the consolation of philosophy by boethius

The verse sections also contain references to Homer, Virgil, and Greek mythology, making Boethius's links with the classical past even more apparent.īecause of the transitional place he holds in the history of thought, Modern scholars have described Boethius as the “last of the Romans and the first of the Scholastics.” Admired for its fine Latin style, Consolation became the most widely read book in the Middle Ages after the Bible, exerting a strong influence on such thinkers as St. Can man freely choose his actions, or does God ordain everything that will happen? Philosophy convinces Boethius that even things in life that seem to be due to chance are controlled by the rational plan of God, yet human beings still have freedom of will.Īlthough Boethius was a Christian, Consolation contains no mention of Christ or Christian doctrine instead, Boethius develops his argument on a strictly philosophical basis, using intellectual categories derived from Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoic philosophers.

Although in this life it often appears that the good suffer misfortune while the wicked prosper, this is only an illusion from God's perspective, everything happens for a reason, either to discipline the wayward or reward the just.īoethius and Philosophy also engage such questions as predestination and free will. True happiness comes not from external things (money, power, fame, honor, or pleasure) but from loving God and living a life of virtue. He is reminded that fortune and human glory are transitory, and that the all-seeing providence of God rightly orders all human affairs. This edition includes an introduction discussing Boethius’ life and writings, a bibliography, glossary and notes.Boethius's dialogue with Philosophy brings him comfort in his predicament, leading him back to the philosophical path from which he had strayed. Victor Watts’s translation makes The Consolation of Philosophy accessible to the modern reader while losing nothing of its poetic artistry and breadth of vision. With great clarity of thought and philosophical brilliance, Boethius adopted the classical model of the dialogue to debate the vagaries of Fortune, and to explore the nature of happiness, good and evil, fate and free will. Although a Christian, it was to the pagan Greek philosophers that he turned for inspiration following his abrupt fall from grace. Boethius was an eminent public figure who had risen to great political heights in the court of King Theodoric when he was implicated in conspiracy and condemned to death.

Written in prison before his brutal execution in AD 524, Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy is a conversation between the ailing prisoner and his ‘nurse’ Philosophy, whose instruction restores him to health and brings him to enlightenment.

The consolation of philosophy by boethius