Consolation Of Philosophy

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (c. 475-525 CE) was born into an ancient, patrician Roman family that had converted to Christianity. After the death of his father, who had been a Roman consul, Boethius was raised by a patrician named Quintus Symmachus, who instilled in him a love of philosophy and learning. Boethius married Symmachus's daughter Rusticiana and the couple had two sons, both of whom became consuls.

Boethius entered the service of King Theodoric the Ostrogoth and became a senator at the young age of 25. In 522, he was appointed magister officiorum, one of the highest posts in the Roman government. The Roman empire had reached its zenith under Emperor Trajan in the second century CE, and by the following century it had split into two halves, a Western empire governed from Rome and an Eastern empire governed from Constantinople.

By the fifth century, notable tensions were growing between different factions in the Roman empire. These included tensions between the western and eastern blocs, between the Roman aristocracy and Germanic rulers like Theodoric, and between Catholic and Arian Christians (Theodoric belonging to the latter camp). The Arians were a sect of Christians, defined as heretical by the Catholic Church, who did not believe that Jesus Christ was fully divine. Boethius defended Catholic positions in a series of theological tracts, including On the Catholic Faith.

Because of his staunch defense of the Roman aristocracy and Catholic Christianity, Boethius became caught up in the political strife and was accused of treason against the king. He was imprisoned in Pavia, Italy, where he wrote his Consolation. He was then brutally executed. His remains were entombed at a church in Pavia, where they rest to this day. Boethius is revered as a saint and martyr in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

His other writings include treatises on music, arithmetic, and geometry, which helped form the basis of medieval education. In addition to original philosophical works, Boethius also translated several Greek works into Latin, notably those of Porphyry and Aristotle. Boethius's mastery of the Greek language was a rarity in Roman society by that time, and it ensured that important parts of the Greek intellectual heritage were transmitted to the medieval West.

Boethius followed the philosophical tradition of Neo-Platonism, which was a continuation of the thought of Plato that developed from the third century CE under the influence of Plotinus. Neo-Platonism was complex and mystical in character, and it attempted to synthesize the doctrines of Plato—such as the ascent of the human soul from earthly things to God—with the insights of Judeo-Christian religion.

In Consolation, Boethius portrays himself as an embittered, depressed, and grief-stricken man whose treatment at the hands of treacherous political enemies has landed him in prison awaiting a trial for treason. In the earlier chapters, he lets Philosophy lead him in the dialogue, but as his philosophical memories awaken, he shows greater command and initiative in the conversation. This is especially evident from the last chapter of Book 3 onward, when Philosophy comments that he has almost returned to complete health.