We have seen in Chapter IV that the scholars of the Chartres group and their pupils during the early twelfth century were endowed with peculiar freedom of thought.[565] We note in the works of Bernard, Theodoric, Adelard of Bath, William of Conches, and Bernard Sylvester a wide departure from authoritative, orthodox theology. Theodoric, William, and the two Bernards were readers of Chalcidius’ translation of the _Timaeus_, of Macrobius, and perhaps of the writings of the great ninth-century Platonist, John Scot Erigena, and all four felt the powerful and seductive attraction of Platonism. Bernard Sylvester was almost an out-and-out pagan, so much so, indeed, that his writings can hardly be considered to lie within the pale of Christian theology.[566] Theodoric and William tried harder to reconcile Platonism with the teachings of the church, yet they did so in a rationalistic spirit almost as abhorrent to strict orthodoxy as the paganism of Bernard Sylvester. Theodoric expressly stated in his _De sex dierum operibus_ that he was going to explain the different Works of the Six Days “according to physical principles,” and, following the letter of the text,[567] he proposed to avoid all allegorical and moral interpretations of Scripture. He believed that the best way to attain a genuine knowledge of God was through an accurate understanding of what God had created; and his explanation of the Creation, as we shall soon see, was independent to a degree that amazes us in a writer of his time. The following phrase is particularly significant where Theodoric extols Moses’ treatment of the Creation in Genesis, saying: “He shows in a rational manner the causes out of which this world has come into existence and the order of time in which this same world was founded and adorned.”[568] Hauréau writes of the first book of Theodoric’s commentary: “Quant au premier livre, essai d’accord entre la Genèse et le _Timée_, où l’on voit la religion et la philosophie conspirant à résoudre le plus grave et le plus obscur des problèmes, le problème de l’être, et se déclarant satisfaites de l’avoir résolu, ce premier livre est ... de plus grand intéret.”[569] ADELARD OF BATH AND WILLIAM OF CONCHES