Severin Boethius - it is customary to briefly call this famous Roman public figure, philosopher, musician and Christian theologian. In fact, documents that have come down to us contain a slightly different name. This is Annicius Manlius Torquat Severin. But the whole world knows this man as Boethius. “Consolation by philosophy” - his most significant work - will be the topic of our article today. We will talk about how it appeared, briefly describe the content and try to reveal the meanings. We will also talk about the significance of this amazing book for our days.
Early biography of a philosopher
Severin Boethius was born around 480 AD. His mother was an aristocrat and came from a patrician clan Anitsiev. The father of the future philosopher, as most historians believe, held important government posts. He was a Roman consul, prefect and praetorian. Perhaps his father’s family was Greek. The fact is that it was he who wore and gave his son the nickname Boethius. And this word in Greek means "intercessor." But the boy became an orphan very early. When his father died, he was seven years old. Boethius raised in his own family one of the most learned and influential Romans - consul and senator Quint Aurelius Memmius Symmachus. In the same house, the boy received an excellent primary education. By the way, historians still argue about where he studied further. Some claim that he went to Athens or Alexandria to listen to famous Neoplatonist philosophers. Others argue that he could have been educated without leaving Rome. One way or another, at the age of 30, Boethius was a married man (his wife was Rusticiana, the daughter of his benefactor Symmachus), had two children and was known as one of the most erudite people of his time.
Rise and fall
The philosopher lived in difficult times. He saw the collapse of the Roman Empire, which was a blow to many people - both the elite and the people. The state in which he lived fell apart. Rome was captured by the Ostrogothic king Theodorich. However, he did not change the system of government in Italy. Therefore, at first, the educated Romans continued to occupy high posts. Boethius became consul, and after 510 he became the first minister of the kingdom. But, as was often the case in the so-called barbarian states, it was not law and order that ruled, but intrigues and personal accounts. Like any intelligent person, Boethius had many enemies. In 523 or 523, the philosopher was accused of high treason. He was imprisoned, where he spent a year or two. It was there that Boethius wrote “Consolation by Philosophy”. A trial was held in absentia, where he was convicted of a conspiracy against the king, an attempt to overthrow power, sacrilege, magic and other deadly sins, and then executed. Neither the place nor the exact date of death of the philosopher is unknown. Its symbolic tombstone is located in the city of Pavia (Italy), in one of the local churches.
Creation
The author of Consolation by Philosophy and other treatises, Boethius was the author of these textbooks in all subjects, which were subsequently studied in medieval schools. He wrote treatises on mathematics and music, outlined the teachings of Pythagoras and his followers. From an early youth, the philosopher worked to popularize among the inhabitants of the Roman Empire the works of famous Greek thinkers. He translated into Latin the work of Aristotle in the field of logic, as well as the books of the neoplatonist Porfiry. Moreover, the scientist did not just verbally set out the texts, but simplified and shortened them, supplying his own comments. As a result, it was his books that were used in higher schools and monasteries of the early Middle Ages as teaching aids. And he himself wrote several works on logic. In addition, Boethius is also known as a Christian theologian. First of all, his works on the interpretation of the Trinity and its Persons are known, as well as a review of the catechism of the Catholic faith. Polemic works have also been preserved, in particular, directed against Eutyches and Nestorius.
The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius: A History of Writing
The thinker often opposed abuses of power. It did not end well for him. Thus, he condemned the activities of Faustus Nigra, whose unsuccessful economic policy led to famine in the province of Campania. One of Boethius's enemies was the private secretary of Theodoric the Great, who had a great influence on the king - Cyprian. He showed the ruler the letters of the philosopher sent to the emperor of Byzantium. In addition, at this time, religious conflicts began between the two countries. The Byzantine emperor Justin began to crack down on the Arians. Namely, the Ostrogoths belonged to this branch of Christianity. They began to feel threatened by the Byzantine Empire. In addition, for unknown reasons, the closest relatives of the king began to die. The frightened ruler ordered everyone to be arrested on the slightest suspicion. And while the thinker imprisoned on false charges was awaiting trial and predetermined execution, he created a work that became one of the most popular works of the Middle Ages.
Content and Form
The analysis of “Consolation by Philosophy” by Boethius first of all leads us to the idea that the author is trying to solve one of the most pressing problems of Christian theology of his time. Is it possible to combine God's providence with free will, and how exactly? The philosopher confronts two seemingly contradictory concepts. If God knows everything that will be and anticipates any of our actions, how can we then speak of free will? But this is one side of the problem. If we adhere to the postulate that man himself chooses between good and evil and determines his future, then how can we talk about the omniscience of God, especially in the future? Boethius solves this problem in such a way that it is only a visible contradiction. Even knowing our future actions, God is not their immediate cause. Therefore, a person should do good himself, be virtuous, not commit evil deeds, but with the mind strive for truth. The philosopher wrote this work not only in prose, but alternated with reflection in good verses. The form of his work was easily accessible not only to scientists, but to any literate person.
Philosophical Dialogues
Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy in the form of conversation. The interlocutors are he himself and personified thinking, that is, actually Philosophy. It is interesting that the author, despite the fact that theological research is the main theme of his work, does not at all present a set of Christian clichés to the reader. No, he is talking about how a person can be comforted in such a terrible situation by love of wisdom, and even with bitter irony he recalls that bigots reproached him for practicing philosophy in spite of prayers. The point is not that Boethius is an anti-clerical, but that he was, above all, an educated Roman. Therefore, in his reasoning, he devotes much space to the fact that the true greatness of the spirit is revealed in misfortune. And as an example, the philosopher cites the biographies of the great Roman citizens. He equals them in his grief.
Direction of thought
The time has come to give a summary of the chapters of “Consolation by Philosophy” by Boethius. In the beginning, the author sets out the sorrows that befell him, thus facilitating the soul. He very simply and truthfully talks about what happened to him personally. Thus, the first two chapters are written in the form of confession. But at the same time, the philosopher characterizes the Ostrogothic rule in Italy, lamenting that there is no more empire, and it has been replaced by “half-hearted” dominion - either barbarians or Romans. Then he goes on to comprehend the nature of man and what can bring peace to his soul in the most unpleasant circumstances. The philosopher comes to the conclusion that everything earthly is transient, and the benefits and values have different meanings. When everything is bad, you involuntarily begin to understand that the most important thing is those jewelry that cannot even be taken away in prison. This is love for the spouse, the nobility and honor of the family and name. The thinker sets out all this so simply and frankly, without any pathos and artificiality, that it immediately arouses trust.
Being and good
Further, the writing style changes, and further chapters are set out in the style of Platonic dialogues. The philosopher goes on to speculate on what is the purpose of human life. He wonders what is the highest, true good for people, and how to distinguish it from shadows and fakes. And to the aid of the thinker comes Plato and his followers. External blessings and sensual peace are only ghosts. They flow like sand through your fingers. But the truth and the invisible kingdom of the spirit - this is the true homeland of man. But it is inaccessible to tyrants and evil people. And, therefore, a real person can be happy in prison. A cruel one is always offended by fate, even if he is a ruler. Thus, the reward for virtue lies in herself, and the punishment for evil is also in him. So, strictly speaking, God's providence works.
Last chapters
At the end of his work, Boethius pays a lot of attention to philosophy and poetry, as well as to the main issue of the book - the relationship between free will and divine predestination. The author reproaches muses for moaning and suffering with him, only undermining his courage. Therefore, in poetry, he does not find comfort. But the goddess of Philosophy is another matter. Talking with her, you can escape from your own suffering and talk about the fate of the world and fortune. The goddess helps Boethius to know God's providence and understand the mind that governs the universe. This gives him the strength to meet the execution courageously and even with joy. The narrative itself goes on as if in two planes - philosophical-theoretical and psychological, when a suffering prisoner, gradually abandoning earthly passions and preparing for another being, rises above the problems and sorrows of our world, opening to meet fate.
Posthumous glory
After the execution, Boethius Theodoric was scared. He ordered to hide the body of the philosopher and his father-in-law Symmachus, who was executed on the same charges, so that he would not be accused of tyranny. After the death of the king, his daughter Amalasunta, who ruled on behalf of her minor son, admitted that Theodoric was wrong. She returned to the widow of Boethius and his children all privileges and confiscated property. Although the widow did not forgive the Ostrogothic dynasty of her husband’s death. The popularity of Boethius' Consolation by Philosophy, a work written shortly before execution, was simply amazing in the Middle Ages. After all, at all times tyrants appeared, ready to betray a person by slander. And always at the service of such unfortunate were his hopeful Christian ideas in an open heaven. The thinker is not forgotten in our time either. In honor of the philosopher, two craters were named - one on Mercury, and the second on the Moon.
Catch phrases
The quotes from Boethius's Consolation by Philosophy were so widespread that during the Renaissance the author became the favorite of Petrarch and Boccaccio. Particularly beloved were the arguments of the “last Roman” about Fortune, and also about why mortals tend to external signs of happiness when all this is inside them. After all, if a person knows himself, he will find great value. And no Fortune can take her with her. Boethius also made popular the psychological characteristics of an unhappy person. Indeed, in his opinion, the expectation of death, for example, is more cruel than it is, since it depresses the soul more, being a real torture.
Value in culture
We can say that the translations, the method of presentation and citation, as well as the scientific apparatus used by Boethius, made him the real father of scholasticism. And the “Consolation by Philosophy, ” which we summarized above, greatly influenced the later literature of Western Europe. Poems from this work began to shift and sing to music in the 9-11 centuries. And the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great, who fell into almost the same life circumstances as Boethius, wrote in the tenth century his own revision of his work, which made him even more popular. After that, the book became almost popular and had a lot of readers in the native philosopher of Italy, as well as in Germany.
