Boethius

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, commonly called Boethius (English: /boʊˈiːθiəs/; also Boetius /boʊˈiːʃəs/; c. 480–524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, magister officiorum, and philosopher of the early 6th century. He was born four years after Odoacer deposed the last Roman Emperor and declared himself King of Italy, and entered public service under Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great, who later imprisoned and executed him in 524 on charges of conspiracy to overthrow him. While jailed, Boethius composed his Consolation of Philosophy, a philosophical treatise on fortune, death, and other issues, which became one of the most popular and influential works of the Middle Ages.

Biography

Early life and rise to power

Boethius was born in Rome to a patrician family around 480 AD, but his exact birth date is unknown. His family, the Anicii, included emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius and many consuls. His father, Manlius Boethius, who was appointed consul in 487, died while Boethius was young. Another patrician, Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, adopted and raised Boethius, instilling in him a love for literature and philosophy. Both Memmius Symmachus and Boethius were fluent in Greek, an increasingly rare skill at the time in the Western Empire; for this reason, some scholars believe that Boethius was educated in the East. According to John Moorhead, the traditional view is that Boethius studied in Athens based on Cassiodorus's rhetoric describing Boethius' learning in one of his letters, but this appears to be a misreading and his studying in Athens is more likely a legend. The French scholar Pierre Courcelle has argued that Boethius studied at Alexandria with the Neo-Platonist philosopher Ammonius Hermiae. However, Moorhead observes that the evidence supporting Boethius having studied in Alexandria "is not as strong as it may appear", and adds that Boethius may have been able to acquire his formidable learning without travelling.

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Boethius (disambiguation)

Boethius was a Roman philosopher of the early 6th century.

Boethius or Boëthius may also refer to:

  • Boethius (consul 522), son of the Roman philosopher, consul in 522
  • Boetius of Dacia, medieval Danish or Swedish philosopher
  • Hector Boece (or Boethius, or Boyce) (1465–1536) Scottish philosopher and historian
  • Boëthius (family), for members of the Swedish family
  • Boethius (lunar crater), located on the east edge of Mare Undarum near the eastern lunar limb
  • Boethius (Mercurian crater), located on Mercury
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    This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Boethius_(disambiguation)

    Boëthius (family)

    Boëthius is a Swedish clerical family descended from Herr Anders, the first Protestant vicar of Sidensjö in Ångermanland (early 16th century). His grandson Boëtius Olai Moræus (died 1628) took his surname from Mora, where he served as vicar. His given name Boëtius was a latinization of the Swedish name Bo and was assumed as a surname by his grandson Jacob Boëthius (1647-1718) who was vicar of Mora and spent ten years in prison as a political dissident. Later notable members of this family include the following:

  • Daniel Boëthius (1751-1810), enlightenment philosopher
  • Jacob Edvard Boëthius (1789-1849), jurist
  • Simon Boëthius (1850-1924), historian, political scientist and politician
  • Bertil Boëthius (1885-1974), historian, head of the Swedish National Archives 1944-1950
  • Axel Boëthius (1889-1969), classical archaeologist
  • Gerda Boëthius (1890-1961), art historian
  • Maria-Pia Boëthius (b. 1947), feminist writer and journalist

    • References

  • Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, vol. 5 (1925), p. 117f.
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    This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Boëthius_(family)

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    Famous quotes by Boethius:

    "Music is part of us, and either ennobles or degrades our behavior"
    "Nothing is miserable unless you think it is so"
    "For in all adversity of fortune the worst sort of misery is to have been happy."
    "In other living creatures the ignorance of themselves is nature, but in men it is a vice."
    "If there is a God, whence proceed so many evils? If there is no God, whence cometh any good?"
    "A man content to go to heaven alone will never go to heaven"
    "Who would give a law to lovers? Love is unto itself a higher law."
    "For in every ill-turn of fortune the most unhappy sort of unfortunate man is the one who has been happy"
    "A man content to go to heaven alone will never go to heaven."
    "Nothing is miserable unless you think it is so."
    "Music is part of us, and either ennobles or degrades our behavior."
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    Time To Act

    by: Pathos

    Thinking about what to do
    Thinking about what to say
    Silence is killing our weak and repulsive youth
    Can't you see what I mean?
    Self-deception holds you down
    Crush the illusions and make your demand
    Time to act and time to be
    Nothing will come out of nothing my friend.
    Afraid of the struggle and the pain
    Seems easier to sit down and wait
    Ignorance is killing our weak and repulsive youth
    Can't you see what I mean?
    There is no time to waste
    You got to keep the faith
    Stand up, grow up.
    What will you do when the end is near?
    Sneer at the people who opened your eyes?
    Ignorance is killing our weak and repulsive race
    Can't you hear what I say?
    Something is holding you down
    What can it be? Can't you see?
    Dishonesty is killing our wild and rejecting youth




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