The Consolation of Philosophy Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius Anthony Uyl Books
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A book that has been read and studied thoroughly, the Consolation of Philosophy takes a discussion form between the author and “The Lady.” Topics include God and the world, the problem of evil, the true nature of happiness and most importantly, the ideas of loving God and developing virtue.
The Consolation of Philosophy Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius Anthony Uyl Books
Boethius wrote this while in jail waiting for his execution around 524 - 525 AD. I had never read anything by the man, but this text, short as it is, became one of the cornerstones of medieval thought and influenced countless other authors and thinkers.Boethius wrote it to console himself. In his darkest hour he turned to two things, God and his training in philosophy to give himself hope, to sort through his doubts and concerns. His imaginary conversation with Lady Philosophy shows his education from Athens, his reaching out to God for his final and ultimate source of strength is driven from his belief in the miracle in Jerusalem.
This isn't argument for the existence of God, Boethius assumes outright that God exists, this is a book from a man on the ropes, his life in tatters, with no help coming and his death assured. This is the cry of a man seeking hope from the sources that had supported him his adult life. This is from a man that was staring fate square in the eye and refused to do anything except meet it on his own terms. Boethius ends the Roman era with aplomb while planting the seeds of Medieval Scholasticism.
The book is easy to read, his arguments clear and straight to the point. He treats the existence of God like the existence of philosophy, both are beyond dispute.
But what struck me the most was how timeless his worries and concerns were and how Lady Philosophy's answers are just applicable now; Boethius is relevant today as much as he was when King Alfred the Great set about laying the foundation to recover his civilization.
I have no way of proving this idea, but there was a passage that struck me as being the inspiration for one of the well know quotes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Read this from Boethius: "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."
And here's Hamlet Act II, Scene ii: "Why, then, 'tis none to you; for there is nothing
either good or bad, but thinking makes it so: to me
it is a prison."
Too much of a match to be mere coincidence.
The book's impact cannot be measured. Boethius himself cast a long shadow against the centuries, his translations and commentaries of classic Greek philosophical texts were used by the educated Christian world during the Medieval Scholastic period and beyond.
The Consolation is a fusion of Christian and Classical Greek and Roman thought that quite literally changed the world.
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The Consolation of Philosophy Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius Anthony Uyl Books Reviews
Boethius was a seminal thinker, whose ideas ate mostly familiar to students of the classics and /or theology. But all Christians should be familiar with this book. It is clear and persuasive, expanding understanding of how God relates to His creation, and how we can reconcile free will and God's foreknowledge of our actions. In C. S. Lewis' "Screwtape Letters" the senior demon refers to Boethius as a "meddler," informing humans too much about God's nature. A good recommendation , I would say. This book is charming and clear, a good read in all senses.
... 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...."
This is H. R. James translation first published in 1897. As a younger man, I disdained any version which turned Boethius's unrhymed Latin meters into rhymed English- how could such versions be literal? Mellowed out in middle age, and still unable to read the original, I appreciate James's renditions and imagine them as faithful in their way as any before or since
SONG I. The Thorns of Error.
Who fain would sow the fallow field,
And see the growing corn,
Must first remove the useless weeds,
The bramble and the thorn.
After ill savour, honey's taste
Is to the mouth more sweet;
After the storm, the twinkling stars
The eyes more cheerly greet.
When night hath past, the bright dawn comes
In car of rosy hue;
So drive the false bliss from thy mind,
And thou shall see the true.
It is a very edifying work- very worthwhile reading when one is in a serious mood. It is more of a distillation or recapitulation of ancient philosophy (from Plato to Seneca) than bold new thought- Augustine is better in that respect.
... 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, something which struck me forcibly when I read it a year ago
... But let us consider a few instances whereby appears what is the competency of human reason to fathom the Divine unsearchableness. Here is one whom thou deemest the perfection of justice and scrupulous integrity; to all-knowing Providence it seems far otherwise. We all know our Lucan's admonition that it was the winning cause that found favour with the gods, the beaten cause with Cato. So, shouldst thou see anything in this world happening differently from thy expectation, doubt not but events are rightly ordered; it is in thy judgment that there is perverse confusion.
An underappreciated work very much in need at this time. In short, a discussion about what being self cognizant and sufficient allows in comparison to what depending upon fleeting experiences and "things" allows. A comparative evaluation about true happiness versus that which is simply pleasurable. This work was written as Boethius was awaiting his death and as he contemplates the purpose of leading a good life. Incredibly insightful.
Boethius wrote this while in jail waiting for his execution around 524 - 525 AD. I had never read anything by the man, but this text, short as it is, became one of the cornerstones of medieval thought and influenced countless other authors and thinkers.
Boethius wrote it to console himself. In his darkest hour he turned to two things, God and his training in philosophy to give himself hope, to sort through his doubts and concerns. His imaginary conversation with Lady Philosophy shows his education from Athens, his reaching out to God for his final and ultimate source of strength is driven from his belief in the miracle in Jerusalem.
This isn't argument for the existence of God, Boethius assumes outright that God exists, this is a book from a man on the ropes, his life in tatters, with no help coming and his death assured. This is the cry of a man seeking hope from the sources that had supported him his adult life. This is from a man that was staring fate square in the eye and refused to do anything except meet it on his own terms. Boethius ends the Roman era with aplomb while planting the seeds of Medieval Scholasticism.
The book is easy to read, his arguments clear and straight to the point. He treats the existence of God like the existence of philosophy, both are beyond dispute.
But what struck me the most was how timeless his worries and concerns were and how Lady Philosophy's answers are just applicable now; Boethius is relevant today as much as he was when King Alfred the Great set about laying the foundation to recover his civilization.
I have no way of proving this idea, but there was a passage that struck me as being the inspiration for one of the well know quotes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Read this from Boethius "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."
And here's Hamlet Act II, Scene ii "Why, then, 'tis none to you; for there is nothing
either good or bad, but thinking makes it so to me
it is a prison."
Too much of a match to be mere coincidence.
The book's impact cannot be measured. Boethius himself cast a long shadow against the centuries, his translations and commentaries of classic Greek philosophical texts were used by the educated Christian world during the Medieval Scholastic period and beyond.
The Consolation is a fusion of Christian and Classical Greek and Roman thought that quite literally changed the world.
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