Abelard & Heloise, The Letters and other Writings, Translated, with Introduction and Notes by William Levitan.
I wish to offer this review as a rebuttal to the reviewer who thought it did not have much to offer aside from some of the poetry.
To be sure, if one has a passing knowledge of the story of Abelard and Heloise, you may expect something different from what is in this volume. All these letters were written after the fateful love affair and ad hoc castration of Abelard, when Abelard is a lecturer in theology at a monastery and Heloise was a prioress at a nearby Abby. Therefore, the lions share of text in the letters deals with matters of how to run a monastery. In that regard, they should be read inconjunction with St. Benedict's rule and Basil the Great's letters on the conduct in a monastery.When the early events in their life are brought up, they appear as object lessons of what not to do, as when Abelard writes, in the fourth letter:
Consider then how appropriately God's justice - or rather, it was God's grace - dragged you against your will to the calling you were not afraid to mock, wanting you to atone for that desecration while wearing the same habit you once profaned, to answere the lie with the truth of the event and correct the falsehood of your pretense.
Since our store of Abelard's writings in English is so thin, these letters often provide insights into his ethical and theological thoughts on atonement. One will also find evidence here for the feminists case (see especially Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock) that Abelard's atonement doctrines encourage pastors to preach submission to abuse of women and children (I am NOT saying this happens, only that such things are mentioned in feminist writings). One example which supports their case is:
'...where there is struggle, there is also a crown: "No one is crowned who does not strive (2 Timothy 2:5) For me there is no crown, for there is no cause for strife, no grounds for struggle when the thorn of desire is gone.'
Shortly afterwards, there is the line of Poetry:
'Afflict our flesh that you may preserve our souls.'
There is a subtle dialectic here between theology and preaching. That Abelard 'preaches' the welcoming of suffering, does that mean his theology requires it. This seems like an abstruse subject, until you begin applying this dialectic to all those Roman clerics who shuffled around their priests who abused children. It suddenly becomes very modern.
There is also a fair amount of social history here, as when Abelard discusses some of the abuses of monasteries who '...using hospitality as a pretext to set up building after building and turn the solitude they once sought into a city.'
For those of us who are always on the lookout for 'new' liturgical material, I suggest that few things strike me as stronger than some of Abelard's 800 year old reverential poetry. Like Hildegard of Bingen, Abelard also wrote much liturgical music; however only a small sample finds its way into this book.
I am a great fan of serendipity, so when the contents of a book surprises me, I relish it just a bit more. And, the quality of writing and relevance of topic makes this book worthy for all who examine the spiritual life from either the inside or the outside.
