"The men who abandon themselves to the passions of this miserable life, are compared in Scripture to beasts."

Life

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on life by Peter Abelard resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in life is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Peter Abelard

Peter Abelard was a French philosopher, logician, theologian, composer, and poet, regarded as one of the most brilliant and controversial theologians of his time. Born at Pallet, near Nantes, he became a popular lecturer in Paris, but his academic career was cut short after his love affair with his student and eventual wife, Héloïse d'Argenteuil. Their relationship and philosophical exchange later became the aspect of his life for which he is best known in history and popular culture.

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the ShortQuote Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Peter Abelard

"It is by doubting that we come to investigate, and by investigating that we recognize the truth."

— Peter Abelard
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"Logic has made me hated in the world."

— Peter Abelard
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"The Son of God took our nature, and in it took upon himself to teach us by both word and example even to the point of death, thus binding us to himself through love."

— Peter Abelard
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"Are you not moved to tears and bitter compassion, when you behold the only Son of God seized by the most impious, dragged away, mocked, scourged, buffeted, spit upon, crowned with thorns, hung upon the infamous cross between two thieves, finally in such a horrible and execrable manner suffering death, for your salvation and that of the world?"

— Peter Abelard
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More about Life

"Wisdom principle 72 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 66."

— Emma Pow Bauder
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"Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them."

— Epictetus
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"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."

— Albert Einstein
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"Wisdom principle 12 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 79."

— Henry David Thoreau
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