Cathédrale de Chartres; Civilization, Medieval; Mont-Saint-Michel (Abbey : France)
"I do not deny," he begins; "on the contrary, I affirm that the
universal, whether we call it humanity, or equilateral triangle, has
a sort of reality as a concept; that it is something; even a
substance, if you insist upon it. Undoubtedly the sum of all
individual men results in the concept of humanity. What I deny is
that the concept results in the individual. You have correctly
stated the essence of the point and the line as sources of our
concept of the infinite; what I deny is that they are divisions of
the infinite. Universals cannot be divided; what is capable of
division cannot be a universal. I admit the force of your analogy in
the case of the crystal; but I am obliged to point out to you that,
if you insist on this analogy, you will bring yourself and me into
flagrant contradiction with the fixed foundations of the Church. If
the energy of the triangle gives form to the crystal, and the energy
of the line gives reality to the triangle, and the energy of the
infinite gives substance to the line, all energy at last becomes
identical with the ultimate substance, God Himself. Socrates becomes
God in small; Judas is identical with both; humanity is of the
divine essence, and exists, wholly and undivided, in each of us. The
equilateral triangle we call humanity exists, therefore, entire,
identical, in you and me, as a subdivision of the infinite line,
space, energy, or substance, which is God. I need not remind you
that this is pantheism, and that if God is the only energy, human
free will merges in God's free will; the Church ceases to have a
reason for existence; man cannot be held responsible for his own
acts, either to the Church or to the State; and finally, though very
unwillingly, I must, in regard for my own safety, bring the subject
to the attention of the Archbishop, which, as you know better than
I, will lead to your seclusion, or worse."
Whether Abelard used these precise words is nothing to the point.
The words he left on record were equivalent to these. As translated
by M. de Remusat from a manuscript entitled: "Glossulae magistri
Petri Baelardi super Porphyrium," the phrase runs: "A grave heresy
is at the end of this doctrine; for, according to it, the divine
substance which is recognized as admitting of no form, is
necessarily identical with every substance in particular and with
all substance in general." Even had he not stated the heresy so
bluntly, his objection necessarily pushed William in face of it.
Realism, when pressed, always led to pantheism. William of Champeaux
and Bishop or Archbishop Hildebert were personal friends, and
Hildebert's divine substance left no more room for human free will
than Abelard saw in the geometric analogy imagined for William.
Throughout the history of the Church for fifteen hundred years,
whenever this theological point has been pressed against churchmen
it has reduced them to evasion or to apology. Admittedly, the weak
point of realism was its fatally pantheistic term.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account