fervice of mankind; and I hope it was true what Ernald tells us, that he laid up treasures above. But we must be content with details of external things from a writer, who gives no account of the inward vital godliness of his heroes. Theobald alfo had his fhare of afflictions, though the account of their nature and of his relief from them at laft, is beyond measure obfcure. The talents of Bernard in preaching, were, doubtless, of the first order. He poffeffed that variety of gifts, which fitted him either to addrefs the great or the vulgar. He knew how to improve converfation to falutary purposes, and to over-rule the frivolous trifling of a company by introducing fomething serious, which yet was of an inviting and an agreeable nature. At the command of the pope, and at the requeft of other bifhops, he was wont to preach in various places; and the impreffions left on the congregations, who crowded from all parts to hear him, demonftrated the powers of his eloquence. The Crufade of Lewis VII. called the younger, was fupported by the eloquent voice of Bernard, who unhappily prevailed to draw numbers to join that monarch in his abfurd expedition, which * Id. 1129. + Life of Bernard, by Gaufrid. which was in its confequences, pregnant with misery and ruin*. If we had no other apologies for Bernard, than those very abfurd ones fuggested by Gaufrid, it must be confessed, he would be totally inexcufable. But, in the review of his works, we fhall have occafion to hear the abbot speak for himself. * Id. 1137. CHAP. CHA P. II. BERNARD'S DEFENCE OF EVANGELICAL TRUTH TH HE merits of the controverfy between these two great men, can scarce be appreciated, without fome previous review of the life and tranfactions of the latter. Peter Abelard was born in A.D. Britanny, in the year 1079*. He was, doubtless, 1079. a man of genius, industry, and learning. In early life, he was put under the tuition of Rofcelin, an acute logician, already mentioned, who, incorporating his philofophical fubtilties with Chriftian ideas, departed from the fimplicity of the faith, and was condemned for tritheifm, toward the clofe of the foregoing century. Abelard needed not the inftructions of fuch a mafter, in order to learn the arts of felf-fufficiency. Confident and prefumptuous by nature, elated with applaufe, and far too haughty to fubmit to the fimple truth, as it is revealed in Scripture, he was, from the moment that he applied himself to the ftudy of the facred writings, ardently difpofed to embrace heretical fingularities. After he had appeared in a very fplendid light in the fchools of philofophy, and had been equally diftinguished by his acuteness and by his contentious fpirit, he attended * I have been obliged to Mr. Berington's hiftory of this man, for the arrangement of certain facts and circumstances. I fearce need to fay, that I am conftrained to differ, toto cœlo, from him in fentiments. Nor is it poffible, that it should be otherwife, where two perfons have scarce one common principle of theology, in which they agree. VOL. III. A A tended the lectures of * Anfelm in divinity. What fort of lectures they were, we are not told, but I have not the worfe opinion of them from the fupercilious contempt with which Abelard fpake of them. He himself had given very little attention to the facred books, and yet very speedily decided against his teacher, pronounced him void of reafon and common fenfe, and declared, that, with the affiftance of an eafy expofitor, the Scriptures were perfectly intelligible to any one, who had the smallest pretenfions to literature. "Are you equal to the work of expounding the Scriptures?" faid his companions." I am ready," faid he: "chufe any book, which you please, from the Old or New Teftament, and allow me a fingle commentator." They inftantly fixed on the moft difficult of all the prophets, Ezekiel. He ftudied that night, and next morning declared, that he was prepared to expound the prophet: " for it is not by leisure," faid he, "but by energy of genius, that I undertake to mafter the sciences." He exhibited himself in publick, lectured repeatedly on Ezekiel, and was admired by his ignorant auditories. Hitherto every thing feems to be a modern scene. The fame juvenile confidence, fupported by the fame ignorance of themselves and the fame depraved nature, has formed many Socinian and Pelagian preachers and writers in our times, who, between the age of twenty and thirty, have defpised the wisdom of antiquity, and the authority of men most justly renowned for good fenfe, learning, and holinefs, and have committed themselves to the direction of plausible and prefumptuous innovators, who are often sufficiently artful in beguiling the unwary. One of their most fuccefsful devices is, they * This perfon must not be confounded with the famous archbishop of Canterbury of that name. they pretend to teach young ftudents of divinity how to think for themfelves. It is remarkable, however, that we very feldom find any of those, who have gone to vifit the fick lion, to return from his den. A felf-confident spirit naturally leads the mind into opinions the most daringly fubverfive of the Gofpel, as well as into a courfe of life the most oppofite to its precepts. And when a man has begun to defpife the influence of the Holy Spirit, he is awfully left at large to his own dark designs, and to the crafts of the prince of darkness. The connection between doctrines and practice is clofe and exact. He, who thought highly of himself, was easily disposed to think meanly of divine grace; and the best uses of the ftory of this miferable man are these, to teach youth to be modeft,-and to inform mankind, whether young or old, that the Scriptures fhould ever be studied with reverence, humility, and prayer. Abelard had the bafenefs to feduce a young woman, named Eloifa, who was brought up in Paris by her uncle. The names of both these perfons are familiar to those who have read our poet Pope, and it would be far remote from the plan of this history, to enlarge on fcenes of fo flagitious a nature. The real principles of grace, I constantly find, are alone productive of holy practice. He, who has not feen the evil of fin in his own nature, and the precioufnefs of the grace of Chrift, even while he boasts of his regard to moral virtue, will play with iniquity, and call evil good, and good evil. The unhappy woman herself learned to glory in her shame, and profeffed that the thought it an honour to become the harlot of fo renowned a perfon as Abelard. Sin deceives and hardens the heart incredibly; even holy David, for a season, felt its fascinating power, and nothing less than the influence A A 2 |