Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (;
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman
senator,
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
, ''
magister officiorum
The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early cent ...
'',
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
, and
philosopher of the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
. He was a central figure in the translation of the
Greek classics into Latin, a precursor to the
Scholastic movement, and, along with
Cassiodorus
Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' ...
, one of the two leading Christian scholars of the 6th century. The local cult of Boethius in the
Diocese of Pavia was sanctioned by the
Sacred Congregation of Rites
The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by '' Immensa Aeterni Dei''; it had its functions reassigned by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 1969.
The Congregation was charged with the ...
in 1883, confirming the diocese's custom of honouring him on the 23 October.
Boethius was born in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
a few years after the collapse of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...
. 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
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
. After mastering both Latin and Greek in his youth, Boethius rose to prominence as a statesman during the
Ostrogothic Kingdom
The Ostrogothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of Italy (), existed under the control of the Germanic Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas from 493 to 553.
In Italy, the Ostrogoths led by Theodoric the Great killed and replaced Odoacer, ...
: becoming a senator by age 25, a consul by age 33, and later chosen as a personal advisor to
Theodoric the Great
Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy ...
.
In seeking to reconcile the teachings of
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
and
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
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
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
, among others, and wrote extensively on matters concerning
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
,
mathematics, and
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
. Though his translations were unfinished following an untimely death, it is largely due to them that the works of Aristotle survived into the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
.
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 and suffering from
depression, Boethius wrote ''
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
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts carr ...
and
executed
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
in 524, becoming a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
in the Christian faith by tradition.
Early life and education
Boethius was born in Rome to a
patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
family around 480, but the exact date of his birth is unknown. His
birth family, the
Anicii, was a notably wealthy and influential ''gens'' that included emperors
Petronius Maximus
Petronius Maximus ( 39731 May 455) was Roman emperor of the West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman ''magister militum'', Aëtius, and the W ...
and
Olybrius
Anicius Olybrius (died 2 November 472) was Roman emperor from July 472 until his death later that same year; his rule as ''Augustus'' in the western Roman Empire was not recognised as legitimate by the ruling ''Augustus'' in the eastern Roman ...
, in addition to many
consuls. 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
Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 454) was a Roman general and statesman of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433454). He managed pol ...
. Boethius' father,
Manlius Boethius, who was appointed
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
in 487, died while Boethius was still young.
Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, another patrician, adopted and raised him instead, introducing to him philosophy and literature. 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.
Having been adopted into the wealthy
Symmachi family, Boethius had access to tutors that would have educated him during his youth. Though Symmachus had some fluency in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, 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
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
and
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
, with some of the translations that he produced being the only surviving transcriptions of Greek texts into the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. The unusual fluency of Boethius in the Greek language has led some scholars to believe that he was educated in the
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
; a traditional view, first proposed by
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is ...
, is that Boethius studied in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
for eighteen years based on the letters of
Cassiodorus
Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' ...
, though this was likely to have been a misreading by past historians.
Historian
Pierre Courcelle has argued that Boethius studied at
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
with the
Neoplatonist
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some id ...
philosopher
Ammonius Hermiae
Ammonius Hermiae (; grc-gre, Ἀμμώνιος ὁ Ἑρμείου, Ammōnios ho Hermeiou, Ammonius, son of Hermias; – between 517 and 526) was a Greek philosopher from Alexandria in the eastern Roman empire during Late Antiquity. A Neoplatonis ...
. 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. 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.
Rise to power
Taking inspiration from Plato's
''Republic'', Boethius left his scholarly pursuits to enter the service of
Theodoric the Great
Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy ...
. The two had first met in the year 500 when Theodoric traveled to Rome to stay for six months. 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. 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.
Boethius writes in the ''
Consolation
Consolation, consolement, and solace are terms referring to psychological comfort given to someone who has suffered severe, upsetting loss, such as the death of a loved one. It is typically provided by expressing shared regret for that loss an ...
'' 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
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
. 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. In the same year as the appointment of his sons, Boethius was elevated to the position of ''
magister officiorum
The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early cent ...
'', becoming the head of all government and palace affairs. Recalling the event, he wrote that he was sitting "between the two consuls as if it were a military triumph,
etting my
Etting (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Ettinge'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France.
The village belongs to the Pays de Bitche.
See also
* Communes of the Moselle department
The ...
largesse fulfill the wildest expectations of the people packed in their seats around
e"
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. These actions made Boethius an increasingly unpopular figure among court officials, though he remained in Theodoric's favor.
Fall and death
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. Five hundred years later, this continuing disagreement led to the
East–West Schism in 1054, in which communion between the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
was broken.
In 523, Boethius fell from power. After a period of imprisonment in
Pavia
Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...
for what was deemed a treasonable offence, he was executed in 524. 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."
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
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gen ...
, on the grounds that he and Boethius together were planning a revolution, and confiscated their property. "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." 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
Venantius Opilio (''floruit'' 500–534) was a Roman politician during the reign of Theodoric the Great. Although he was Roman consul, consul as the junior colleague of emperor Justin I in 524, Opilio is best known as one of the three men who Boet ...
and
Gaudentius had been exiled for fraud. However, other sources depict these men in a far more positive light. For example,
Cassiodorus
Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' ...
describes Cyprianus and Opilio as "utterly scrupulous, just and loyal" and mentions they are brothers and grandsons of the consul Opilio.
Theodoric was feeling threatened by international events. The
Acacian schism
The Acacian schism, between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches, lasted 35 years, from 484 to 519 AD. It resulted from a drift in the leaders of Eastern Christianity toward Miaphysitism and Emperor Zeno's unsuccessful attempt to reconcile ...
had been resolved, and the
Nicene Christian aristocrats of his kingdom were seeking to renew their ties with Constantinople. The Catholic
Hilderic
Hilderic (460s – 533) was the penultimate king of the Vandals and Alans in North Africa in Late Antiquity (523–530). Although dead by the time the Vandal Kingdom was overthrown in 534, he nevertheless played a key role in that event.
Biog ...
had become king of the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...
and had put Theodoric's sister
Amalafrida Amalafrida (fl. 523), was the daughter of Theodemir, king of the Ostrogoths, and his wife Erelieva. She was the sister of Theodoric the Great, and mother of Theodahad, both of whom also were kings of the Ostrogoths.
In 500, Theodoric, ruler over ...
to death, and
Arians
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...
in the East were being persecuted. Then there was the matter that with his previous ties to
Theodahad
Theodahad, also known as Thiudahad ( la, Flavius Theodahatus , Theodahadus, Theodatus; 480 – December 536) was king of the Ostrogoths from 534 to 536.
Early life
Born at in Tauresium, Theodahad was a nephew of Theodoric the Great throu ...
, Boethius apparently found himself on the wrong side in the succession dispute following the untimely death of
Eutharic, Theodoric's announced heir.
The method of Boethius' execution varies in the sources. He may have been
behead
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...
ed, clubbed to death, or hanged. 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. Following an agonizing death, his remains were entombed in the church of
San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro
San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro ( Italian for "Saint Peter in Golden Sky") is a Catholic basilica (and a former cathedral) of the Augustinians in Pavia, Italy, in the Lombardy region. Its name refers to the mosaics of gold leaf behind glass tesserae tha ...
in Pavia, also the resting place of
Augustine of Hippo. His wealth was also confiscated, and his wife, Rusticiana, reduced to poverty.
Past historians have had a hard time accepting a sincere Christian who was also a serious Hellenist. These worries have largely stemmed by the lack of any mention of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
in Boethius' ''Consolation'', nor of any other Christian figure.
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, with
Arthur Herman writing that Boethius was "unshakably Orthodox Catholic," and
Thomas Hodgkin
Thomas Hodgkin RMS (17 August 1798 – 5 April 1866) was a British physician, considered one of the most prominent pathologists of his time and a pioneer in preventive medicine. He is now best known for the first account of Hodgkin's disease, ...
having asserted that uncovered manuscripts "prove beyond a doubt that Boethius was a Christian." Furthermore, the community that he was a part of valued equally both classical and Christian culture.
Major works
''De consolatione philosophiae''
Boethius's best known work is the ''
Consolation of Philosophy
''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' ('' la, De consolatione philosophiae'')'','' often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation,'' is a philosophical work by the Roman statesman Boethius. Written in 523 while he ...
'' (''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
Plato's influence on Western culture was so profound that several different concepts are linked by being called Platonic or Platonist, for accepting some assumptions of Platonism, but which do not imply acceptance of that philosophy as a whole. It ...
fashion, a higher power and everything else is secondary to that divine Providence.
Several manuscripts survived and these were widely edited, translated and printed throughout the late 15th century and later in Europe. 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
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
and
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
from the original
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
into
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
.
''De topicis differentiis''
His completed translations of Aristotle's works on
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...
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.
Unfortunately, the commentaries themselves have been lost. 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
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
's ''Topica''. 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
ngour judgment concerning the governing of life", 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.
He asserts that there are three types of arguments: those of necessity, of ready believability, and sophistry. 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. 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.
BookII covers two kinds of topics: those from related things and those from extrinsic topics. BookIII discusses the relationship among things studied through Topics, Topics themselves, and the nature of definition. BookIV analyzes partition, designation and relationships between things (such as pairing, numbering, genus, and species, etc.). After a review of his terms, Boethius spends BookV discussing
Stoic logic
Stoic logic is the system of propositional logic developed by the Stoic philosophers in ancient Greece.
It was one of the two great systems of logic in the classical world. It was largely built and shaped by Chrysippus, the third head of the Stoi ...
and Aristotelian causation. BookVI relates the nature of the Topic to causes.
''In Topicis Differentiis'' has four books; BookI 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." 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. These distinctions, and others, are applicable to both types of Topical argument, rhetorical and dialectical. BooksII and III are primarily focused on Topics of dialectic (syllogisms), while BookIV 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."
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."
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 "
like 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. Maximal propositions are "propositions
hat areknown per se, and no proof can be found for these."
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."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." 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
aximalpropositions are more universal than those propositions, just as rationality is more universal than man." 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.
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." 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 "
ere are two kinds of questions. One is that called, 'thesis' by the
reekdialecticians. 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?'
r'Should one marry?'." Dialectic has "dialectical topics" as well as "dialectical-rhetorical topics", all of which are still discussed in ''De Topicis Differentiis''. Dialectic, especially in BookI, 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.
''De arithmetica''
Boethius chose to pass on the great Greco-Roman culture to future generations by writing manuals on music, astronomy, geometry and arithmetic.
Several of Boethius' writings, which were hugely influential during the Middle Ages, drew on the thinking of
Porphyry and
Iamblichus. Boethius wrote a commentary on the ''
Isagoge
The ''Isagoge'' ( el, Εἰσαγωγή, ''Eisagōgḗ''; ) or "Introduction" to Aristotle's "Categories", written by Porphyry in Greek and translated into Latin by Boethius, was the standard textbook on logic for at least a millennium after his ...
'' by
Porphyry, which highlighted the existence of the
problem of universals
The problem of universals is an ancient question from metaphysics that has inspired a range of philosophical topics and disputes: Should the properties an object has in common with other objects, such as color and shape, be considered to exist be ...
: 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
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exi ...
nature of universal ideas was one of the most vocal controversies in
medieval philosophy
Medieval philosophy is the philosophy that existed through the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century until after the Renaissance in the 13th and 14th centuries. Medieval philosophy, ...
.
Besides these advanced philosophical works, Boethius is also reported to have translated important Greek texts on the topics of the
quadrivium 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. ''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. His translations of
Euclid
Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ...
on geometry and
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
on astronomy, if they were completed, no longer survive. Boethius made Latin translations of Aristotle's ''De interpretatione'' and ''Categories'' with commentaries. 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.
''De institutione musica''
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
Music was almost universally present in ancient Greek society, from marriages, funerals, and religious ceremonies to theatre, folk music, and the ballad-like reciting of epic poetry. It thus played an integral role in the lives of ancient Greek ...
. 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.
In ''me Musica'', Boethius introduced the threefold classification of music:
* ''Musica mundana'' –
music of the spheres
The ''musica universalis'' (literally universal music), also called music of the spheres or harmony of the spheres, is a philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies – the Sun, Moon, and planets – as a fo ...
/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
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 doesn't use the term 'instrumentalis', which was used by Adalbold II of Utrecht (9751026) in his ''Epistola cum tractatu''. The term is much more common in the 13th century and later. 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"), 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."
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. The historian
R. W. Southern called Boethius "the schoolmaster of medieval Europe."
An 1872 German translation of "De Musica" was the magnum opus of
Oscar Paul.
''Opuscula sacra''
Boethius also wrote Christian theological treatises, which supported
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and condemned
Arianism and other
heterodox
In religion, heterodoxy (from Ancient Greek: , "other, another, different" + , "popular belief") means "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". Under this definition, heterodoxy is similar to unorthodoxy, w ...
forms of Christianity.
Five theological works are known:
* ''De Trinitate'' – "The Trinity", where he defends the
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bi ...
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.
* ''Quomodo substantiae'', Boethius' claim that all substances are good.
* ''De fide catholica'' – "On the Catholic Faith"
* ''Contra Eutychen et Nestorium'' – "Against Eutyches and Nestorius," from around 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 the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
in philosophical thought, including the fields of
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...
,
ontology
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exi ...
, and
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
.
Dates of works
Dates of composition:
; Mathematical works
* ''De arithmetica'' (On Arithmetic, c. 500) adapted translation of the ''Introductionis 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
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
's ''Harmonica''.
* Possibly a treatise on geometry, extant only in fragments.
; Logical Works
; A) Translations
* ''
Porphyry's ''
Isagoge
The ''Isagoge'' ( el, Εἰσαγωγή, ''Eisagōgḗ''; ) or "Introduction" to Aristotle's "Categories", written by Porphyry in Greek and translated into Latin by Boethius, was the standard textbook on logic for at least a millennium after his ...
''
* ''In Categorias Aristotelis'':
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
's ''
Categories
Category, plural categories, may refer to:
Philosophy and general uses
*Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally
*Category of being
* ''Categories'' (Aristotle)
*Category (Kant)
* Categories (Peirce)
* ...
''
* ''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''
lso 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
Eutyches ( grc, Εὐτυχής; c. 380c. 456) or Eutyches of Constantinople[Nestorius
Nestorius (; in grc, Νεστόριος; 386 – 451) was the Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to August 431. A Christian theologian, several of his teachings in the fields of Christology and Mariology were seen as contr ...]
)
* ''De consolatione Philosophiae'' (524–525).
Legacy
Edward Kennard Rand dubbed Boethius as the "last of the Roman philosophers and the first of the scholastic theologians". Despite the use of his mathematical texts in the early universities, it is his final work, the ''
Consolation of Philosophy
''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' ('' la, De consolatione philosophiae'')'','' often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation,'' is a philosophical work by the Roman statesman Boethius. Written in 523 while he ...
'', that assured his legacy in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
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, the ''Consolation'' teaches acceptance of hardship in a spirit of philosophical detachment from misfortune".
Parts of the work are reminiscent of the
Socratic method
The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate) is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw ou ...
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
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
by
King Alfred
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who ...
and later into English language, English by Geoffrey Chaucer, Chaucer and Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth. Many manuscripts survive and it was extensively edited, translated and printed throughout Europe from the 14th century onwards.
"The Boethian Wheel" is a model for Boethius' belief that history is a wheel, 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.
''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 (translator), John of Antioch in 1282.
Veneration
Boethius was regarded as a Christian martyr by those who lived in succeding centuries after his death. Currently, he is recognized as a saint and martyr for the Catholic faith. He is included within the Roman Martyrology, though to Watkins "his status as martyr is dubious". 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. In the current Martyrologium Romanum, his feast is still restricted to that diocese. Pope Benedict XVI explained the relevance of Boethius to modern day Christians by linking his teachings to an understanding of Providence. He is also venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
In popular culture
In Dante Alighieri, Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', the spirit of Boethius is pointed out by Thomas Aquinas, 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.
C.S. Lewis references Boethius in chapter 27 of the Screwtape Letters.
Boethius also appears in the 2002 film ''24 Hour Party People'' where he is played by Christopher Eccleston.
In 1976, a Boethius (lunar crater), 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
* ''De Fide Catolica''
* ''The Consolations of Philosophy'' The Consolations of Philosophy, (by Alain de Botton)
* On the Consolation of Philosophy, ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' (by Boethius)
* Prison literature
Notes
References
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External links
Works
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''De Trinitate'' (On the Holy Trinity)– Boethius, Erik Kenyon (trans.)
*
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
A 10th-century manuscript of ''Institutio Arithmetica'' is available online from Lund University, SwedenThe Geoffrey Freudlin 1885 edition of the Arithmetica, from the Cornell Library Historical Mathematics MonographsOnline Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries
Codices Boethiani: A Conspectus of Manuscripts of the Work of BoethiusWorks by Boethius at Perseus Digital Library* [http://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0028/html/ms_484_015.html MS 484/15 Commentum super libro Porphyrii Isagoge; De decim predicamentis at OPenn]
On Boethius' life and works
Blessed Severinus Boethiusat Patron Saints Index
* Stephen J. Blackwood, Blackwood, Stephen.]
''The Meters of Boethius: Rhythmic Therapy in the Consolation of Philosophy.''*
*
* Phillips, Philip Edward
Boethiusat ''The Online Library of Liberty''
– Pope Benedict XVI
On Boethius' logic and philosophy
*
The Philosophical Works of Boethius. Editions and Translations
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