From the days when those curious in philosophical research had flocked
from the neighboring universities to see this professor of theology who
could not be conquered in argument, and had been confronted by a
smooth-faced lad of twenty, until now, he was still the glory of the
Servi; and well might the friars watch in triumph, as one by one he
gathered laurels for their order. A little human flush of triumph or of
self-conceit would have added charm to his argument, but these notes
were lacking; clearly, logically, unanswerably, he met each question,
convincing without emotion and hastening from the gay court, of which
these intellectual tourneys were the delight, to the welcome seclusion
of the convent. If he seemed to have missed a real childhood,--its
follies, its innocent pleasures, its winsome affections,--so later, the
temptations that would naturally beset a career so extraordinary fell
harmlessly away from him, for a passion for knowledge burned within him,
consuming all ignoble motives and keeping this young scholar, in friar's
robes, in marvelous singleness of heart, in the midst of a flattering
and luxurious court.
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