Bill East wrote:
>.....St Bernard accuses Abelard of many old heresies:
>"When he discourses of the Trinity he savours of Arius; when of grace, of
Pelagius; when of the Person of Christ, of Nestorius" (Letter CXCII, AD
1140).
>You must decide for yourself how much justice, if any, there was in
Bernard's accusations.>
Especially in view of Abelard's accusation that Bernard had never read
(at least some of) his works.
When Orien's interesting comment ressurected my memory of A's assertion about
his chief accuser, I realized that my own long-held prejudice against Bernard
in this matter was based solely upon that (Abelard's) assertion.
Not that B can--or should--be rehabilitated (much less that I might have been
wrong about him lo these many decades), but is there evidence *from Bernard's
own writings* that he had indeed read, marked and inwardly digested Abelard's
offensive rantings?
That question aside, it would seem that the thust of the Bernardian accusation
above (and similar ones previously noted on this string) is that high medieval
writers tar their contemporary heretics with the ancient brushes of the
Original Heresiarchs, thereby bestowing upon them, in a curious way, a stature
which they might not otherwise deserve.
?
Best from here,
Christopher
____________________________________________________________________
More than just email--Get your FREE Netscape WebMail account today at http://home.netscape.com/netcenter/mail
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|