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Boethius, a Christian, was
an important Neoplatonist philosopher who helped craft the theology and philosophy
of the early medieval church. He was born in Rome around 470, the son of a
Roman consul and the heir to a powerful family line whose ranks included the
emperor Olybrius. Raised for public service, Boethius was educated in the imperial
city during its final days. He fulfilled his duties both as a consul and as
a senator, but his real love was philosophy. His life's goal was to complete
the translation of Aristotle's works into Latin, but he was not able to accomplish
it. Highly concerned with the split between the Arians and the Orthodox believers,
Boethius tried to resolve the dispute by resorting, in Aristotelian fashion,
to precise definitions of matter, mind, and spirit. Around 520, he was instrumental
in healing a schism that had developed between Constantinople and Rome, but
King Theodoric grew suspicious. An Arian himself, the king was not pleased
with the renewed friendship of the Orthodox clergy of East and West, and he
feared the claims of the Eastern emperor to his dominion. Shortly after Boethius
completed his mission, the king had him arrested. He was executed in 524.
During his detention Boethius wrote the work for which he is most remembered, De
consolatione philosophiae (The consolation of philosophy), which argues
that despite the seeming injustice of the world, there is, in Platonic fashion,
a higher realm, the summum bonum, or the "highest good," and
that all else is subordinate to that divine Providence. Boethius believed
that free will is not negated by God's omniscience and that virtue in this
life never goes unrewarded. Happiness, he contended, is to be found only
in the pursuit of wisdom and the love of God. De consolatione philosophiae influenced
later thinkers, especially during the Renaissance revival of Neoplatonic
thought.
Bibliography
Works by the Author
Boethius. Tractates Consolation. Translated by H. F. Stewart and
E. K. Rand. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1918.
Works about the Author
Durr, Karl. The Propositional Logic of Boethius. Amsterdam: North
Holland Publishing Co., 1951.
Source
The biographical material about the author originally appeared on The
Goodrich Room: Interactive Tour website.
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