The Consolation of Philosophy

- By Boethius
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Roman senator and philosopher of the early 6th century For other people named Boethius, see Boethius (disambiguation). SaintBoethiusMartyrBornc. 480Rome, Kingdom of OdoacerDied524 (aged 44)Pavia, Ostrogothic KingdomVenerated inDiocese of PaviaMajor shrineSan Pietro in Ciel d'OroFeast23 OctoberPhilosophy careerNotable workThe Consolation of PhilosophyEraMedieval philosophyRegionWestern philosophySchoolNeoplatonismMain interests Fate Epistemology Theology Music Mathematics Notable ideasWheel of FortuneQuadriviumRecovery of AristotleClassical revivalProblem of universalsPrinciple of individuationMedieval music theorySquare of oppositionMedieval syllogismMode (music)Porphyrian treeMedieval dialectic Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius,[6][note 1] commonly known simply as Boethius (/boʊˈiːθiəs/; Latin: Boetius; c. 480–524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, magister officiorum, polymath, historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the translation of the Greek classics into Latin, a precursor to the Scholastic movement, and, along with Cassiodorus, one of the two leading Christian scholars of the 6th century.[9] The local cult of Boethius in the Diocese of Pavia was sanctioned by the Sacred Congregation of Rites in 1883, confirming the diocese's custom of honouring him on the 23 October.[10] Boethius was born in Rome a few years after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. A member of the Anicii family, he was orphaned following the family's sudden decline and was raised by Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, a later consul. After mastering both Latin and Greek in his youth, Boethius rose to prominence as a statesman during the Ostrogothic Kingdom, becoming a senator by age 25, a consul by age 33, and later chosen as a personal advisor to Theodoric the Great. In seeking to reconcile the teachings of Plato and Aristotle with Christian theology, Boethius sought to translate the entirety of the Greek classics for Western scholars. He published numerous transcriptions and commentaries of the works of Nicomachus, Porphyry, and Cicero, among others, and wrote extensively on matters concerning music, mathematics, and theology. Though his translations were unfinished following an untimely death, it is largely due to them that the works of Aristotle survived into the Renaissance. Despite his successes as a senior official, Boethius became deeply unpopular among other members of the Ostrogothic court for denouncing the extensive corruption prevalent among other members of government. After publicly defending fellow consul Caecina Albinus from charges of conspiracy, he was imprisoned by Theodoric around the year 523. While jailed Boethius wrote On the Consolation of Philosophy—a philosophical treatise on fortune, death, and other issues—which became one of the most influential and widely reproduced works of the Early Middle Ages. He was tortured and executed in 524,[11] becoming a martyr in the Christian faith by tradition.[note 2][note 3] Early life[edit] Consular diptych depicting Narius Manlius Boethius, Boethius' birth father Boethius was born in Rome to a patrician family c. 480,[18] but the exact date of his birth is unknown.[8] His birth family, the Anicii, was a notably wealthy and influential gens that included emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius, in addition to many consuls.[19] However, in the years prior to Boethius' birth, the family had lost much of its influence. The grandfather of Boethius, a senator by the same name, was appointed as praetorian prefect of Italy but died in 454 during the palace plot against Flavius Aetius.[20][21] Boethius' father, Manlius Boethius, who was appointed consul in 487, died while Boethius was still young.[22] Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, another patrician, adopted and raised him instead, introducing to him philosophy and literature.[23] As a sign of their good relationship, Boethius would later marry his foster-father's daughter, Rusticiana, with whom he would have two children also named Symmachus and Boethius.[24] Having been adopted into the wealthy Symmachi family, Boethius had access to tutors that would have educated him during his youth.[25] Though Symmachus had some fluency in Greek, Boethius achieved a mastery of the language—an increasingly rare skill in the Western regions of the Empire—and dedicated his early career to translating the entire works of Plato and Aristotle,[26][27] with some of the translations that he produced being the only surviving transcriptions of Greek texts into the Middle Ages.[28][29] The unusual fluency of Boethius in the Greek language has led some scholars to believe that he was educated in the East; a traditional view, first proposed by Edward Gibbon, is that Boethius studied in Athens for eighteen years based on the letters of Cassiodorus, though this was likely to have been a misreading by past historians.[25][note 4] Historian Pierre Courcelle has argued that Boethius studied at Alexandria with the Neoplatonist philosopher Ammonius Hermiae. However, Historian John Moorhead observes that the evidence supporting Boethius having studied in Alexandria is "not as strong as it may appear," adding that he may have been able to acquire his formidable learning without travelling.[31] Whatever the case, Boethius' fluency in Greek proved useful throughout his life in translating the classic works of Greek thinkers, though his interests spanned across a variety of fields including music, mathematics, astrology, and theology.[32] Rise to power[edit] Boethius (right) and his adoptive father, Symmachus (left); both had been appointed consuls in their own right Taking inspiration from Plato's Republic, Boethius left his scholarly pursuits to enter the service of Theodoric the Great.[33] The two had first met in the year 500 when Theodoric traveled to Rome to stay for six months.[34] Though no record survives detailing the early relationship between Theodoric and Boethius, it is clear that the Ostrogothic king viewed him favorably. In the next few years, Boethius rapidly ascended through the ranks of government, becoming a senator by age 25 and a consul by the year 510.[18][35] His earliest documented acts on behalf of the Ostrogothic ruler were to investigate allegations that the paymaster of Theodoric's bodyguards had debased the coins of their pay, to produce a waterclock for Theodoric to gift to king Gundobad of the Burgundians, and to recruit a lyre-player to perform for Clovis, King of the Franks.[36] Boethius writes in the Consolation that, despite his own successes, he believed that his greatest achievement came when both his sons were selected by Theodoric to be consuls in 522, with each representing the whole of the Roman Empire.[37] The appointment of his sons was an exceptional honor, not only since it made conspicuous Theodoric's favor for Boethius, but also because the Byzantine emperor Justin I had forfeited his own nomination as a sign of goodwill, thus also endorsing Boethius' sons.[38] In the same year as the appointment of his sons, Boethius was elevated to the position of magister officiorum, becoming the head of all government and palace affairs.[38] Recalling the event, he wrote that he was sitting "between the two consuls as if it were a military triumph, [letting my] largesse fulfill the wildest expectations of the people packed in their seats around [me]."[39] Boethius' struggles came within a year of his appointment as magister officiorum: in seeking to mend the rampant corruption present in the Roman Court, he writes of having to thwart the conspiracies of Triguilla, the steward of the royal house; of confronting the Gothic minister, Cunigast, who went to "devour the substance of the poor"; and of having to use the authority of the king to stop a shipment of food from Campania which, if carried, would have exacerbated an ongoing famine in the region.[40] These actions made Boethius an increasingly unpopular figure among court officials, though he remained in Theodoric's favor.[41] Downfall and death[edit] The young philosopher Boethius, a man whose varied accomplishments adorned the middle period of the reign of Theodoric, and whose tragic death was to bring sadness over its close. —Thomas Hodgkin, Theodoric the Goth[42] In 520, Boethius was working to revitalize the relationship between the Roman See and the Constantinopolitan See—though the two were then still a part of the same Church, disagreements had begun to emerge between them. This may have set in place a course of events that would lead to loss of royal favour.[43] Five hundred years later, this continuing disagreement led to the East–West Schism in 1054, in which communion between the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church was broken. In 523, Boethius fell from power. After a period of imprisonment in Pavia for what was deemed a treasonable offence, he was executed in 524.[18][44] The primary sources are in general agreement over the facts of what happened. At a meeting of the Royal Council in Verona, the referendarius Cyprianus accused the ex-consul Caecina Decius Faustus Albinus of treasonous correspondence with Justin I. Boethius leapt to his defense, crying, "The charge of Cyprianus is false, but if Albinus did that, so also have I and the whole senate with one accord done it; it is false, my Lord King."[45]Manuscript depicting Boethius teaching students (initial) and while imprisoned Cyprianus then also accused Boethius of the same crime and produced three men who claimed they had witnessed the crime. Boethius and Basilius were arrested. First the pair were detained in the baptistery of a church, then Boethius was exiled to the Ager Calventianus, a distant country estate, where he was put to death. Not long afterwards Theodoric had Boethius' father-in-law Symmachus put to death, according to Procopius, on the grounds that he and Boethius together were planning a revolution, and confiscated their property.[46] "The basic facts in the case are not in dispute," writes Jeffrey Richards. "What is disputed about this sequence of events is the interpretation that should be put on them."[47] Boethius claims his crime was seeking "the safety of the Senate". He describes the three witnesses against him as dishonorable: Basilius had been dismissed from Royal service for his debts, while Venantius Opilio and Gaudentius had been exiled for fraud.[48] However, other sources depict these men in a far more positive light. For example, Cassiodorus describes Cyprianus and Opilio as "utterly scrupulous, just and loyal" and mentions they are brothers and grandsons of the consul Opilio.[49] Theodoric was feeling threatened by international events. The Acacian schism had been resolved, and the Nicene Christian aristocrats of his kingdom were seeking to renew their ties with Constantinople. The Catholic Hilderic had become king of the Vandals and had put Theodoric's sister Amalafrida to death,[50] and Arians in the East were being persecuted.[51] Then there was the matter that with his previous ties to Theodahad, Boethius apparently found himself on the wrong side in the succession dispute following the untimely death of Eutharic, Theodoric's announced heir. Boethius, the most learned man of his time, met his death in the hangman's noose...and yet the life of Boethius was a triumph! The West owes this individual, Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, nothing less than its progression toward a culture of reason. —Johannes Fried, The Middle Ages[52] The method of Boethius' execution varies in the sources. He may have been beheaded, clubbed to death, or hanged.[52] It is likely that he was tortured with a rope that was constricted around his head, bludgeoned until his eyes bulged out; then his skull was cracked.[53][54] Following an agonizing death, his remains were entombed in the church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia, also the resting place of Augustine of Hippo. His wealth was also confiscated, and his wife, Rusticiana, reduced to poverty.[28] Past historians have had a hard time accepting a sincere Christian who was also a serious Hellenist.[28][55] These worries have largely stemmed by the lack of any mention of Jesus in Boethius' Consolation, nor of any other Christian figure.[56] Arnaldo Momigliano argues that "Boethius turned to paganism. His Christianity collapsed—it collapsed so thoroughly that perhaps he did not even notice its disappearance." However, the majority of scholarship has taken a different view,[57] with Arthur Herman writing that Boethius was "unshakably Orthodox Catholic", and Thomas Hodgkin having asserted that uncovered manuscripts "prove beyond a doubt that Boethius was a Christian".[58][56] Furthermore, the community that he was a part of valued equally both classical and Christian culture.[59] Major works[edit] Part of a series onCatholic philosophy  Aquinas, Scotus, and Ockham Ethics Cardinal virtues Just price Just war Principle of Double Effect Probabilism Natural law Personalism Social teaching Liberation Theology Christian Humanism Virtue ethics Works of mercy Metaphysics Conceptualism Realism Moderate realism Nominalism Quiddity (essence / nature) Haecceity Quinque Viae Predestination Theological determinism Compatibilism Divine Attributes Schools Augustinianism Victorines Llullism Cartesianism Christian Neoplatonism Friends of God Molinism Ressourcement Occamism Scholasticism Second scholasticism Neo Scotism Thomism Analytic Salamanca Philosophers Ancient Ambrose Athanasius Augustine Benedict Boethius Clement Cyprian Cyril Gregory (of Nazianzus) Gregory (of Nyssa) Irenaeus Jerome Cassian Chrysostom Climacus John of Damascus Justin Maximus Dionysius Origen Paul Tertullian Medieval Abelard Albert Anselm Aquinas Bacon Bede Berengar Bernard Bonaventure Buridan Catherine Eckhart Eriugena Giles Gregory I Gundissalinus Hildegard Hugh Isidore Llull Lombard Martin Nicholas Ockham Oresme Paschasius Roscellinus Scotus Symeon Thierry Modern Arnauld Ávila Azpilcueta Bellarmine Bonald Bossuet Brentano Botero Cajetan Chateaubriand Cortés Descartes Erasmus Fénelon Gracián Kołłątaj Krasicki La Mennais Liguori Maistre Malebranche Mariana Meinong Mercado Molina More Newman Pascal Rosmini Sales Soto Suárez Vico Vitoria Caramuel Contemporary Adler Anscombe Balthasar Barron Benedict XVI Blondel Chesterton Congar Copleston Finnis Garrigou-Lagrange Geach Gilson Girard Gutiérrez Dávila Guardini Haldane Hildebrand John Paul II Lonergan Lubac MacIntyre Marcel Marion Maritain McLuhan Mounier Pieper Rahner Stein Taylor  Catholicism portal Philosophy portalvtePart of a series onNeoplatonismReconstructed bust believed to represent Plotinus Concepts Theory of forms Form of the Good Hypostasis Arche Nous Demiurge Logos Anima mundi Henosis Theurgy Okhema Microcosm and macrocosm Works Enneads De Mysteriis Aegyptiorum Liber de Causis The City of God The Consolation of Philosophy De Coelesti Hierarchia De divisione naturae Chaldean Oracles People Plotinus (students) Porphyry Iamblichus Julian the Apostate Hypatia Macrobius Augustine of Hippo Proclus Pseudo-Dionysius Simplicius of Cilicia Boethius David the Invincible Maximus the Confessor Johannes Scotus Eriugena Al-Farabi Brethren of Purity Solomon ibn Gabirol Isaac the Blind Michael Psellos Thierry of Chartres Gemistus Pletho Marsilio Ficino Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Giordano Bruno Cambridge Platonists Thomas Taylor Roman Ingarden Related topics Platonism (in the Renaissance) Platonic Academy Middle Platonism Kabbalah Spirituality Isma'ilism Druze Allegorical interpretations of Plato Plato's unwritten doctrines Neoplatonism andChristianity / Gnosticism  Philosophy portalvtePart of a series onScholasticism Schools Thomism Scotism Occamism Major works Summa Theologica Cur Deus Homo Summa Grammatica Summa logicae Opus Oxoniense Libri Quattuor Sententiarum Precursors Augustine of Hippo Boethius Pope Gregory I Alcuin of York John Scotus Eriugena Philosophers Thomas Aquinas ("Doctor Angelicus") Duns Scotus ("Doctor Subtilis") William of Ockham ("Doctor Invincibilis") Francisco Suárez ("Doctor Eximius") Averroes ("The Commentator") Albertus Magnus ("Doctor Universalis") Peter Lombard ("The Master") Bonaventure ("Doctor Seraphicus") Anselm of Canterbury ("Doctor Marianus") Peter Abelard ("Doctor Scholasticus") Related Philosophy Aristotelianism Dominican Order Franciscan Order Catholic theology Islamic philosophy Empiricism Neoplatonism Neo-scholasticism Problem of universals Protoscholastic writing  Philosophy portal  Catholicism portalvte The beginning of Aristotle's De interpretatione in Boethius' Latin translation De consolatione philosophiae[edit] Main article: The Consolation of Philosophy Boethius's best known work is the Consolation of Philosophy (De consolatione philosophiae), which he wrote at the very end of his career, awaiting his execution in prison. This work represented an imaginary dialogue between himself and philosophy, with philosophy personified as a woman, arguing that despite the apparent inequality of the world, there is, in Platonic fashion, a higher power and everything else is secondary to that divine Providence.[60] Several manuscripts survived and these were widely edited, translated and printed throughout the late 15th century and later in Europe.[61] Beyond Consolation of Philosophy, his lifelong project was a deliberate attempt to preserve ancient classical knowledge, particularly philosophy. Boethius intended to translate all the works of Aristotle and Plato from the original Greek into Latin.[62][63][64] De topicis differentiis[edit] His completed translations of Aristotle's works on logic were the only significant portions of Aristotle available in Latin Christendom from the sixth century until the rediscovery of Aristotle in the 12th century. However, some of his translations (such as his treatment of the topoi in The Topics) were mixed with his own commentary, which reflected both Aristotelian and Platonic concepts.[65] The commentaries themselves have been lost.[66] In addition to his commentary on the Topics, Boethius composed two treatises on Topical argumentation, In Ciceronis Topica and De topicis differentiis. The first work has six books, and is largely a response to Cicero's Topica.[67] The first book of In Ciceronis Topica begins with a dedication to Patricius. It includes distinctions and assertions important to Boethius's overall philosophy, such as his view of the role of philosophy as "establish[ing] our judgment concerning the governing of life",[68] and definitions of logic from Plato, Aristotle and Cicero. He breaks logic into three parts: that which defines, that which divides, and that which deduces.[68] He asserts that there are three types of arguments: those of necessity, of ready believability, and sophistry.[69] He follows Aristotle in defining one sort of Topic as the maximal proposition, a proposition which is somehow shown to be universal or readily believable.[70] The other sort of Topic, the differentiae, are "Topics that contain and include the maximal propositions"; means of categorizing the Topics which Boethius credits to Cicero.[71] Book II covers two kinds of topics: those from related things and those from extrinsic topics. Book III discusses the relationship among things studied through Topics, Topics themselves, and the nature of definition. Book IV analyzes partition, designation and relationships between things (such as pairing, numbering, genus, and species, etc.). After a review of his terms, Boethius spends Book V discussing Stoic logic and Aristotelian causation. Book VI relates the nature of the Topic to causes. In Topicis Differentiis has four books; Book I discusses the nature of rhetorical and dialectical Topics together, Boethius's overall purpose being "to show what the Topics are, what their differentiae are, and which are suited for what syllogisms."[72] He distinguishes between argument (that which constitutes belief) and argumentation (that which demonstrates belief). Propositions are divided into three parts: those that are universal, those that are particular, and those that are somewhere in between.[73] These distinctions, and others, are applicable to both types of Topical argument, rhetorical and dialectical. Books II and III are primarily focused on Topics of dialectic (syllogisms), while Book IV concentrates on the unit of the rhetorical Topic, the enthymeme. Topical argumentation is at the core of Boethius's conception of dialectic, which "have categorical rather than conditional conclusions, and he conceives of the discovery of an argument as the discovery of a middle term capable of linking the two terms of the desired conclusion."[74] Not only are these texts of paramount importance to the study of Boethius, they are also crucial to the history of topical lore. It is largely due to Boethius that the Topics of Aristotle and Cicero were revived, and the Boethian tradition of topical argumentation spans its influence throughout the Middle Ages and into the early Renaissance: "In the works of Ockham, Buridan, Albert of Saxony, and the Pseudo-Scotus, for instance, many of the rules of consequence bear a strong resemblance to or are simply identical with certain Boethian Topics ... Boethius's influence, direct and indirect, on this tradition is enormous."[75] It was also in De Topicis Differentiis that Boethius made a unique contribution to the discourse on dialectic and rhetoric. Topical argumentation for Boethius is dependent upon a new category for the topics discussed by Aristotle and Cicero, and "[u]nlike Aristotle, Boethius recognizes two different types of Topics. First, he says, a Topic is a maximal proposition (maxima propositio), or principle; but there is a second kind of Topic, which he calls the differentia of a maximal proposition.[76] Maximal propositions are "propositions [that are] known per se, and no proof can be found for these."[77] This is the basis for the idea that demonstration (or the construction of arguments) is dependent ultimately upon ideas or proofs that are known so well and are so fundamental to human understanding of logic that no other proofs come before it. They must hold true in and of themselves. According to Stump, "the role of maximal propositions in argumentation is to ensure the truth of a conclusion by ensuring the truth of its premises either directly or indirectly."[78]These propositions would be used in constructing arguments through the Differentia, which is the second part of Boethius' theory. This is "the genus of the intermediate in the argument."[79] So maximal propositions allow room for an argument to be founded in some sense of logic while differentia are critical for the demonstration and construction of arguments. Boethius' definition of "differentiae" is that they are "the Topics of arguments ... The Topics which are the Differentiae of [maximal] propositions are more universal than those propositions, just as rationality is more universal than man."[80] This is the second part of Boethius' unique contribution to the field of rhetoric. Differentia operate under maximal propositions to "be of use in finding maximal propositions as well as intermediate terms," or the premises that follow maximal propositions.[81] Though Boethius is drawing from Aristotle's Topics, Differentiae are not the same as Topics in some ways. Boethius arranges differentiae through statements, instead of generalized groups as Aristotle does. Stump articulates the difference. They are "expressed as words or phrases whose expansion into appropriate propositions is neither intended nor readily conceivable", unlike Aristotle's clearly defined four groups of Topics. Aristotle had hundreds of topics organized into those four groups, whereas Boethius has twenty-eight "Topics" that are "highly ordered among themselves."[82] This distinction is necessary to understand Boethius as separate from past rhetorical theories. Maximal propositions and Differentiae belong not only to rhetoric, but also to dialectic. Boethius defines dialectic through an analysis of "thesis" and hypothetical propositions. He claims that "[t]here are two kinds of questions. One is that called, 'thesis' by the [Greek] dialecticians. This is the kind of question which asks about and discusses things stripped of relation to other circumstances; it is the sort of question dialecticians most frequently dispute about—for example, 'Is pleasure the greatest good?' [or] 'Should one marry?'.[83]" Dialectic has "dialectical topics" as well as "dialectical-rhetorical topics", all of which are still discussed in De Topicis Differentiis.[76] Dialectic, especially in Book I, comprises a major component of Boethius' discussion on Topics. Boethius planned to completely translate Plato's Dialogues, but there is no known surviving translation, if it was actually ever begun.[84] De arithmetica[edit] Boethius' De arithmetica in a manuscript written for Charles the Bald Boethius chose to pass on the great Greco-Roman culture to future generations by writing manuals on music, astronomy, geometry and arithmetic.[85] Several of Boethius' writings, which were hugely influential during the Middle Ages, drew on the thinking of Porphyry and Iamblichus.[86] Boethius wrote a commentary on the Isagoge by Porphyry,[87] which highlighted the existence of the problem of universals: whether these concepts are subsistent entities which would exist whether anyone thought of them, or whether they only exist as ideas. This topic concerning the ontological nature of universal ideas was one of the most vocal controversies in medieval philosophy. Besides these advanced philosophical works, Boethius is also reported to have translated important Greek texts on the topics of the quadrivium[84] His loose translation of Nicomachus's treatise on arithmetic (De institutione arithmetica libri duo) and his textbook on music (De institutione musica libri quinque, unfinished) contributed to medieval education.[87] De arithmetica begins with modular arithmetic, such as even and odd, evenly even, evenly odd, and oddly even. He then turns to unpredicted complexity by categorizing numbers and parts of numbers.[88] His translations of Euclid on geometry and Ptolemy on astronomy,[89] if they were completed, no longer survive. Boethius made Latin translations of Aristotle's De interpretatione and Categories with commentaries.[43] In his article The Ancient Classics in the Mediaeval Libraries, James Stuart Beddie cites Boethius as the reason Aristotle's works were popular in the Middle Ages, as Boethius preserved many of the philosopher's works.[90] De institutione musica[edit] Boethius' De institutione musica was one of the first musical texts to be printed in Venice between the years of 1491 and 1492. It was written toward the beginning of the sixth century and helped medieval theorists during the ninth century and onwards understand ancient Greek music.[91] Like his Greek predecessors, Boethius believed that arithmetic and music were intertwined, and helped to mutually reinforce the understanding of each, and together exemplified the fundamental principles of order and harmony in the understanding of the universe as it was known during his time.[92] In De Musica, Boethius introduced the threefold classification of music:[93] Musica mundana – music of the spheres/world; this "music" was not actually audible and was to be understood rather than heard Musica humana – harmony of human body and spiritual harmony Musica instrumentalis – instrumental music Boethius, Arithmetica Geometrica Musica (1492 first printed edition, from Hans Adler Collection) In De musica I.2, Boethius describes 'musica instrumentis' as music produced by something under tension (e.g., strings), by wind (e.g., aulos), by water, or by percussion (e.g., cymbals). Boethius himself does not use the term 'instrumentalis', which was used by Adalbold II of Utrecht (975–1026) in his Epistola cum tractatu.[full citation needed] The term is much more common in the 13th century and later.[citation needed] It is also in these later texts that musica instrumentalis is firmly associated with audible music in general, including vocal music. Scholars have traditionally assumed that Boethius also made this connection, possibly under the header of wind instruments ("administratur ... aut spiritu ut tibiis"[note 5][94]), but Boethius himself never writes about "instrumentalis" as separate from "instrumentis" explicitly in his very brief description. In one of his works within De institutione musica, Boethius said that "music is so naturally united with us that we cannot be free from it even if we so desired."[95] During the Middle Ages, Boethius was connected to several texts that were used to teach liberal arts. Although he did not address the subject of trivium, he did write many treatises explaining the principles of rhetoric, grammar, and logic. During the Middle Ages, his works of these disciplines were commonly used when studying the three elementary arts.[89] The historian R. W. Southern called Boethius "the schoolmaster of medieval Europe."[96] An 1872 German translation of "De Musica" was the magnum opus of Oscar Paul.[97][non-primary source needed] Opuscula sacra[edit] Boethius also wrote Christian theological treatises, which supported Catholicism and condemned Arianism and other heterodox forms of Christianity.[98] Five theological works are known:[99] De Trinitate – "The Trinity", where he defends the Council of Chalcedon Trinitarian position, that God is in three persons who have no differences in nature. He argues against the Arian view of the nature of God, which put him at odds with the faith of the Arian King of Italy. Utrum Pater et filius et Spiritus Sanctus de divinitate substantialiter praedicentur – "Whether Father, Son and Holy Spirit are Substantially Predicated of the Divinity", a short work where he uses reason and Aristotelian epistemology to argue that the Catholic views of the nature of God are correct.[100] Quomodo substantiae, Boethius' claim that all substances are good.[101] De fide catholica – "On the Catholic Faith" Contra Eutychen et Nestorium – "Against Eutyches and Nestorius," from c. 513, which dates it as the earliest of his theological works. Eutyches and Nestorius were contemporaries in the early to mid-5th century who held divergent Christological theologies. Boethius argues for a middle ground in conformity with Roman Catholic faith. His theological works played an important part during the Middle Ages in philosophical thought, including the fields of logic, ontology, and metaphysics.[102] Dates of works[edit] Gravestone of Boethius in the Pavia Civic Museum Dates of composition:[103] Mathematical works De arithmetica (On Arithmetic, c. 500) adapted translation of the Introductio Arithmeticae by Nicomachus of Gerasa (c. 160 – c. 220). De musica (On Music, c. 510), based on a lost work by Nicomachus of Gerasa and on Ptolemy's Harmonica. Possibly a treatise on geometry, extant only in fragments.[104] Logical Works A) Translations Porphyry's Isagoge In Categorias Aristotelis: Aristotle's Categories De interpretatione vel periermenias: Aristotle's De Interpretatione Interpretatio priorum Analyticorum (two versions): Aristotle's Prior Analytics Interpretatio Topicorum Aristotelis: Aristotle's Topics Interpretatio Elenchorum Sophisticorum Aristotelis: Aristotle's Sophistical Refutations B) Commentaries In Isagogen Porphyrii commenta (two commentaries, the first based on a translation by Marius Victorinus, (c. 504–05); the second based on Boethius' own translation (507–509) ). In Categorias Aristotelis (c. 509–11) In librum Aristotelis de interpretatione Commentaria minora (not before 513) In librum Aristotelis de interpretatione Commentaria majora (c. 515–16) In Aristotelis Analytica Priora (c. 520–523) Commentaria in Topica Ciceronis (incomplete: the end the sixth book and the seventh are missing) Original Treatises De divisione (515–520?) De syllogismo cathegorico (505–506) Introductio ad syllogismos cathegoricos (c. 523) De hypotheticis syllogismis (516–522) De topicis differentiis (c. 522–23) Opuscula Sacra (Theological Treatises) De Trinitate (c. 520–21) Utrum Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus de divinitate substantialiter praedicentur (Whether Father and Son and Holy Spirit are Substantially Predicated of the Divinity) Quomodo substantiae in eo quod sint bonae sint cum non sint substantialia bona [also known as De hebdomadibus] (How Substances are Good in that they Exist, when They are not Substantially Good) De fide Catholica Contra Eutychen et Nestorium (Against Eutyches and Nestorius) De consolatione Philosophiae (524–525). Legacy[edit] Depiction of Boethius in the Nuremberg Chronicle Edward Kennard Rand dubbed Boethius the "last of the Roman philosophers and the first of the scholastic theologians".[105] Despite the use of his mathematical texts in the early universities, it is his final work, the Consolation of Philosophy, that assured his legacy in the Middle Ages and beyond. This work is cast as a dialogue between Boethius himself, at first bitter and despairing over his imprisonment, and the spirit of philosophy, depicted as a woman of wisdom and compassion. "Alternately composed in prose and verse,[86] the Consolation teaches acceptance of hardship in a spirit of philosophical detachment from misfortune".[106] Parts of the work are reminiscent of the Socratic method of Plato's dialogues, as the spirit of philosophy questions Boethius and challenges his emotional reactions to adversity. The work was translated into Old English by King Alfred and later into English by Chaucer and Queen Elizabeth.[98] Many manuscripts survive and it was extensively edited, translated and printed throughout Europe from the 14th century onwards.[107] "The Boethian Wheel" is a model for Boethius' belief that history is a wheel,[108] a metaphor that Boethius uses frequently in the Consolation; it remained very popular throughout the Middle Ages, and is still often seen today. As the wheel turns, those who have power and wealth will turn to dust; men may rise from poverty and hunger to greatness, while those who are great may fall with the turn of the wheel. It was represented in the Middle Ages in many relics of art depicting the rise and fall of man. Descriptions of "The Boethian Wheel" can be found in the literature of the Middle Ages from the Romance of the Rose to Chaucer.[109] De topicis differentiis was the basis for one of the first works of logic in a western European vernacular, a selection of excerpts translated into Old French by John of Antioch in 1282.[110] Veneration[edit] The Tomb of Boethius in San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro Boethius was regarded as a Christian martyr by those who lived in succeeding centuries after his death.[17][9] Currently, he is recognized as a saint and martyr for the Catholic faith.[53] He is included within the Roman Martyrology, though to Watkins "his status as martyr is dubious".[111] His cult is held in Pavia, where Boethius' status as a saint was confirmed in 1883, and in the Church of Santa Maria in Portico in Rome. His feast day is 23 October, provided by some as a date for his death.[9][112][111][113] In the current Martyrologium Romanum, his feast is still restricted to that diocese.[114] Pope Benedict XVI explained the relevance of Boethius to modern day Christians by linking his teachings to an understanding of Providence.[85] In popular culture[edit] Boethius' Farewell To His Family by Jean-Victor SchnetzIn Dante's Divine Comedy, the spirit of Boethius is pointed out by Saint Thomas Aquinas and is mentioned further in the poem. In the novel A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, Boethius is the favorite philosopher of the main character, Ignatius J. Reilly. The "Boethian Wheel" is a theme throughout the book, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981.[115] C.S. Lewis references Boethius in chapter 27 of the Screwtape Letters.[116] Boethius also appears in the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People where he is played by Christopher Eccleston. In 1976, a lunar crater was named in honor of Boethius. The title of Alain de Botton's book, The Consolations of Philosophy, is derived from Boethius' Consolation. A codex of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy is the focus of The Late Scholar, a Lord Peter Wimsey novel by Jill Paton Walsh. See also[edit] De Fide Catolica The Consolations of Philosophy (by Alain de Botton) Prison literature Elpis (wife of Boethius) Notes[edit] ^ The name Anicius demonstrated his connection with a noble family of the Lower Empire, while Manlius claims lineage from the Manlii Torquati of the Republic.[7] The name Severinus was given to him in honour of Severinus of Noricum.[7] In some parts of Italy, he is revered as Saint Severinus rather than as Boethius.[8] ^ Historian Johannes Fried points out that no proof ever emerged that Boethius had committed a crime despite being sentenced to death by Theodoric and the Ostrogothic Senate. Theodoric, who Fried states was guilty of misjudgment, likely regretted his actions.[12] Procopius and later historians take a similar view, believing that he had been unjustly condemned.[13][14][15] ^ Two years later, in 526, Boethius' adoptive father, Symmachus, was also put to death.[16][17] ^ Historian Helen M. Barrett writes that the notion of Boethius having studied in Athens "must be rejected as without foundation," as it likely came from a misunderstanding of Cassiodorus' letters.[30] ^ "Haec vero administratur aut intentione ut nervis, aut spiritu ut tibiis, vel his, quae ad aquam moventur, aut percussione quadam, ut in his, quae in concava quaedam aerea feriuntur, atque inde diversi efficiuntur soni." Translated: "This, however, is operated by the motion of a string, or the wind of a pipe, or to those, which are moved by the water, or the beat of time, as in the following, which is striking a kind of brass hollow, and in the other are made of a corresponding sound." References[edit] ^ Barrett 1940, p. 37. ^ Fried 2015, p. 102. ^ Smith 2014, p. 66. ^ Marenbon 2003, p. 168. ^ Hodgkin 1896, p. 688. ^ Marenbon 2003, p. 7. ^ a b Hodgkin 1885, p. 523. ^ a b Barrett 1940, p. 33. ^ a b c Matthews 1981, p. 16. ^ Turner, W. "Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via New Advent. ^ Matthews 1981, p. 15. ^ Fried 2015, p. 28. ^ Barrett 1940, p. vii. ^ Barrett 1940, p. 59. ^ Boethius 2001, p. xxii. ^ Boethius 2000, p. xiv. ^ a b Marenbon 2003, p. 10. ^ a b c Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 1. ^ Hodgkin 1880, p. 617. ^ Heather 2005, p. 244–245. ^ Hodgkin 1880, p. 196. ^ Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 8. ^ Boethius 1969, p. 59. ^ Barrett 1940, p. 34. ^ a b Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 4. ^ Barrett 1940, p. 35, 38. ^ Marenbon 2003, p. 3, 17–18. ^ a b c Smith & Wace 1877, p. 322. ^ Marenbon 2003, p. 165. ^ Barrett 1940, p. 35–36. ^ Moorhead 2009, p. 29. ^ Barrett 1940, p. 36. ^ Barrett 1940, p. 38. ^ Barrett 1940, p. 44–45. ^ Barrett 1940, p. 45. ^ Cassiodorus 1992, I.10, pp. 12–14; I.45, 20–23; II.40, 38–43. ^ Herman 2013, p. 187. ^ a b Barrett 1940, p. 46. ^ Boethius 1969, p. 60. ^ Barrett 1940, p. 48. ^ Hodgkin 1894, p. 265. ^ Hodgkin 1894, p. 195. ^ a b O'Connor & Robertson 2000. ^ Boethius 2007, p. 5. ^ Marcellinus 1972, p. 562ff. ^ Dewing 1968, p. 12f. ^ Richards 1979, p. 114. ^ Boethius 1969, p. 42. ^ Richards 1979, p. 117. ^ Bury 1923, p. 158. ^ Richards 1979, p. 119. ^ a b Fried 2015, p. 1. ^ a b Smith & Wace 1877, p. 321. ^ Herman 2013, p. 190. ^ Lindberg 1978, p. 10. ^ a b Herman 2013, p. 189. ^ Boethius 2000, p. xxvii, Introduction. ^ Hodgkin 1894, p. 277. ^ Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 14. ^ OLL. ^ Boethius 2001, p. [page needed]. ^ Spade 2016, 4.2. ^ Aquinas & Frederick 2005, p. 14–. ^ Rubenstein 2004, p. 62. ^ Boethius 2001, p. xvi—xvii. ^ Stump 1988, p. 3. ^ Stump 1988, p. 22. ^ a b Stump 1988, p. 25. ^ Stump 1988, p. 26. ^ Stump 1988, p. 34. ^ Stump 1988, p. 35. ^ Stump 1978, p. 29. ^ Stump 1978, p. 31. ^ Stump 1978, p. 6. ^ Stump 1978, p. 7, 9–8. ^ a b Stump 1978, p. 180. ^ Stump 1978, p. 33. ^ Stump 1978, p. 181. ^ Stump 1978, p. 198. ^ Stump 1978, p. 48. ^ Stump 1978, p. 204. ^ Stump 1978, p. 205. ^ Stump 1978, p. 35. ^ a b Cassiodorus 1992, I.45.4. ^ a b Pope Benedict XVI 2008. ^ a b Marenbon 2016. ^ a b Herbermann 1913. ^ Schrader 1968, p. 615–628. ^ a b Masi 1979, p. 24. ^ Beddie 1930, p. 3. ^ Boethius 1989, p. xiii—xv. ^ Grout 1980, p. 24. ^ Bower 2006, p. 146. ^ Boethius 1867b, p. 189. ^ Boethius 1989, p. 8. ^ Herman 2013, p. 196. ^ Paul 1872. ^ a b Cooper 1902, Editorial Note. ^ Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 15. ^ Speer 2011, p. 95. ^ MacDonald, Scott (1988). "Boethius's Claim that all Substances are Good". Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie. 70 (3). doi:10.1515/agph.1988.70.3.245. S2CID 144565831. ^ Bradshaw 2009, p. 105–128. ^ Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 551–589. ^ Folkerts 1970, p. [page needed]. ^ Boethius 2004, p. x. ^ Boethius 2007, Preface by H.R. James. ^ Dwyer 1976, p. 5–13. ^ Boethius 1999, p. 24, n. 1. ^ Carroll-Clark 1994. ^ Rubin 2018, p. 93. ^ a b Watkins 2016, p. 108. ^ Farmer 2011, p. 53. ^ Calvi, S. Severino Boezio. ^ Martyrologium Romanum 2004, p. 586. ^ Miller 1999. ^ Lewis 1944, p. 57. Sources[edit] Books Aquinas, Thomas; Frederick, Christian Bauerschmidt (2005), Holy Teaching: Introducing the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas, Brazos Press, ISBN 978-1-58743-035-0 Barrett, Helen (1940). Boethius: Some Aspects of His Times and Work. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107415768. Boethius (1969). De Consolatione Philosophiae. Translated by Watts, V.E. Random House. ISBN 9780140442083. Boethius (2007) [1897], The Consolation of Philosophy of Boethius, translated by James, H.R., The University of Adelaide: eBooks @ Adelaide, archived from the original on 2007-04-27. Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus (1867b). "De institutione musica libri quinque". In Gottfried Friedlein (ed.). Anicii Manlii Torquati Severini Boetii De institutione arithmetica libri duo: De institutione musica libri quinque. Accedit geometria quae fertur Boetii (in Latin). B.G. Teubner, Leipzig. pp. 177–371. ISBN 9781429700719. Retrieved 2015-10-08. Boethius (1999), Consolation of Philosophy, translated by Watts, Victor (Rev ed.), Penguin Random House Boethius (2000). The Consolation of Philosophy. Translated by P. G. Walsh. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-283883-0. Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus (2001). Consolation of Philosophy. Translated by Joel Relihan. Norton: Hackett Publishing Company. Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus (2004). The Theological Tractates and The Consolation of Philosophy. Translated by H. F. Steward; E. K. Rand. Cambridge: Project Gutenberg. Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus (1989), Palisca, Claude V. (ed.), Fundamentals of Music, translated by Bower, Calvin M., New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0300039436 Bower, Calvin M. (2006), "The transmission of ancient music theory into the Middle Ages", in Christensen, Thomas (ed.), The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory, Cambridge University Press, pp. 136–167, ISBN 978-0521686983 Bradshaw, David (2009), "The Opuscula sacra: Boethius and theology", in Marenbon, John (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Boethius, pp. 105–128, doi:10.1017/CCOL9780521872669.006, ISBN 978-1139002493 Bury, John Bagnel (1923). "18 - The reconquest of Italy (I)". History of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. 2. Macmillan & Co. Cassiodorus (1992), Variae, translated by Barnish, S.J.B., Liverpool: Liverpool University Press Cooper, W.V. (1902), "Editorial Note", Consolation of Philosophy, by Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus, translated by W.V. Cooper, London: J.M. Dent and Company Procopius. Vol. 3. Translated by Dewing, Henry Bronson. London: W. Heinemann. 1968. ISBN 978-0-674-99119-4. Dwyer, Richard A. (1976), Boethian Fictions: Narratives in the Medieval French Versions of the Consolatio Philosophiae, Cambridge, MA: Medieval Academy of America, ISBN 978-0915651238 Farmer, David Hugh (2011). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (5th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199596607. OCLC 726871260. Folkerts, Menso, ed. (1970), Boethius' Geometrie II. Ein mathematisches Lehrbuch des Mittelalters, Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Fried, Johannes (2015). The Middle Ages (3rd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-67405-562-9. Grout, Donald (1980). A History of Western Music (3rd ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393951363. Heather, Peter (2005). The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195159547. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Herman, Arthur (2013). The Cave and the Light. Random House. ISBN 978-0553807301. Hodgkin, Thomas (1880). Italy and Her Invaders. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780598984203. Hodgkin, Thomas (1894). Theodoric the Goth. G. P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 9780598453068. Hodgkin, Thomas (1885), Italy and Her Invaders, vol. 3, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9781344623001 Hodgkin, Thomas (1896). Italy and Her Invaders. Vol. 4 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9781296969004. Kaylor, Noel; Philips, Philip (2012). A Companion to Boethius in the Middle Ages (1st ed.). Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-9004183544. Lewis, C.S. (1944). The Screwtape Letters. Woking: Unwin Brothers. Retrieved 28 April 2019. Lindberg, David, ed. (1978). Science in the Middle Ages. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226482330. Marcellinus, Ammianus (1972). Ammianus Marcellinus: The history : Books XX-XXVI. Vol. 3. Translated by J. C. Rolfe. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-99348-8. Marenbon, John (2003), Boethius, Great Medieval Thinkers, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195134070, OCLC 186379876 Martyrologium Romanum (2nd ed.). Rome: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2004. p. 586. ISBN 978-8820972103. Moorhead (2009), "Boethius' life and the world of late antique philosophy", in Marenbon, John (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Boethius, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Paul, Oscar (1872), Boetius und die griechische Harmonik (in German), Leipzig: F.E.C. Leuckart Richards, Jeffrey (1 January 1979). The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages, 476-752. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 978-0-7100-0098-9. Rubenstein, Richard E. (2004). Aristotle's Children. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-547-35097-4. Rubin, Jonathan (2018), "John of Antioch and the Perceptions of Language and Translation in Thirteenth-Century Acre", in John France (ed.), Acre and Its Falls: Studies in the History of a Crusader City, Brill Smith, William; Wace, Henry, eds. (1877). Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines. Vol. 1. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-1295053339. Smith, A.D. (2014). Anselm's Other Argument. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674725041. Speer, Andreas (2011), "The Division of Metaphysical Discourses: Boethius, Thomas Aquinas, and Meister Eckhart", in Emery, Kent; Friedman, Russell; Speer, Andreas (eds.), Philosophy and Theology in the Long Middle Ages: A Tribute to Stephen F. Brown, Leiden: Brill, pp. 91–116, ISBN 978-90-04-16942-5 Stump, Eleonore (1978). Boethius's De topicis differentiis. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801489334. Stump, Eleonore (1988). Boethius's In Ciceronis Topica. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801420177. Watkins, Basil (2016). The Book of Saints. St. Augustine's Abbey of Ramsgate, England (8th ed.). London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0567664150. OCLC 908373623. Matthews, John (1981). "Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius". Boethius: His Life, Thought and Influence. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 15–44. ISBN 978-0631111412. Journal articles Beddie, James Stuart (1930), "The Ancient Classics in the Mediaeval Libraries", Speculum, 5 (1): 3–20, doi:10.2307/2846353, JSTOR 2846353, S2CID 163314872 Masi, Michael (1979), "The Liberal Arts and Gerardus Ruffus' Commentary on the Boethian De Arithmetica", The Sixteenth Century Journal, 10 (2): 23–41, doi:10.2307/2539405, JSTOR 2539405 Schrader, Dorothy V (1968), "De Arithmetica, Book I, of Boethius", Mathematics Teacher, 61: 615–28, doi:10.5951/MT.61.6.0615 Weblinks Pope Benedict XVI (12 March 2008), Boethius and Cassiodorus, archived from the original on 28 December 2008, retrieved 4 November 2009 Martirologio (in Italian), translated by Calvi, Stefano, archived from the original on 7 December 2010 Carroll-Clark, Susan (1994), "The Wheel of Fortune", The Middle Ages.net Marenbon, John (2016), "Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, retrieved 23 October 2017 Miller, Karl (1999-03-05). "An American tragedy. A lifetime of rejection broke John Kennedy Toole. But his aged mother believed in his talent, found a publisher for his novel and rescued his memory from oblivion". www.newstatesman.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-09. O'Connor, J. J.; Robertson, E. F. (May 2000), "Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius", MacTutor History of Mathematicas archive, University of St Andrews, retrieved 4 November 2009 "Boethius", The Online Library of Liberty, retrieved 23 October 2017 Spade, Paul Vincent (15 March 2016), "Medieval Philosophy", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, retrieved 23 October 2017 Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome, St John's Orthodox Church, Colchester Further reading[edit] Attwater, Donald; Catherine Rachel John (1995), The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, London: Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-051312-7, OCLC 34361179 Baird, Forrest E.; Walter Kaufmann (2008), From Plato to Derrida, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, ISBN 978-0-13-158591-1 Boethius (1973) [1918]. The Theological Tractates and The Consolation of Philosophy. Translated by Stewart, H.F.; Rand, E.K.; Tester, S.J. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Chadwick, Henry (1981), Boethius, the Consolations of Music, Logic, Theology, and Philosophy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-826549-8, OCLC 8533668 Colish, Marcia L. (2002), Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 400–1400, New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-07852-7, OCLC 185694056 Magee, John (1989), Boethius on Signification and Mind, Leiden: Brill Publishers, ISBN 978-90-04-09096-5 Marenbon, John (2009), The Cambridge Companion to Boethius, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-87266-9 Papahagi, Adrian (2010). Boethiana medievalia : a collection of studies on the early medieval fortune of Boethius' consolation of philosophy. Bucharest: Zeta Books. ISBN 978-973-1997-79-7. Suto, Taki (2011), Boethius on Mind, Grammar and Logic. A Study of Boethius' Commentaries on Peri Hermeneias, Cambridge: Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-21418-7 Westfall, Joseph (2008), "Boethius: Kierkegaard and The Consolation", in Stewart, Jon (ed.), Kierkegaard and the Patristic and Medieval Traditions, Ashgate Publishing, pp. 207–222, ISBN 978-0-7546-6391-1 External links[edit] Wikisource has original works by or about:Boethius Works[edit] Wikiquote has quotations related to Boethius. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anicius Manlius Torquatus Severinus Boethius. Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article: Anicius Manlius Torquatus Severinus Boethius Library resources about Boethius Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries By Boethius Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Works by Boethius in eBook form at Standard Ebooks Works by Boethius at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Boethius at Internet Archive Works by Boethius at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks) {en} De Trinitate (On the Holy Trinity) – Boethius, Erik Kenyon (trans.) {en} Theological Tractates; Christian Classics Ethereal Library A 10th-century manuscript of Institutio Arithmetica is available online from Lund University, Sweden The Geoffrey Freudlin 1885 edition of the Arithmetica, from the Cornell Library Historical Mathematics Monographs Online Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries Archived 2020-11-13 at the Wayback Machine Codices Boethiani: A Conspectus of Manuscripts of the Work of Boethius Works by Boethius at Perseus Digital Library MS 1083/30 Regiment of princes; Consolation of philosophy at OPenn MS 484/15 Commentum super libro Porphyrii Isagoge; De decim predicamentis at OPenn De Disciplina scholarium, Lyon, 1499, at the National Library of Portugal On Boethius' life and works[edit] Blessed Severinus Boethius at Patron Saints Index Blackwood, Stephen. The Meters of Boethius: Rhythmic Therapy in the Consolation of Philosophy. Blackwood, Stephen (2015). The Consolation of Boethius as Poetic Liturgy. Oxford Early Christian Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 398. ISBN 978-0-19-871831-4. O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Boethius", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews Phillips, Philip Edward. Boethius: A Selected Bibliography for Students Boethius at The Online Library of Liberty On Boethius and Cassiodorus – Pope Benedict XVI On Boethius' logic and philosophy[edit] Correia, Manuel. "Boethius". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Marenbon, John. "Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The Philosophical Works of Boethius. Editions and Translations Boethius' Logic and Metaphysics. 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Thereafter for awhile she remained silent; and when she had restored my flagging attention by a moderate pause in her discourse, she thus began: 'If I have thoroughly ascertained the character and causes of thy sickness, thou art pining with regretful longing for thy former fortune. It is the change, as thou deemest, of this fortune that hath so wrought upon thy mind. Well do I understand that Siren's manifold wiles, the fatal charm of the friendship she pretends for her victims, so long as she is scheming to entrap them-how she unexpectedly abandons them and leaves them overwhelmed with insupportable grief. Bethink thee of her nature, character, and deserts, and thou wilt soon acknowledge that in her thou hast neither possessed, nor hast thou lost, aught of any worth. Methinks I need not spend much pains in bringing this to thy mind, since, even when she was still with thee, even while she was caressing thee, thou usedst to assail her in manly terms, to rebuke her, with maxims drawn from my holy treasure-house. But all sudden changes of circumstances bring inevitably a certain commotion of spirit. Thus it hath come to pass that thou also for awhile hast been parted from thy mind's tranquillity. But it is time for thee to take and drain a draught, soft and pleasant to the taste, which, as it penetrates within, may prepare the way for stronger potions. Wherefore I call to my aid the sweet persuasiveness of Rhetoric, who then only walketh in the right way when she forsakes not my instructions, and Music, my handmaid, I bid to join with her singing, now in lighter, now in graver strain.
'What is it, then, poor mortal, that hath cast thee into lamentation and mourning? Some strange, unwonted sight, methinks, have thine eyes seen. Thou deemest Fortune to have changed towards thee; thou mistakest. Such ever were her ways, ever such her nature. Rather in her very mutability hath she preserved towards thee her true constancy. Such was she when she loaded thee with caresses, when she deluded thee with the allurements of a false happiness. Thou hast found out how changeful is the face of the blind goddess. She who still veils herself from others hath fully discovered to thee her whole character. If thou likest her, take her as she is, and do not complain. If thou abhorrest her perfidy, turn from her in disdain, renounce her, for baneful are her delusions. The very thing which is now the cause of thy great grief ought to have brought thee tranquillity. Thou hast been forsaken by one of whom no one can be sure that she will not forsake him. Or dost thou indeed set value on a happiness that is certain to depart? Again I ask, Is Fortune's presence dear to thee if she cannot be trusted to stay, and though she will bring sorrow when she is gone? Why, if she cannot be kept at pleasure, and if her flight overwhelms with calamity, what is this fleeting visitant but a token of coming trouble? Truly it is not enough to look only at what lies before the eyes; wisdom gauges the issues of things, and this same mutability, with its two aspects, makes the threats of Fortune void of terror, and her caresses little to be desired. Finally, thou oughtest to bear with whatever takes place within the boundaries of Fortune's demesne, when thou hast placed thy head beneath her yoke. But if thou wishest to impose a law of staying and departing on her whom thou hast of thine own accord chosen for thy mistress, art thou not acting wrongfully, art thou not embittering by impatience a lot which thou canst not alter? Didst thou commit thy sails to the winds, thou wouldst voyage not whither thy intention was to go, but whither the winds drave thee; didst thou entrust thy seed to the fields, thou wouldst set off the fruitful years against the barren. Thou hast resigned thyself to the sway of Fortune; thou must submit to thy mistress's caprices. What! art thou verily striving to stay the swing of the revolving wheel? Oh, stupidest of mortals, if it takes to standing still, it ceases to be the wheel of Fortune.'
'Now I would fain also reason with thee a little in Fortune's own words. Do thou observe whether her contentions be just. "Man," she might say, "why dost thou pursue me with thy daily complainings? What wrong have I done thee? What goods of thine have I taken from thee? Choose an thou wilt a judge, and let us dispute before him concerning the rightful ownership of wealth and rank. If thou succeedest in showing that any one of these things is the true property of mortal man, I freely grant those things to be thine which thou claimest. When nature brought thee forth out of thy mother's womb, I took thee, naked and destitute as thou wast, I cherished thee with my substance, and, in the partiality of my favour for thee, I brought thee up somewhat too indulgently, and this it is which now makes thee rebellious against me. I surrounded thee with a royal abundance of all those things that are in my power. Now it is my pleasure to draw back my hand. Thou hast reason to thank me for the use of what was not thine own; thou hast no right to complain, as if thou hadst lost what was wholly thine. Why, then, dost bemoan thyself? I have done thee no violence. Wealth, honour, and all such things are placed under my control. My handmaidens know their mistress; with me they come, and at my going they depart. I might boldly affirm that if those things the loss of which thou lamentest had been thine, thou couldst never have lost them. Am I alone to be forbidden to do what I will with my own? Unrebuked, the skies now reveal the brightness of day, now shroud the daylight in the darkness of night; the year may now engarland the face of the earth with flowers and fruits, now disfigure it with storms and cold. The sea is permitted to invite with smooth and tranquil surface to-day, to-morrow to roughen with wave and storm. Shall man's insatiate greed bind me to a constancy foreign to my character? This is my art, this the game I never cease to play. I turn the wheel that spins. I delight to see the high come down and the low ascend. Mount up, if thou wilt, but only on condition that thou wilt not think it a hardship to come down when the rules of my game require it. Wert thou ignorant of my character? Didst not know how Crœsus, King of the Lydians, erstwhile the dreaded rival of Cyrus, was afterwards pitiably consigned to the flame of the pyre, and only saved by a shower sent from heaven? Has it 'scaped thee how Paullus paid a meed of pious tears to the misfortunes of King Perseus, his prisoner? What else do tragedies make such woeful outcry over save the overthrow of kingdoms by the indiscriminate strokes of Fortune? Didst thou not learn in thy childhood how there stand at the threshold of Zeus 'two jars,' 'the one full of blessings, the other of calamities'? How if thou hast drawn over-liberally from the good jar? What if not even now have I departed wholly from thee? What if this very mutability of mine is a just ground for hoping better things? But listen now, and cease to let thy heart consume away with fretfulness, nor expect to live on thine own terms in a realm that is common to all.'
'If Fortune should plead thus against thee, assuredly thou wouldst not have one word to offer in reply; or, if thou canst find any justification of thy complainings, thou must show what it is. I will give thee space to speak.'
Then said I: 'Verily, thy pleas are plausible-yea, steeped in the honeyed sweetness of music and rhetoric. But their charm lasts only while they are sounding in the ear; the sense of his misfortunes lies deeper in the heart of the wretched. So, when the sound ceases to vibrate upon the air, the heart's indwelling sorrow is felt with renewed bitterness.'
Then said she: 'It is indeed as thou sayest, for we have not yet come to the curing of thy sickness; as yet these are but lenitives conducing to the treatment of a malady hitherto obstinate. The remedies which go deep I will apply in due season. Nevertheless, to deprecate thy determination to be thought wretched, I ask thee, Hast thou forgotten the extent and bounds of thy felicity? I say nothing of how, when orphaned and desolate, thou wast taken into the care of illustrious men; how thou wast chosen for alliance with the highest in the state-and even before thou wert bound to their house by marriage, wert already dear to their love-which is the most precious of all ties. Did not all pronounce thee most happy in the virtues of thy wife, the splendid honours of her father, and the blessing of male issue? I pass over-for I care not to speak of blessings in which others also have shared-the distinctions often denied to age which thou enjoyedst in thy youth. I choose rather to come to the unparalleled culmination of thy good fortune. If the fruition of any earthly success has weight in the scale of happiness, can the memory of that splendour be swept away by any rising flood of troubles? That day when thou didst see thy two sons ride forth from home joint consuls, followed by a train of senators, and welcomed by the good-will of the people; when these two sat in curule chairs in the Senate-house, and thou by thy panegyric on the king didst earn the fame of eloquence and ability; when in the Circus, seated between the two consuls, thou didst glut the multitude thronging around with the triumphal largesses for which they looked-methinks thou didst cozen Fortune while she caressed thee, and made thee her darling. Thou didst bear off a boon which she had never before granted to any private person. Art thou, then, minded to cast up a reckoning with Fortune? Now for the first time she has turned a jealous glance upon thee. If thou compare the extent and bounds of thy blessings and misfortunes, thou canst not deny that thou art still fortunate. Or if thou esteem not thyself favoured by Fortune in that thy then seeming prosperity hath departed, deem not thyself wretched, since what thou now believest to be calamitous passeth also. What! art thou but now come suddenly and a stranger to the scene of this life? Thinkest thou there is any stability in human affairs, when man himself vanishes away in the swift course of time? It is true that there is little trust that the gifts of chance will abide; yet the last day of life is in a manner the death of all remaining Fortune. What difference, then, thinkest thou, is there, whether thou leavest her by dying, or she leave thee by fleeing away?'
Then said I: 'True are thine admonishings, thou nurse of all excellence; nor can I deny the wonder of my fortune's swift career. Yet it is this which chafes me the more cruelly in the recalling. For truly in adverse fortune the worst sting of misery is to have been happy.'
'Well,' said she, 'if thou art paying the penalty of a mistaken belief, thou canst not rightly impute the fault to circumstances. If it is the felicity which Fortune gives that moves thee-mere name though it be-come reckon up with me how rich thou art in the number and weightiness of thy blessings. Then if, by the blessing of Providence, thou hast still preserved unto thee safe and inviolate that which, howsoever thou mightest reckon thy fortune, thou wouldst have thought thy most precious possession, what right hast thou to talk of ill-fortune whilst keeping all Fortune's better gifts? Yet Symmachus, thy wife's father-a man whose splendid character does honour to the human race-is safe and unharmed; and while he bewails thy wrongs, this rare nature, in whom wisdom and virtue are so nobly blended, is himself out of danger-a boon thou wouldst have been quick to purchase at the price of life itself. Thy wife yet lives, with her gentle disposition, her peerless modesty and virtue-this the epitome of all her graces, that she is the true daughter of her sire-she lives, I say, and for thy sake only preserves the breath of life, though she loathes it, and pines away in grief and tears for thy absence, wherein, if in naught else, I would allow some marring of thy felicity. What shall I say of thy sons and their consular dignity-how in them, so far as may be in youths of their age, the example of their father's and grandfather's character shines out? Since, then, the chief care of mortal man is to preserve his life, how happy art thou, couldst thou but recognise thy blessings, who possessest even now what no one doubts to be dearer than life! Wherefore, now dry thy tears. Fortune's hate hath not involved all thy dear ones; the stress of the storm that has assailed thee is not beyond measure intolerable, since there are anchors still holding firm which suffer thee not to lack either consolation in the present or hope for the future.'
'I pray that they still may hold. For while they still remain, however things may go, I shall ride out the storm. Yet thou seest how much is shorn of the splendour of my fortunes.'
'We are gaining a little ground,' said she, 'if there is something in thy lot wherewith thou art not yet altogether discontented. But I cannot stomach thy daintiness when thou complainest with such violence of grief and anxiety because thy happiness falls short of completeness. Why, who enjoys such settled felicity as not to have some quarrel with the circumstances of his lot? A troublous matter are the conditions of human bliss; either they are never realized in full, or never stay permanently. One has abundant riches, but is shamed by his ignoble birth. Another is conspicuous for his nobility, but through the embarrassments of poverty would prefer to be obscure. A third, richly endowed with both, laments the loneliness of an unwedded life. Another, though happily married, is doomed to childlessness, and nurses his wealth for a stranger to inherit. Yet another, blest with children, mournfully bewails the misdeeds of son or daughter. Wherefore, it is not easy for anyone to be at perfect peace with the circumstances of his lot. There lurks in each several portion something which they who experience it not know nothing of, but which makes the sufferer wince. Besides, the more favoured a man is by Fortune, the more fastidiously sensitive is he; and, unless all things answer to his whim, he is overwhelmed by the most trifling misfortunes, because utterly unschooled in adversity. So petty are the trifles which rob the most fortunate of perfect happiness! How many are there, dost thou imagine, who would think themselves nigh heaven, if but a small portion from the wreck of thy fortune should fall to them? This very place which thou callest exile is to them that dwell therein their native land. So true is it that nothing is wretched, but thinking makes it so, and conversely every lot is happy if borne with equanimity. Who is so blest by Fortune as not to wish to change his state, if once he gives rein to a rebellious spirit? With how many bitternesses is the sweetness of human felicity blent! And even if that sweetness seem to him to bring delight in the enjoying, yet he cannot keep it from departing when it will. How manifestly wretched, then, is the bliss of earthly fortune, which lasts not for ever with those whose temper is equable, and can give no perfect satisfaction to the anxious-minded!
'Why, then, ye children of mortality, seek ye from without that happiness whose seat is only within us? Error and ignorance bewilder you. I will show thee, in brief, the hinge on which perfect happiness turns. Is there anything more precious to thee than thyself? Nothing, thou wilt say. If, then, thou art master of thyself, thou wilt possess that which thou wilt never be willing to lose, and which Fortune cannot take from thee. And that thou mayst see that happiness cannot possibly consist in these things which are the sport of chance, reflect that, if happiness is the highest good of a creature living in accordance with reason, and if a thing which can in any wise be reft away is not the highest good, since that which cannot be taken away is better than it, it is plain that Fortune cannot aspire to bestow happiness by reason of its instability. And, besides, a man borne along by this transitory felicity must either know or not know its unstability. If he knows not, how poor is a happiness which depends on the blindness of ignorance! If he knows it, he needs must fear to lose a happiness whose loss he believes to be possible. Wherefore, a never-ceasing fear suffers him not to be happy. Or does he count the possibility of this loss a trifling matter? Insignificant, then, must be the good whose loss can be borne so equably. And, further, I know thee to be one settled in the belief that the souls of men certainly die not with them, and convinced thereof by numerous proofs; it is clear also that the felicity which Fortune bestows is brought to an end with the death of the body: therefore, it cannot be doubted but that, if happiness is conferred in this way, the whole human race sinks into misery when death brings the close of all. But if we know that many have sought the joy of happiness not through death only, but also through pain and suffering, how can life make men happy by its presence when it makes them not wretched by its loss?'
'But since my reasonings begin to work a soothing effect within thy mind, methinks I may resort to remedies somewhat stronger. Come, suppose, now, the gifts of Fortune were not fleeting and transitory, what is there in them capable of ever becoming truly thine, or which does not lose value when looked at steadily and fairly weighed in the balance? Are riches, I pray thee, precious either through thy nature or in their own? What are they but mere gold and heaps of money? Yet these fine things show their quality better in the spending than in the hoarding; for I suppose 'tis plain that greed Alva's makes men hateful, while liberality brings fame. But that which is transferred to another cannot remain in one's own possession; and if that be so, then money is only precious when it is given away, and, by being transferred to others, ceases to be one's own. Again, if all the money in the world were heaped up in one man's possession, all others would be made poor. Sound fills the ears of many at the same time without being broken into parts, but your riches cannot pass to many without being lessened in the process. And when this happens, they must needs impoverish those whom they leave. How poor and cramped a thing, then, is riches, which more than one cannot possess as an unbroken whole, which falls not to any one man's lot without the impoverishment of everyone else! Or is it the glitter of gems that allures the eye? Yet, how rarely excellent soever may be their splendour, remember the flashing light is in the jewels, not in the man. Indeed, I greatly marvel at men's admiration of them; for what can rightly seem beautiful to a being endowed with life and reason, if it lack the movement and structure of life? And although such things do in the end take on them more beauty from their Maker's care and their own brilliancy, still they in no wise merit your admiration since their excellence is set at a lower grade than your own.
'Does the beauty of the fields delight you? Surely, yes; it is a beautiful part of a right beautiful whole. Fitly indeed do we at times enjoy the serene calm of the sea, admire the sky, the stars, the moon, the sun. Yet is any of these thy concern? Dost thou venture to boast thyself of the beauty of any one of them? Art thou decked with spring's flowers? is it thy fertility that swelleth in the fruits of autumn? Why art thou moved with empty transports? why embracest thou an alien excellence as thine own? Never will fortune make thine that which the nature of things has excluded from thy ownership. Doubtless the fruits of the earth are given for the sustenance of living creatures. But if thou art content to supply thy wants so far as suffices nature, there is no need to resort to fortune's bounty. Nature is content with few things, and with a very little of these. If thou art minded to force superfluities upon her when she is satisfied, that which thou addest will prove either unpleasant or harmful. But, now, thou thinkest it fine to shine in raiment of divers colours; yet-if, indeed, there is any pleasure in the sight of such things-it is the texture or the artist's skill which I shall admire.
'Or perhaps it is a long train of servants that makes thee happy? Why, if they behave viciously, they are a ruinous burden to thy house, and exceeding dangerous to their own master; while if they are honest, how canst thou count other men's virtue in the sum of thy possessions? From all which 'tis plainly proved that not one of these things which thou reckonest in the number of thy possessions is really thine. And if there is in them no beauty to be desired, why shouldst thou either grieve for their loss or find joy in their continued possession? While if they are beautiful in their own nature, what is that to thee? They would have been not less pleasing in themselves, though never included among thy possessions. For they derive not their preciousness from being counted in thy riches, but rather thou hast chosen to count them in thy riches because they seemed to thee precious.
'Then, what seek ye by all this noisy outcry about fortune? To chase away poverty, I ween, by means of abundance. And yet ye find the result just contrary. Why, this varied array of precious furniture needs more accessories for its protection; it is a true saying that they want most who possess most, and, conversely, they want very little who measure their abundance by nature's requirements, not by the superfluity of vain display. Have ye no good of your own implanted within you, that ye seek your good in things external and separate? Is the nature of things so reversed that a creature divine by right of reason can in no other way be splendid in his own eyes save by the possession of lifeless chattels? Yet, while other things are content with their own, ye who in your intellect are God-like seek from the lowest of things adornment for a nature of supreme excellence, and perceive not how great a wrong ye do your Maker. His will was that mankind should excel all things on earth. Ye thrust down your worth beneath the lowest of things. For if that in which each thing finds its good is plainly more precious than that whose good it is, by your own estimation ye put yourselves below the vilest of things, when ye deem these vile things to be your good: nor does this fall out undeservedly. Indeed, man is so constituted that he then only excels other things when he knows himself; but he is brought lower than the beasts if he lose this self-knowledge. For that other creatures should be ignorant of themselves is natural; in man it shows as a defect. How extravagant, then, is this error of yours, in thinking that anything can be embellished by adornments not its own. It cannot be. For if such accessories add any lustre, it is the accessories that get the praise, while that which they veil and cover remains in its pristine ugliness. And again I say, That is no good, which injures its possessor. Is this untrue? No, quite true, thou sayest. And yet riches have often hurt those that possessed them, since the worst of men, who are all the more covetous by reason of their wickedness, think none but themselves worthy to possess all the gold and gems the world contains. So thou, who now dreadest pike and sword, mightest have trolled a carol "in the robber's face," hadst thou entered the road of life with empty pockets. Oh, wondrous blessedness of perishable wealth, whose acquisition robs thee of security!'
'What now shall I say of rank and power, whereby, because ye know not true power and dignity, ye hope to reach the sky? Yet, when rank and power have fallen to the worst of men, did ever an Etna, belching forth flame and fiery deluge, work such mischief? Verily, as I think, thou dost remember how thine ancestors sought to abolish the consular power, which had been the foundation of their liberties, on account of the overweening pride of the consuls, and how for that self-same pride they had already abolished the kingly title! And if, as happens but rarely, these prerogatives are conferred on virtuous men, it is only the virtue of those who exercise them that pleases. So it appears that honour cometh not to virtue from rank, but to rank from virtue. Look, too, at the nature of that power which ye find so attractive and glorious! Do ye never consider, ye creatures of earth, what ye are, and over whom ye exercise your fancied lordship? Suppose, now, that in the mouse tribe there should rise up one claiming rights and powers for himself above the rest, would ye not laugh consumedly? Yet if thou lookest to his body alone, what creature canst thou find more feeble than man, who oftentimes is killed by the bite of a fly, or by some insect creeping into the inner passage of his system! Yet what rights can one exercise over another, save only as regards the body, and that which is lower than the body-I mean fortune? What! wilt thou bind with thy mandates the free spirit? Canst thou force from its due tranquillity the mind that is firmly composed by reason? A tyrant thought to drive a man of free birth to reveal his accomplices in a conspiracy, but the prisoner bit off his tongue and threw it into the furious tyrant's face; thus, the tortures which the tyrant thought the instrument of his cruelty the sage made an opportunity for heroism. Moreover, what is there that one man can do to another which he himself may not have to undergo in his turn? We are told that Busiris, who used to kill his guests, was himself slain by his guest, Hercules. Regulus had thrown into bonds many of the Carthaginians whom he had taken in war; soon after he himself submitted his hands to the chains of the vanquished. Then, thinkest thou that man hath any power who cannot prevent another's being able to do to him what he himself can do to others?
'Besides, if there were any element of natural and proper good in rank and power, they would never come to the utterly bad, since opposites are not wont to be associated. Nature brooks not the union of contraries. So, seeing there is no doubt that wicked wretches are oftentimes set in high places, it is also clear that things which suffer association with the worst of men cannot be good in their own nature. Indeed, this judgment may with some reason be passed concerning all the gifts of fortune which fall so plentifully to all the most wicked. This ought also to be considered here, I think: No one doubts a man to be brave in whom he has observed a brave spirit residing. It is plain that one who is endowed with speed is swift-footed. So also music makes men musical, the healing art physicians, rhetoric public speakers. For each of these has naturally its own proper working; there is no confusion with the effects of contrary things-nay, even of itself it rejects what is incompatible. And yet wealth cannot extinguish insatiable greed, nor has power ever made him master of himself whom vicious lusts kept bound in indissoluble fetters; dignity conferred on the wicked not only fails to make them worthy, but contrarily reveals and displays their unworthiness. Why does it so happen? Because ye take pleasure in calling by false names things whose nature is quite incongruous thereto-by names which are easily proved false by the very effects of the things themselves; even so it is; these riches, that power, this dignity, are none of them rightly so called. Finally, we may draw the same conclusion concerning the whole sphere of Fortune, within which there is plainly nothing to be truly desired, nothing of intrinsic excellence; for she neither always joins herself to the good, nor does she make good men of those to whom she is united.'
Then said I: 'Thou knowest thyself that ambition for worldly success hath but little swayed me. Yet I have desired opportunity for action, lest virtue, in default of exercise, should languish away.'
Then she: 'This is that "last infirmity" which is able to allure minds which, though of noble quality, have not yet been moulded to any exquisite refinement by the perfecting of the virtues-I mean, the love of glory-and fame for high services rendered to the commonweal. And yet consider with me how poor and unsubstantial a thing this glory is! The whole of this earth's globe, as thou hast learnt from the demonstration of astronomy, compared with the expanse of heaven, is found no bigger than a point; that is to say, if measured by the vastness of heaven's sphere, it is held to occupy absolutely no space at all. Now, of this so insignificant portion of the universe, it is about a fourth part, as Ptolemy's proofs have taught us, which is inhabited by living creatures known to us. If from this fourth part you take away in thought all that is usurped by seas and marshes, or lies a vast waste of waterless desert, barely is an exceeding narrow area left for human habitation. You, then, who are shut in and prisoned in this merest fraction of a point's space, do ye take thought for the blazoning of your fame, for the spreading abroad of your renown? Why, what amplitude or magnificence has glory when confined to such narrow and petty limits?
'Besides, the straitened bounds of this scant dwelling-place are inhabited by many nations differing widely in speech, in usages, in mode of life; to many of these, from the difficulty of travel, from diversities of speech, from want of commercial intercourse, the fame not only of individual men, but even of cities, is unable to reach. Why, in Cicero's days, as he himself somewhere points out, the fame of the Roman Republic had not yet crossed the Caucasus, and yet by that time her name had grown formidable to the Parthians and other nations of those parts. Seest thou, then, how narrow, how confined, is the glory ye take pains to spread abroad and extend! Can the fame of a single Roman penetrate where the glory of the Roman name fails to pass? Moreover, the customs and institutions of different races agree not together, so that what is deemed praise worthy in one country is thought punishable in another. Wherefore, if any love the applause of fame, it shall not profit him to publish his name among many peoples. Then, each must be content to have the range of his glory limited to his own people; the splendid immortality of fame must be confined within the bounds of a single race.
'Once more, how many of high renown in their own times have been lost in oblivion for want of a record! Indeed, of what avail are written records even, which, with their authors, are overtaken by the dimness of age after a somewhat longer time? But ye, when ye think on future fame, fancy it an immortality that ye are begetting for yourselves. Why, if thou scannest the infinite spaces of eternity, what room hast thou left for rejoicing in the durability of thy name? Verily, if a single moment's space be compared with ten thousand years, it has a certain relative duration, however little, since each period is definite. But this same number of years-ay, and a number many times as great-cannot even be compared with endless duration; for, indeed, finite periods may in a sort be compared one with another, but a finite and an infinite never. So it comes to pass that fame, though it extend to ever so wide a space of years, if it be compared to never-lessening eternity, seems not short-lived merely, but altogether nothing. But as for you, ye know not how to act aright, unless it be to court the popular breeze, and win the empty applause of the multitude-nay, ye abandon the superlative worth of conscience and virtue, and ask a recompense from the poor words of others. Let me tell thee how wittily one did mock the shallowness of this sort of arrogance. A certain man assailed one who had put on the name of philosopher as a cloak to pride and vain-glory, not for the practice of real virtue, and added: "Now shall I know if thou art a philosopher if thou bearest reproaches calmly and patiently." The other for awhile affected to be patient, and, having endured to be abused, cried out derisively: "Now, do you see that I am a philosopher?" The other, with biting sarcasm, retorted: "I should have hadst thou held thy peace." Moreover, what concern have choice spirits-for it is of such men we speak, men who seek glory by virtue-what concern, I say, have these with fame after the dissolution of the body in death's last hour? For if men die wholly-which our reasonings forbid us to believe-there is no such thing as glory at all, since he to whom the glory is said to belong is altogether non-existent. But if the mind, conscious of its own rectitude, is released from its earthly prison, and seeks heaven in free flight, doth it not despise all earthly things when it rejoices in its deliverance from earthly bonds, and enters upon the joys of heaven?'
'But that thou mayst not think that I wage implacable warfare against Fortune, I own there is a time when the deceitful goddess serves men well-I mean when she reveals herself, uncovers her face, and confesses her true character. Perhaps thou dost not yet grasp my meaning. Strange is the thing I am trying to express, and for this cause I can scarce find words to make clear my thought. For truly I believe that Ill Fortune is of more use to men than Good Fortune. For Good Fortune, when she wears the guise of happiness, and most seems to caress, is always lying; Ill Fortune is always truthful, since, in changing, she shows her inconstancy. The one deceives, the other teaches; the one enchains the minds of those who enjoy her favour by the semblance of delusive good, the other delivers them by the knowledge of the frail nature of happiness. Accordingly, thou mayst see the one fickle, shifting as the breeze, and ever self-deceived; the other sober-minded, alert, and wary, by reason of the very discipline of adversity. Finally, Good Fortune, by her allurements, draws men far from the true good; Ill Fortune ofttimes draws men back to true good with grappling-irons. Again, should it be esteemed a trifling boon, thinkest thou, that this cruel, this odious Fortune hath discovered to thee the hearts of thy faithful friends-that other hid from thee alike the faces of the true friends and of the false, but in departing she hath taken away her friends, and left thee thine? What price wouldst thou not have given for this service in the fulness of thy prosperity when thou seemedst to thyself fortunate? Cease, then, to seek the wealth thou hast lost, since in true friends thou hast found the most precious of all riches.'

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Word Lists:

Indulge : allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of

Shroud : a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial

Servant : a person who performs duties for others, especially a person employed in a house on domestic duties or as a personal attendant.

Torture : the action or practice of inflicting severe pain or suffering on someone as a punishment or in order to force them to do or say something

Lure : tempt (a person or animal) to do something or to go somewhere, especially by offering some form of reward

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Additional Information:

Rating: C Words in the Passage: 6251 Unique Words: 1,677 Sentences: 267
Noun: 1454 Conjunction: 548 Adverb: 465 Interjection: 7
Adjective: 453 Pronoun: 752 Verb: 1026 Preposition: 789
Letter Count: 27,580 Sentiment: Positive / Positive / Positive Tone: Neutral (Slightly Conversational) Difficult Words: 1169
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