Boethius

The Consolation of Philosophy: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)

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The Last Classsical Man
truly consoling
A Literary and Philosophical Masterpiece
The One and the Good
A Philosopher for the Hard Questions

The Consolation of Philosophy: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)
Ancius Boethius
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140447806

Customer Reviews:

The Last Classsical Man.......2007-06-16

The Consolation is a philosophical treatise written by Boethius (c. 480-524 A.D.) while awaiting his execution after being imprisoned by the Gothic emperor Theodoric. The first time I heard of Boethius and his most famous composition was, as so often is the case, when I was reading another work. The work in question is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy O'Toole. The main character of O'Toole's novel, one Ignatius J. Reilly, had based his entire life and worldview around the philosophy of Boethius and his assessment of Fortune. A great work in its own right, A Confederacy of Dunces left a lasting impression in my mind and, when by chance I came across a copy of the Consolation in the used bookstore I jumped at the opportunity to see for myself what Boethius had to say.

The work is composed of five books beginning with Boethius struggling to make sense of his imprisonment and pending execution. Confronted with a fate that is seemingly at odds with the virtue and faith with which he has conducted his life, Boethius is about to succumb to the sorrow that is filling his thoughts. Just then he notices the presence of a woman in his cell, the awe-inspiring Philosophy. She bemoans that Boethius, once such an avid student of hers, is now about to abandon all that he had previously gained. Thus begins a journey of reason and contemplation between the two until Boethius in the end finds the consolation that he had almost given up upon. Interspersed between the dialogues of Boethius and Philosophy are a number of poems that range in subject matter and content. More numerous at the beginning of the work, the poems often times serve as transitions between arguments or help to put difficult concepts into a clearer light. Thus a remarkable harmony is reached between prose and poetry that can be appreciated even in an English translation, a rare feat indeed.

It is perhaps significant to understand the time in which Boethius lived a bit better to gain a more accurate reading of his work. Living long after Constantine's conversion to Christianity in the 4th century A.D., it is widely accepted that Boethius was a Christian and believer of the tenants of the Catholic Church (at a time when the Gothic emperor Theodoric, also a Christian but belonging like all Goths to the heretical Arian sect that believed that the father and son were not of one substance). One must find it a bit peculiar than that at no point in Boethius' text is Christianity mentioned in any overt context. To find a believer in his last days before death turning not to theology for comfort, as one might expect, but rather to philosophy has raised many questions about the nature of Boethius' belief. But one only has to look to the title of the work to see that Boethius is choosing philosophy for the subject of his work and could very well indeed have thought theology a better consolation, although one that would be and should be treated in an altogether separate treatise. With this in mind, Boethius draws on the works of the great philosophers and thinkers of antiquity; Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca, St. Augustine, the Stoics, and the Neo-Platonists. This feat being all the more remarkable because Boethius apparently relied on his own memory to produce the arguments and passages seeing as he had no access to any literary sources while imprisoned.

Boethius has rightly been called the last classical man. Indeed his thoughts and works can be seen as forming a bridge etween the classical world and the Middle Ages. The Consolation influenced countless numbers of theologians throughout the Middle Ages and direct references are to be found in the works of masters such as Dante and Chaucer. His lonely contemplation of good and evil, fate and free will, fortune and the nature of happiness certainly still have an allure to inquisitive minds to this day.

truly consoling.......2005-11-13

I don't read a lot of philosophy texts, but I read this one after my father died and was surprised to find it very meaningful and truly consoling.

A Literary and Philosophical Masterpiece.......2005-07-11

Boethius, in his "Consolation" written in prison shortly before his death, turns to the pre-Christian philosophers and the tradition of Rome and Greece for aid and comfort. The work is one of the most historically important works ever written: it is through Boethius that we had knowledge of Aristotle during the middle ages.

The work takes the form of a Platonic dialogue, mixing prose and poetry as the author slowly convalesces with the aid of Philosophy, his "nurse." This literary style has been imitated many times since.

The work ought to be read not only for its historical and literary appeal, but for its arguments, which are as cogent as they were nearly two thousand years ago.

The One and the Good.......2005-06-30

_Here you find the unequivocal declaration that not riches, not high position, not fame, not physical pleasure are worth pursuing in-and-of themselves. Such things are of value only if they are obtained in the pursuit of the highest Good. This highest Good is demonstrated to be God. Moreover, Boethius points out that when evil men succeed in obtaining such goals over the righteous, then they cease to truly be men- they are beasts and subhuman. This is a refreshing reminder in the modern world, a world not unlike that of late Roman times.

_All happiness, all worth, all reason for being, lies in the One and the Good. Even when we commit immoral acts, it is a result of ignorance on our part in seeking this ultimate goal. Indeed, to turn from the quest of finding the One is to cease to exist at any meaningful level. There is no "fire and brimstone", or talk of eternal torment in hell here. There doesn't need to be. As long as you willfully or ignorantly stray from the Path then you are in hell. And to not find reconnection with the One and the Good is to cease to exist. All of our earthly existence is for the purpose of reawakening to our true nature. This truth lies within all of us and it is only reached by personal introspection (Know thyself.) Only in this way will we return to the eternal Source that lies beyond time itself.

_The consolation of the Consolatio lies in the fact that suffering serves a purpose if it puts us back on the true Path. Moreover, earthly recognition of virtue is irrelevent. God always recognises the man of virtue if the masses do not.

A Philosopher for the Hard Questions.......2005-05-16

Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy
Translation and Introduction by V.E. Watts

There is no excuse for anyone to *not* read this book: it is a quick read, with a very thorough and enlightening introduction by V.E. Watts. However, it is profound, and Boethius, with his gentle tone and elegant style, by means of a Socratic dialogue thoroughly and irrefutably answers the most troubling questions we have about life and God.

As mentioned earlier, Boethius wrote this while unjustly imprisoned. His life prior had been spent in the study of the great philosophers. From what historians gather, he later died a death of torture. His situation was the gravest imaginable; he went from a position of wealth and respect to the worst fate possible. Ironically, that makes his argument that much more persuasive: that a man suffering the worst of life could still come to the conclusions that he does gives comfort and hope to anyone who has ever suffered.

Boethius didactically addresses:
How do we know God exists?
How do we know God is Divine?
What is the meaning of life? (And for all of you Adams fans, no, the answer is not 42. :-)
If God is good, how can evil exist?
What is the nature of evil?
If God is good, how come bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people?
Why do so many in the world suffer?
How can God be omniscient and humans still have free will? Why is foreknowledge not equated with predestination?

I came to this precious book for more understanding in Medieval study. When I discovered that this book is also appropriate--nay, necessary--to life today, I became greatly annoyed that it is not more well-known and more widely read. This book is a great comfort, and one worthy of lifelong meditation.

--The Medieval Chick

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The One and the Good
Providence, Fortune, and Fate.
Philosophy as Religion
Forgotten who you really are? So has Boethius...

The Consolation of Philosophy: Boethius
Richard H. Green
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

The One and the Good.......2005-07-31

Providence, Fortune, and Fate........2005-01-01

This is an account of the ability of the human mind to rise above a man's material failures and the external evils that assault him. Boethius (c 480-524 AD), a Roman scholar and philosopher/statesman, has led a life of privilege and influence. He has taken a stand of conscience in support of the integrity of the Roman senate and, in doing so, has taken a stand contrary to the designs of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric. He is imprisoned (and eventually executed), presumably for subversion or treason, on the strength of perjured testimony against him.
Boethius laments his adverse 'fortunes' and has a vision in which a majestic woman appears to counsel him. She tells him "it is time for medicine rather than complaint," and that he suffers from "the common illness of deceived minds." Boethius recognizes her -- "I saw that she was Philosophy, my nurse, in whose house I had lived from my youth." The consolations that follow are structured in five books (i.e., chapters).
In Book Two, Lady Philosophy examines the nature of the gifts of Fortune. These gifts of Fortune cannot be "good in themselves; whatever goodness is associated with them is to be found in the personal probity of those who happen to possess them." In Book Three, evil is seen as merely the absence of the Good, as Augustine of Hippo had earlier argued. In Book Four, the question of whether virtue is rewarded and evil is punished is examined. At first look it certainly appears that evil often succeeds. Here Providence is contrasted to Fate. For this reader, books three and four were rather weakly argued and tedious, although I am always reluctant to say this about a classic work such as this. The strengths of The Consolation are books 1, 2, and 5.
Book Five is an excellent consideration of the determinism versus freedom problem. If goodness and evil are pre-assigned by Providence, then God cannot be omnibenevolent; in this view, God has willfully authored and imposed evil. There is no such thing as choice or judgment, no such thing as virtue, and all evil must be traced directly to a perverse divine evil. This is a pill that is almost impossible to swallow. It runs contrary to our ideas about God, it runs contrary to our common experiences for we do in fact exercise judgment, make choices, recognize virtue to be something quite at odds with vice. Goodness cannot be devoid of freedom, the Supreme Good cannot, by definition, deny the freedom of the human will. The problem is satisfactorily disposed by carefully considering the nature of Absolute knowledge and by not confusing it, as a flawed theology often does, with 'foreknowledge', a humanly impoverished idea not sufficient to describe the nature of knowledge for a temporally independent and omniscient Being. While the problematic idea of divine 'foreknowledge' suggests both temporal/spatial restraints ("fore") and fake choices, the idea of Absolute knowledge poses no obstacle for the freedom of the will or true omnipresence in both space and time. The general argument of this chapter is one of Boethius' best.

Philosophy as Religion.......2001-02-23

That Boethius was the "last of the Romans and the first of the scholastics", as has often been said of him, makes him a most unusual character in the history of thought. Serving as a bridge between two worlds, his writings, infused with the ideas of both Aristotle and Plato -- the two giants of ancient Greek philosophy -- allowed for the transmission of Neoplatonism into the emerging Christian intellectual tradition. Through the figure of Boethius the Latin West came to inherit many of the achievements of Greek learning.

The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius's magnum opus, was one of the most widely read works in medieval Europe, especially in the twelfth century. No doubt, the dramatic context in which the work was written must have greatly accentuated its popularity. But there is more to the Consolation then simply a dramatic background, and this feature in itself would hardly explain the influence of the work on figures ranging from King Alfred to St.Thomas Aquinas. Boethius, being at once a Christian and a philosopher, was confident that reason and faith were reconcilable, and his entire literary enterprise can be summarised in his own words: fidem rationemque coniunge (show the harmony of reason and faith). An inheritor of the Greek tradition, he held that the world was a KOSMOS -- rationally structured, therefore rationally knowable. What makes the Consolation unique is that although it is a religious text, it doesn't make recourse to revealed religion; in Boethius's case, Christianity. That Boethius sought to answer religious questions without reference to Christianity, relying solely on natural philosophy, caused some later figures to question his religious allegiance prior to his death. But Boethius, as has been pointed out, believed in the harmony of faith and reason; being a Christian-Neoplatonic philosopher, for him to have found solace in philosophy does not imply that he left Christianity. For the truths found in Christianity would be no different than the truths found in philosophy, and whether consolation was found in the religion of Christ or Socrates would make no great difference. In the words of Henry Chadwick, "If the Consolation contains nothing distinctively Christian, it is also relevant that it contains nothing specifically pagan either...[it] is a work written by a Platonist who is also a Christian, but is not a Christian work."

The Consolation begins with Boethius lamenting his plight. Dame Philosophy descends to provide consolance to his bereaved soul, cure him of the extreme melancholy, and rid him of his misfortune, not that of his imprisonment and loss of worldly goods and status, but the spiritual ailment clouding his intellectual vision.

Boethius's troubles, Lady Philosophy tells him, lie within himself. He has been driven into exile by himself. "For if you can remember your true country...'it has one ruler and one king'" and the "oldest law of your true city, [is] that the citizen who has chosen to establish his home there has a sacred right not to be driven away". Dame Philosophy is here referring to his self, the mind. For Boethius, being distracted by external matters, (both the fortunes of his luxurious life and the misfortunes of his political imprisonment), has forgotten his real source of happiness, whose fountain lies within.

In short, the Consolation examines the raison d'etre of philosophy, and its capacity to bring about true and complete happiness -- a happiness which can be acquired by unearthing the hidden treasures which dwell within. Hence philosophy is not an end in itself -- a fruitless game of mental acrobatics -- anymore than a shovel is for one in search of Sophia's treasures.

Boethius expresses the Socratic idea that all men seek the Good, and the Aristotelian idea that this Good is eudaimonia. The attainment of happiness is found through a return of the soul to its primordial state, since "You, too, who are creatures dream of your origin". By the end of the Consolation, Boethius, remembering who he truly is -- a rational being endowed with a purpose, to actualise the good and fulfil his true nature -- recovers from his spiritual amnesia through a discovery of the remedy for his extreme sickness: philosophy.

Forgotten who you really are? So has Boethius..........1999-10-29

This is the greatest self-help book of all time. It tells the story of Boethius, a prominent Roman who has been thrown in prison. There, he is visited by Lady Philosophy, and begins to become free.

It is very moving stuff. If you ever wonder where The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile come from, this is it.

The language is very easy to read. And you wouldn't be doing yourself justice - to not read it in one sitting. It is a rollercoaster that you won't want to get off. It is that good.

The Consolation of Philosophy (Oxford World's Classics)
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Remains vital after fifteen hundred years

An essential and poignant work

The One and the Good

A must for a seeker of truth

"A Light Among the Ever-Dimming Roman World"

The Consolation of Philosophy (Oxford World's Classics)
Boethius
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192838830

Book Description

Boethius composed the De Consolatione Philosophiae in the sixth century AD whilst awaiting death under torture, condemned on a charge of treason which he protested was manifestly unjust. Though a convinced Christian, in detailing the true end of life which is the soul's knowledge of God, he consoled himself not with Christian precepts but with the tenets of Greek philosophy. This work dominated the intellectual world of the Middle Ages; writers as diverse as Thomas Aquinas, Jean de Meun, and Dante were inspired by it. In England it was rendered in to Old English by Alfred the Great, into Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer, and later Queen Elizabeth I made her own translation. The circumstances of composition, the heroic demeanour of the author, and the 'Menippean' texture of part prose, part verse have combined to exercise a fascination over students of philosophy and literature ever since.

Customer Reviews:

Remains vital after fifteen hundred years.......2004-10-04

The particular edition I am reviewing is the Oxford World's Classics translation by P. G. Walsh.

This is one of those classics that can catch an unsuspecting reader completely by surprise, especially if one has read many other works by near contemporaries. The circumstances under which it was composed are legendary, and lend the work a legitimacy granted to few other works. Boethius was among the foremost government officials in what was essentially the successor government to the end of the Roman Empire. Rome and much of the rest of what would later become Italy was under the control of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric. A product of one of the leading Roman familes, Boethius ascended to a power of great honor and authority under Theodoric, only to be accused of treason late in the latter's life, at which point Boethius was imprisoned and condemned to death. While awaiting his fate (including whether Theodoric actually intended on carrying out the sentence), Boethius wrote this remarkable dialog between a prisoner whose situation closely resembles Boethius' and Philosophy personified as a woman. Although many topics are discussed, the heart of the dialog is the nature of true happiness.

Although few of its readers are likely to face circumstances as dire as Boethius', the work remains remarkably pertinent in an age where ideals of happiness are dictated almost entirely by our modern consumer society. Philosophy carefully explains to the prisoner that that happiness can never be found in such things as fame or power or riches and other things that are confused with the true source of happiness. For Boethius' Philosophy, happiness is ultimately rooted in the Christian God, but even for non-Christians, the lightly theological tone of the work provides much reflection on the nature of happiness in almost any kind of situation.

The Walsh edition of this work is, in my opinion, the finest readily available edition in English. The notes are marvelous, both providing overviews to each upcoming section as well as providing detailed comments on specific lines in the text. The introduction gives any new reader of the work all the context and background that he or she would need to digest the work. Best of all, the translation is exceptionally readable, and the translations of the many poems far above the average for most academic translations of verse.

I recommend this work strongly to either of two kinds of readers. First, for anyone who is a student of intellectual history the work remains for an understanding of a host of writers in the middle ages, as well as for many 19th century poets. Second, anyone interested in devotional or reflectional works, whether religious or philosophical, this remains one of the most essential works in the history of thought. By almost any standard, this is a work that demands careful reading and study.

An essential and poignant work.......2004-01-20

For a long time, this would stand as the last major work in which philosophy played the role it was accustomed to play in Antiquity; most medieval thinkers would make philosophy the servant of theology and strip it of its profoundly ethical roots - after all, Christianity became the philosophical way of life par excellence. By using philosophy as a character, Boethius emphasizes its vital role in everyday life and the choices that life entails. Although Boethius is usually mentioned in conjunction with Aristotelian and Christian thought, this work is especially linked to Platonism, Stoicism and Neoplatonism: a) it follows the progression of Socratic discourse in a journey that leads one from the suppression of false beliefs towards a gradually clearer approximation of what Good is, and Philosophy is akin to the priestess Diotima of Plato's Symposium; b) the harrowing context in which it was written mirrors the composition of Seneca's Letters to Lucilius; c) its frequent allegorical use of poetry and myths follows the path set forth by the Stoics and Neoplatonists. The first few books free Philosophy's interlocutor from his errors, and Boethius then explores the work's central subjects: justice, the nature of good and evil, providence (themes that also intensely preoccupied Plotinus late in his life). Treating 'Consolation...' only as a compendium of ancient Greek philosophy would be doing it a major disservice, as it would underscore the personal dimension lying at the very heart of the work. Those who forgot that philosophy is a lot more than the mere juggling of concepts should definitely read this key book.

The One and the Good.......2002-03-14

Here you find the unequivocal declaration that not riches, not high position, not fame, not physical pleasure are worth pursuing in-and-of themselves. Such things are of value only if they are obtained in the pursuit of the highest Good. This highest Good is demonstrated to be God. Moreover, Boethius points out that when evil men succeed in obtaining such goals over the righteous, then they cease to truly be men- they are beasts and subhuman. This is a refreshing reminder in the modern world, a world not unlike that of late Roman times.

All happyness, all worth, all reason for being, lies in the One and the Good. Even when we commit immoral acts, it is a result of ignorance on our part in seeking this ultimate goal. Indeed, to turn from the quest of finding the One is to cease to exist at any meaningful level. There is no "fire and brimstone", or talk of eternal torment in hell here. There doesn't need to be. As long as you willfully or ignorantly stray from the Path then you are in hell. And to not find reconnection with the One and the Good is to cease to exist. All of our earthly existence is for the purpose of reawakening to our true nature. This truth lies within all of us and it is only reached by personal introspection (Know thyself.) Only in this way will we return to the eternal Source that lies beyond time itself.

The consolation of the Consolatio lies in the fact that suffering serves a purpose if it puts us back on the true Path. Moreover, earthly recognition of virtue is irrelevent. God always recognises the man of virtue if the masses do not.

A must for a seeker of truth.......2000-11-09

This work doesn't raise issues beyond what had been the subject of discourse by Plato and Aristotle. However, as a manual for the student of philosophy, it's bar none. Systematically Boethius scrutinizes the id driven, pleasure-seeking paths to happiness and exposes the flaws inherent in them all. Money creates more anxiety (articulated so eloquently by Bad Boy Entertainment's production of "Mo Money, Mo Problems.") Hedonism similarly leads to dependancy and fear of the loss of the pleasing object. Philosophy, then is the soundness means to indivdual happiness as it is the least dependant upon external sources for its fuel. Self-sufficiency as the key to happiness is of course not a new point, but the means Boethius utilizes to reach this conclusion are straightfoward and the section explaning how self-sufficiency brings us closer to happiness by making us more like God is novel. This book affected me powerfully, as it forced me to examine the sustainablity of my then lifestyle. I have since realized that be it as it may, I'm not a philosopher and can't rely on Boethius' template exclusively.

"A Light Among the Ever-Dimming Roman World".......2000-09-29

Boethius was certainly a bright spot in the midst of a darkening world flooded by barbarians and intellectually on the decline. Boethius was among the many commentators and compilers of his age who endeavored to preserve the tenets of Greek Philosophy. His commentaries on the original Greek texts of Aristotle helped to pave the way for Aquinas' "Summa Theologia." So Boethius' works, though lacking originality, nevertheless made a very significant impact upon the later scholastic philosophers, and to the whole of Catholic tradition as well. Italy, during Boethius' time, was under the rule of Theoderic the Ostrogoth, who unjustly imprisoned the statesman/philosopher, falsely accussing him of treason. While waiting for his execution, Boethius wrote his "Consolation of Philosophy." The book itself is among the masterpieces of all time, and the only thing as tradgic as Boethius' untimely death is the fact that we were not able to obtain anymore works from this genius with the golden pen. Had he remained alive, it is very likely that we would have seen a sublime synthesis, in Latin, of Plato and Aristotle, not contradicting each other but complimenting one another. However, in short, this book is a small manifestation of what may have happened if he lived longer. What is interesting about this book is that it handles several different perspectives, namely that of the sorrowful Boethius and the consoling wisdom of Lady Philosophy, written both in eloquent prose and dazzling verse, which together ultimately culminates into a one of the most moving, inspiring, and thought provoking philosophical works of all time. The book is indefatigable, in that it never seems to quit opening new corridors of thought; and it is essential, because it is the philosopher's ideal breviary. It is interesting to note - and this is certainly not a negation to his Christian convictions - that while this Saint was awaiting his execution he remebered Athens, not Calvary.

Logic, Theology, and Poetry in Boethius, Abelard, and Alan of Lille: Words in the Absence of Things (The New Middle Ages)

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Logic, Theology, and Poetry in Boethius, Abelard, and Alan of Lille: Words in the Absence of Things (The New Middle Ages)
Eileen C. Sweeney
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1403969728
Release Date: 2006-02-16

Book Description

This book offers an interpretation of the major logical, philosophical/theological, and poetic writings of Boethius, Abelard, and Alan of Lille. In this interdisciplinary study, Abelard and Alan of Lille are placed with Boethius as creatively reformulating the Boethian methods, vocabulary, and literary forms so influential in the 12th century. The author examines the theories of language of these thinkers and the ways in which those theories form part of their speculative projects and spiritual aspirations. What emerges are significant structural and narrative connections between the problems of how words illuminate things, how the mind comprehends God, and how the individual reaches beatitude.

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When you find yourself in times of trouble....
The One and the Good

The Consolation of Philosophy
Boethius
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486421635

Book Description

Landmark of Western thought written by a 6th-century Roman statesman and philosopher awaiting execution. Comprising a dialogue in alternating prose and verse between Boethius and his spiritual guardian, the book concerns happiness: how to achieve and maintain it amid life's inevitable pain. A cornerstone of medieval humanism.

Customer Reviews:

When you find yourself in times of trouble...........2006-03-13

The truly amazing thing about this work is that it was written in PRISON as Boethius awaited execution (following judgment and conviction based upon spurious charges). Bearing that in mind as I read "The Consolation of Philosophy" (if anyone ever needed consolation, it was an innocent man awaiting his own death; Christians should be able to relate to that idea) made it all the more remarkable. If you ever feel that life isn't fair, that others have it "in" for you, that it's tough to get an even break, maybe reading this will put things in better perspective. If not, it won't be due to Boethius' shortcomings....

The One and the Good.......2006-03-08

_Here you find the unequivocal declaration that not riches, not high position, not fame, not physical pleasure are worth pursuing in-and-of themselves. Such things are of value only if they are obtained in the pursuit of the highest Good. This highest Good is demonstrated to be God. Moreover, Boethius points out that when evil men succeed in obtaining such goals over the righteous, then they cease to truly be men- they are beasts and subhuman. This is a refreshing reminder in the modern world, a world not unlike that of late Roman times.

_All happyness, all worth, all reason for being, lies in the One and the Good. Even when we commit immoral acts, it is a result of ignorance on our part in seeking this ultimate goal. Indeed, to turn from the quest of finding the One is to cease to exist at any meaningful level. There is no "fire and brimstone", or talk of eternal torment in hell here. There doesn't need to be. As long as you willfully or ignorantly stray from the Path then you are in hell. And to not find reconnection with the One and the Good is to cease to exist. All of our earthly existence is for the purpose of reawakening to our true nature. This truth lies within all of us and it is only reached by personal introspection (Know thyself.) Only in this way will we return to the eternal Source that lies beyond time itself.

_The consolation of the Consolatio lies in the fact that suffering serves a purpose if it puts us back on the true Path. Moreover, earthly recognition of virtue is irrelevent. God always recognises the man of virtue if the masses do not.

Etruscan and Roman Architecture (The Pelican history of art)

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Etruscan and Roman Architecture (The Pelican history of art)
Axel Boethius , and J. B. Ward-Perkins
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Displaced Persons: The Literature of Exile from Cicero to Boethius (Wisconsin Studies in Classics)

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Displaced Persons: The Literature of Exile from Cicero to Boethius (Wisconsin Studies in Classics)
Jo-Marie Claassen
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0299166449

Book Description

Exile is a political act involving loss of power. Five authors-Cicero, Ovid, Seneca the Younger, Dio Chrysostomus, and Anicius Manlius Boethius-all exiled from Rome, are examined in this fascinating study of the depiction of exile. Although separated from the first four by several centuries, Boethius has an intellectual, circumstantial, and spiritual affinity with them. Jo-Marie Claassen explores the various means of literary sublimation that individual exiles found for the feeling of social and political isolation that they experienced.

Displaced Persons is the first book to adopt an analytical approach to the literature of exile through to the virtual end of the Classical era. It will appeal to all those interested in Roman life and literature, and in the moving phenomenon of exile.

Book Description

This book offers a brief, accessible introduction to the thought of Boethius. After a survey of Boethius's life and work, Marenbon explicates his theological method, and devotes separate chapters to his arguments about good and evil, fortune, fate and free will, and the problem of divine foreknowledge. Marenbon also traces Boethius's influence on the work of such thinkers as Aquinas and Duns Scotus.

Customer Reviews:

Solid introduction to Boethius.......2007-02-24

Unfortunately until fairly recently, medieval philosophy was a fairly neglected and obscure area of philosophy, regarded by many as an era of stagnation and decadence in philosophy, brought on mainly by its servile obedience to the beliefs of medieval religion. However, this series of books helps show that medievals seriously engaged in philosophical reflection on many issues philosophers still debate today.

This volume of the series examines Boethius, a fifth century Latin Philosopher who was executed for treason. It offers a valuable overview of Boethius's philosophy, which is often under-rated in its depth and seriousness, and examines Boethius's attempts to examine logical questions and puzzles and his vast projects aiming to bring Aristotle and Plato back to Philosophy's central concerns, and his work on theology, God, and providence.

This volume will be useful to any student of medieval philosophy or of Boethius.

Why Boethius?.......2005-09-13

You know I was watching a cartoon the other day with a bear in it. The bear looked all jolly and nice. Then I was thinking, "Why am I reading Boethius?" Some kid is watching this same cartoon and one day while in the woods a black bear is going to come up to him and the kid's going to think, "look it's a jolly nice bear." Then the next thing you know the bear is going to maul the kid and his mother is going to be heart broken. And you know who is to blame? Society, that's who. So I can go on reading Boethius or I can save some kid from the ravages of a wild bear. Why Boethius?

A Comprehensive Study of Boethius.......2004-05-01

For anyone interested in the thought of the Late Antique world, or in the intellectual milieu of the early and high Middle Ages, then this book will be of inestimable value. John Marenbon's Boethius (Great Medieval Thinkers) is a storehouse for the main principles of Boethius' Greek Neo-Platonism, Christian Theology, Aristotelian Logic, and Latin literature, all of which left there mark upon later thinkers. In this work, Marenbon begins by reconstructing the historical aspects of Boethius' life, such as his rise to being elected Consul up to his tradgic fall on account of the trumped-up charges of treason placed upon him by the Gothic regime. Also in this historical sketch, Marenbon vindicates the Christianity of Boethius while detailing the intricacies of his famous text the Consolation, which makes no outward mention of any alliance with Christianity. Also detailed summaries are given as to his musical, astrological, mathematical, logical, theological, and philosophical works. Of these, particular attention is paid to Boethius' logical and philosophical writings, for the obvious reason that this is what consumed most of his time. Despite this, Marenbon's is a study which is most comprehensive and well-rounded, one that is quite similar to Henry Chadwick's in scope and worth. Overall, it should be said that this work should be used foremost as a model for the interpretation of the Consolation, in respect of the insights and suggestions he throws upon the text. Also the reader will be impressed with a more than satisfactory understanding of Boethius' logical, theological and philosophical systems as well. Marenbon's 'Boethius' is highly recommended.

Boethius: De consolatione philosophiae.: Opuscula theologica (Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana)

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Boethius: De consolatione philosophiae.: Opuscula theologica (Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana)

Manufacturer: K.G. SAUR VERLAG
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3598712782

Book Description

This new edition of Boethius' Consolatio Philosophiae and Opuscula Theologica aims to present both the metaphysical and literary works of this great Roman philosopher to readers. The text of the Consolatio collates all of the manuscripts already employed by the previous editors, plus a good number of 9th-10th century testimonia. As for the Opuscula Theologica, the last critical edition was the one edited by Peiper more than hundred years ago (1871). Although the Opuscula can also be found in a Loeb edition (Rand-Tester ed.), this new Teubner edition will be the first to offer any critical support and apparatus.

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