for the nuns of the Paraclete. He also wrote them a letter upon the study of Scripture. From this time forth he proved his devotion to Heloïse and her nuns by the large body of writings which he composed for their edification. Heloïse sent him a long list of questions upon obscure phrases and knotty points of Scripture, which he answered diligently in detail.[1] He then sent her a collection of hymns written or "rearranged" by himself for the use of the nuns, accompanied by a prefatory letter: "At thy prayers, my sister Heloïse, once dear to me in the world, now most dear in Christ, I have composed what in Greek are called hymns, and in Hebrew tillim." He then explains why, yielding to the requests of the nuns, he had written hymns, of which the Church had such a store.
Next he composed for them a large volume of sermons, which he also sent with a letter to Heloïse: "Having completed the book of hymns and sequences, revered in Christ and loved sister Heloïse, I have hastened to compose some sermons for your congregation; I have paid more attention to the meaning than the language. But perhaps an unstudied style is well suited to simple auditors. In composing and arranging these sermons I have followed the order of Church festivals. Farewell in the Lord, servant of His, once dear to me in the world, now most dear in Christ: in the flesh then my wife, now my sister in the spirit and partner in our sacred calling."
At a subsequent period, when his opinions were condemned by the Council of Sens, he sent to Heloïse a confession of faith. Shortly afterward his stormy life found a last refuge in the monastery of Cluny. His closing years (of peace?) are described in a letter to Heloïse from the good and revered abbot, Peter the Venerable. He writes that he had received with joy the letter which her affection had dictated,[2] and now took the first opportunity to express his recognition of her affection and his reverence for herself. He refers to her keenly prosecuted studies
- ↑ Heloïse's last problema, did not relate to Scripture, and may have been suggested by her own life. "We ask whether one can sin in doing what is permitted or commanded by the Lord?" Abaelard answers with a discussion of what is permissible between man and wife.
- ↑ This letter of Heloïse is not extant.
