among these was a Breton, Roscellin, the early instructor of
Abelard. From him the brilliant, fearless boy learnt two terrible
lessons: (1) that universals, instead of being real substances, external
and superior to individual things, are mere names (hence Nominalism) for
common qualities of things as recognized by the human mind; (2) that
since universals are the tools and criteria of thought, the human mind,
in which alone these exist, is the judge of all truth,--a lesson which
leads directly to pure rationalism, and indeed to the rehabilitation of
the human as against the superhuman. No wonder that Roscellin came into
conflict with the church authorities, and had to flee to England.
Abelard afterwards modified his nominalism and behaved somewhat
unhandsomely to him, but never escaped from the influence of his
teaching. Abelard was a rationalist and an asserter of the human.
Accordingly, when, definitely adopting the vocation of the scholar, he
went to Paris to study dialectic under the then famous William of
Champeaux, a declared Platonist, or realist as the designation then was,
he gave his teacher infinite trouble by his subtle objections, and not
seldom got the better of him.

These victories, which made him disliked both by his teacher and his
fellow-pupils, went to increase his natural self-appreciation, and
induced him, though a mere youth, to leave William and set up a rival
school at Melun. Here his splendid personality, his confidence, and his
brilliant powers of reasoning and statement, drew to him a large number
of admiring pupils, so that he was soon induced to move his school to
Corbeil, near Paris, where his impetuous dialectic found a wider field.
Here he worked so hard that he fell ill, and was compelled to return
home to his family. With them he remained for several years, devoting
himself to study,--not only of dialectic, but plainly also of theology.
Returning to Paris, he went to study rhetoric under his old enemy,
William of Champeaux, who had meanwhile, to increase his prestige, taken
holy orders, and had been made bishop of Chalons. The old feud was
renewed, and Abelard, being now better armed than before, compelled his
master openly to withdraw from his extreme realistic position with
regard to universals, and assume one more nearly approaching that of
Aristotle.

This victory greatly diminished the fame of William, and increased that
of Abelard; so that when the former left his chair and app