Boethius

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius,[6][note 1] commonly

Saint
known as Boethius (/boʊˈiːθiəs/; Latin: Boetius; c. 480–524 AD),
was a Roman senator, consul, magister officiorum, historian, and Boethius
philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in
the translation of the Greek classics into Latin, a precursor to the
Scholastic movement, and, along with Cassiodorus, one of the two
leading Christian scholars of the 6th century.[9] The local cult of
Boethius in the Diocese of Pavia was sanctioned by the Sacred
Congregation of Rites in 1883, confirming the diocese's custom of
honouring him on the 23 October.[10]

Boethius was born in Rome a few years after the collapse of the
Western Roman Empire. 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. After
mastering both Latin and Greek in his youth, Boethius rose to
prominence as a statesman during the Ostrogothic Kingdom,
becoming a senator by age 25, a consul by age 33, and later
chosen as a personal advisor to Theodoric the Great.

In seeking to reconcile the teachings of Plato and Aristotle with Martyr

Christian theology, Boethius sought to translate the entirety of the Born c. 480
Greek classics for Western scholars. He published numerous Rome, Kingdom of
transcriptions and commentaries of the works of Nicomachus, Odoacer
Porphyry, and Cicero, among others, and wrote extensively on
Died 524 (aged 44)
matters concerning music, mathematics, and theology. Though his
translations were unfinished following an untimely death, it is Pavia, Ostrogothic
largely due to them that the works of Aristotle survived into the Kingdom
Renaissance. Venerated in Diocese of Pavia

Despite his successes as a senior official, Boethius became deeply Major shrine San Pietro in Ciel
unpopular among other members of the Ostrogothic court for d'Oro
denouncing the extensive corruption prevalent among other Feast 23 October
members of government. After publicly defending fellow consul
Caecina Albinus from charges of conspiracy, he was imprisoned Philosophy career
by Theodoric around the year 523. While jailed and suffering from
depression, Boethius wrote On the Consolation of Philosophy—a Notable work The Consolation of
philosophical treatise on fortune, death, and other issues—which Philosophy
became one of the most influential and widely reproduced works Era Medieval
of the Early Middle Ages. He was tortured and executed in
philosophy
524,[11] becoming a martyr in the Christian faith by
tradition.[note 2][note 3] Region Western philosophy
School Neoplatonism
Early life Main Fate · Epistemology
interests · Theology · Music ·
Boethius was born in Rome to a patrician family c. 480,[18] but the Mathematics
exact date of his birth is unknown.[8] His birth family, the Anicii, Notable Wheel of Fortune
was a notably wealthy and influential gens that included emperors ideas
Quadrivium
Petronius Maximus and Olybrius, in addition to many consuls.[19]
However, in the years prior to Boethius' birth, the family had lost Recovery of
much of its influence. The grandfather of Boethius, a senator by Aristotle
the same name, was appointed as praetorian prefect of Italy but Classical revival
died in 454 during the palace plot against Flavius Aetius.[20][21]
Problem of
Boethius' father, Manlius Boethius, who was appointed consul in
universals
487, died while Boethius was still young.[22] Quintus Aurelius
Memmius Symmachus, another patrician, adopted and raised him Principle of
instead, introducing to him philosophy and literature.[23] As a sign individuation
of their good relationship, Boethius would later marry his foster- Medieval music
father's daughter, Rusticiana, with whom he would have two theory
children also named Symmachus and Boethius.[24]
Square of
Having been adopted into the wealthy Symmachi family, Boethius opposition
had access to tutors that would have educated him during his Medieval syllogism
youth.[25] Though Symmachus had some fluency in Greek, Mode (music)
Boethius achieved a mastery of the language—an increasingly rare
skill in the Western regions of the Empire—and dedicated his early Porphyrian tree
career to translating the entire works of Plato and Aristotle,[26][27] Medieval dialectic
with some of the translations that he produced being the only
surviving transcriptions of Greek texts into the Middle Ages.[28][29] The
unusual fluency of Boethius in the Greek language has led some scholars
to believe that he was educated in the East; a traditional view, first
proposed by Edward Gibbon, is that Boethius studied in Athens for
eighteen years based on the letters of Cassiodorus, though this was likely
to have been a misreading by past historians.[25][note 4]

Historian Pierre Courcelle has argued that Boethius studied at Alexandria

with the Neoplatonist philosopher Ammonius Hermiae. 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.[31] 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 Consular diptych depicting
music, mathematics, astrology, and theology.[32] Narius Manlius Boethius,
Boethius' birth father

Rise to power
Taking inspiration from Plato's Republic, Boethius left his scholarly pursuits to enter the service of
Theodoric the Great.[33] The two had first met in the year 500 when Theodoric traveled to Rome to stay for
six months.[34] 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.[18][35] 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.[36]

Boethius writes in the Consolation 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.[37] 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.[38] In the
same year as the appointment of his sons, Boethius was elevated to Boethius (right) and his adoptive
the position of magister officiorum, becoming the head of all father, Symmachus (left); both had
government and palace affairs.[38] Recalling the event, he wrote been appointed consuls in their own
that he was sitting "between the two consuls as if it were a military right
triumph, [letting my] largesse fulfill the wildest expectations of the
people packed in their seats around [me]."[39]

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.[40] These actions
made Boethius an increasingly unpopular figure among court officials, though he remained in Theodoric's
favor.[41]

Downfall and death

In 520, Boethius was working to revitalize the relationship between the Roman The young
See and the Constantinopolitan See—though the two were then still a part of philosopher
the same Church, disagreements had begun to emerge between them. This may Boethius, a man
have set in place a course of events that would lead to loss of royal favour.[43] whose varied
Five hundred years later, this continuing disagreement led to the East–West accomplishments
Schism in 1054, in which communion between the Catholic Church and adorned the middle
Eastern Orthodox Church was broken. In 523, Boethius fell from power. After period of the reign of
a period of imprisonment in Pavia for what was deemed a treasonable offence, Theodoric, and
he was executed in 524.[18][44] The primary sources are in general agreement whose tragic death
over the facts of what happened. At a meeting of the Royal Council in Verona, was to bring sadness
the referendarius Cyprianus accused the ex-consul Caecina Decius Faustus over its close.
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 —Thomas Hodgkin,
King."[45] Theodoric the
Goth[42]
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, on the
 grounds that he and Boethius together were planning a revolution, and
confiscated their property.[46] "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." [47] 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 and Gaudentius had
been exiled for fraud.[48] However, other sources depict these men in a far
more positive light. For example, Cassiodorus describes Cyprianus and
Opilio as "utterly scrupulous, just and loyal" and mentions they are brothers
and grandsons of the consul Opilio.[49]

Theodoric was feeling threatened by international events. The Acacian

Manuscript depicting
schism had been resolved, and the Nicene Christian aristocrats of his
Boethius teaching students
kingdom were seeking to renew their ties with Constantinople. The Catholic
(initial) and while
Hilderic had become king of the Vandals and had put Theodoric's sister
imprisoned
Amalafrida to death,[50] and Arians in the East were being persecuted.[51]
Then there was the matter that with his previous ties to Theodahad,
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
beheaded, clubbed to death, or hanged.[52] It is likely that he was tortured with Boethius, the most
a rope that was constricted around his head, bludgeoned until his eyes bulged learned man of his
out; then his skull was cracked.[53][54] Following an agonizing death, his time, met his death in
remains were entombed in the church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia, also the hangman's
the resting place of Augustine of Hippo. His wealth was also confiscated, and noose...and yet the
his wife, Rusticiana, reduced to poverty.[28] life of Boethius was
a triumph! The West
Past historians have had a hard time accepting a sincere Christian who was also owes this individual,
a serious Hellenist.[28][55] These worries have largely stemmed by the lack of Anicius Manlius
any mention of Jesus in Boethius' Consolation, nor of any other Christian Severinus Boethius,
figure.[56] Arnaldo Momigliano argues that "Boethius turned to paganism. His nothing less than its
Christianity collapsed—it collapsed so thoroughly that perhaps he did not even progression toward a
notice its disappearance." However, the majority of scholarship has taken a culture of reason.
different view,[57] with Arthur Herman writing that Boethius was "unshakably
Orthodox Catholic," and Thomas Hodgkin having asserted that uncovered —Johannes Fried,
manuscripts "prove beyond a doubt that Boethius was a Christian."[58][56]
The Middle Ages[52]
Furthermore, the community that he was a part of valued equally both classical
and Christian culture.[59]

Major works

De consolatione philosophiae

Boethius's best known work is the Consolation of Philosophy (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 fashion, a higher power and everything else is
secondary to that divine Providence.[60]
Several manuscripts survived and these were widely edited,
translated and printed throughout the late 15th century and later in
Europe.[61] 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 and Plato from the original Greek into Latin.[62][63][64]

De topicis differentiis

His completed translations of Aristotle's works on logic 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.[65]

The commentaries themselves have been lost.[66] In addition to his

The beginning of Aristotle's De
commentary on the Topics, Boethius composed two treatises on
interpretatione in Boethius' Latin
Topical argumentation, In Ciceronis Topica and De topicis
translation
differentiis. The first work has six books, and is largely a response
to Cicero's Topica.[67] 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[ing] our judgment concerning the
governing of life",[68] 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.[68]

He asserts that there are three types of arguments: those of necessity, of ready believability, and
sophistry.[69] 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.[70] 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.[71]

Book II covers two kinds of topics: those from related things and those from extrinsic topics. Book III
discusses the relationship among things studied through Topics, Topics themselves, and the nature of
definition. Book IV analyzes partition, designation and relationships between things (such as pairing,
numbering, genus, and species, etc.). After a review of his terms, Boethius spends Book V discussing Stoic
logic and Aristotelian causation. Book VI relates the nature of the Topic to causes.

In Topicis Differentiis has four books; Book I 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."[72] 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.[73] These distinctions,
and others, are applicable to both types of Topical argument, rhetorical and dialectical. Books II and III are
primarily focused on Topics of dialectic (syllogisms), while Book IV 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."[74]
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."[75]

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 "[u]nlike 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.[76] Maximal propositions are "propositions
[that are] known per se, and no proof can be found for these."[77]

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."[78]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."[79] 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 [maximal] propositions are more universal than those propositions, just as rationality is more
universal than man."[80] 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.[81]

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." [82] 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 "[t]here are two kinds
of questions. One is that called, 'thesis' by the [Greek] dialecticians. 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?' [or] 'Should one marry?'.[83]"
Dialectic has "dialectical topics" as well as "dialectical-rhetorical topics", all of which are still discussed in
De Topicis Differentiis.[76] Dialectic, especially in Book I, 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.[84]

De arithmetica
Boethius chose to pass on the great Greco-Roman culture to future
generations by writing manuals on music, astronomy, geometry and
arithmetic.[85]

Several of Boethius' writings, which were hugely influential during the

Middle Ages, drew on the thinking of Porphyry and Iamblichus.[86] Boethius
wrote a commentary on the Isagoge by Porphyry,[87] which highlighted the
existence of the problem of universals: 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 nature of universal
ideas was one of the most vocal controversies in medieval philosophy.

Besides these advanced philosophical works, Boethius is also reported to Boethius' De arithmetica
have translated important Greek texts on the topics of the quadrivium[84] His in a manuscript written for
loose translation of Nicomachus's treatise on arithmetic (De institutione Charles the Bald
arithmetica libri duo) and his textbook on music (De institutione musica libri
quinque, unfinished) contributed to medieval education.[87] 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.[88] His translations of
Euclid on geometry and Ptolemy on astronomy,[89] if they were completed, no longer survive. Boethius
made Latin translations of Aristotle's De interpretatione and Categories with commentaries.[43] 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.[90]

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.[91] 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.[92]

In De Musica, Boethius introduced the threefold classification of music:[93]

Musica mundana – music of the spheres/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 does not
use the term 'instrumentalis', which was used by Adalbold II of Utrecht (975–1026) 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" [note 5][94]), 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." [95] 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.[89] The historian R. W. Southern called
Boethius "the schoolmaster of medieval Europe."[96]
Boethius, Arithmetica Geometrica
An 1872 German translation of "De Musica" was the magnum Musica (1492 first printed edition, from
opus of Oscar Paul.[97] Hans Adler Collection)

Opuscula sacra

Boethius also wrote Christian theological treatises, which supported Catholicism and condemned Arianism
and other heterodox forms of Christianity.[98]

Five theological works are known:[99]

De Trinitate – "The Trinity", where he defends the Council of Chalcedon 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.[100]
Quomodo substantiae, Boethius' claim that all substances are good.[101]
De fide catholica – "On the Catholic Faith"
Contra Eutychen et Nestorium – "Against Eutyches and Nestorius," from c. 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 philosophical thought, including
the fields of logic, ontology, and metaphysics.[102]

Dates of works
Dates of composition:[103]

Mathematical works

De arithmetica (On Arithmetic, c. 500) adapted translation of the Introductio 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's Harmonica.
Possibly a treatise on geometry, extant only in fragments.[104]
Logical Works
A) Translations

Porphyry's Isagoge
In Categorias Aristotelis: Aristotle's Categories
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– Gravestone of
16)
Boethius in the Pavia
In Aristotelis Analytica Priora (c. 520–523) Civic Museum
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 [also 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 and Nestorius)
De consolatione Philosophiae (524–525).

Legacy
Edward Kennard Rand dubbed Boethius the "last of the Roman philosophers and the first of the scholastic
theologians".[105] Despite the use of his mathematical texts in the early universities, it is his final work, the
Consolation of Philosophy, that assured his legacy in the Middle Ages 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,[86] the Consolation teaches acceptance of
hardship in a spirit of philosophical detachment from misfortune".[106]

Parts of the work are reminiscent of the Socratic method 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 by King Alfred and later into English by Chaucer and Queen
Elizabeth.[98] Many manuscripts survive and it was extensively edited,
translated and printed throughout Europe from the 14th century
Depiction of Boethius in the
onwards.[107]
Nuremberg Chronicle
"The Boethian Wheel" is a model for Boethius' belief that history is a
wheel,[108] 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.[109]

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 in 1282.[110]

Veneration
Boethius was regarded as a Christian martyr by those who lived in
succeeding centuries after his death.[17][9] Currently, he is recognized as a
saint and martyr for the Catholic faith.[53] He is included within the Roman
Martyrology, though to Watkins "his status as martyr is dubious".[111] 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, provided by some as a date for his death.[9][112][111][113] In the The Tomb of Boethius in
current Martyrologium Romanum, his feast is still restricted to that San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro
diocese.[114] Pope Benedict XVI explained the relevance of Boethius to
modern day Christians by linking his teachings to an understanding of
Providence.[85] He is also venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church.[115]

In popular culture
In Dante's Divine Comedy, the spirit of Boethius is pointed out by 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.[116]

C.S. Lewis references Boethius in chapter 27 of the Screwtape Letters.[117]

Boethius also appears in the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People where he is played by Christopher Eccleston.

In 1976, a 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 (by Alain de Botton)
Prison literature Boethius' Farewell To
His Family by Jean-
Elpis (wife of Boethius)
Victor Schnetz

Notes
1. The name Anicius demonstrated his connection with a noble family of the Lower Empire,
while Manlius claims lineage from the Manlii Torquati of the Republic.[7] The name
Severinus was given to him in honour of Severinus of Noricum.[7] In some parts of Italy, he is
revered as Saint Severinus rather than as Boethius.[8]
2. Historian Johannes Fried points out that no proof ever emerged that Boethius had committed
a crime despite being sentenced to death by Theodoric and the Ostrogothic Senate.
Theodoric, who Fried states was guilty of misjudgment, likely regretted his actions.[12]
Procopius and later historians take a similar view, believing that he had been unjustly
condemned.[13][14][15]
3. Two years later, in 526, Boethius' adoptive father, Symmachus, was also put to death.[16][17]
4. Historian Helen M. Barrett writes that the notion of Boethius having studied in Athens "must
be rejected as without foundation," as it likely came from a misunderstanding of
Cassiodorus' letters.[30]
5. "Haec vero administratur aut intentione ut nervis, aut spiritu ut tibiis, vel his, quae ad aquam
moventur, aut percussione quadam, ut in his, quae in concava quaedam aerea feriuntur,
atque inde diversi efficiuntur soni." Translated: "This, however, is operated by the motion of a
string, or the wind of a pipe, or to those, which are moved by the water, or the beat of time, as
in the following, which is striking a kind of brass hollow, and in the other are made of a
corresponding sound."

References
1. Barrett 1940, p. 37.
2. Fried 2015, p. 102.
3. Smith 2014, p. 66.
4. Marenbon 2003, p. 168.
5. Hodgkin 1896, p. 688.
6. Marenbon 2003, p. 7.
7. Hodgkin 1885, p. 523.
8. Barrett 1940, p. 33.
9. Matthews 1981, p. 16.
10. Turner, W. "Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius" (https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02610
b.htm). The Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 19 December
2022 – via New Advent.
11. Matthews 1981, p. 15.
12. Fried 2015, p. 28.
13. Barrett 1940, p. vii.
14. Barrett 1940, p. 59.
15. Boethius 2001, p. xxii.
16. Boethius 2000, p. xiv.
17. Marenbon 2003, p. 10.
18. Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 1.
19. Hodgkin 1880, p. 617.
20. Heather 2005, p. 244–245.
21. Hodgkin 1880, p. 196.
22. Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 8.
23. Boethius 1969, p. 59.
24. Barrett 1940, p. 34.
25. Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 4.
26. Barrett 1940, p. 35, 38.
27. Marenbon 2003, p. 3, 17–18.
28. Smith & Wace 1877, p. 322.
29. Marenbon 2003, p. 165.
30. Barrett 1940, p. 35–36.
31. Moorhead 2009, p. 29.
32. Barrett 1940, p. 36.
33. Barrett 1940, p. 38.
34. Barrett 1940, p. 44–45.
35. Barrett 1940, p. 45.
36. Cassiodorus 1992, I.10, pp. 12–14; I.45, 20–23; II.40, 38–43.
37. Herman 2013, p. 187.
38. Barrett 1940, p. 46.
39. Boethius 1969, p. 60.
40. Barrett 1940, p. 48.
41. Hodgkin 1894, p. 265.
42. Hodgkin 1894, p. 195.
43. O'Connor & Robertson 2000.
44. Boethius 2007, p. 5.
45. Marcellinus 1972, p. 562ff.
46. Dewing 1968, p. 12f.
47. Richards 1979, p. 114.
48. Boethius 1969, p. 42.
49. Richards 1979, p. 117.
50. Bury 1923, p. 158.
51. Richards 1979, p. 119.
52. Fried 2015, p. 1.
53. Smith & Wace 1877, p. 321.
54. Herman 2013, p. 190.
55. Lindberg 1978, p. 10.
56. Herman 2013, p. 189.
57. Boethius 2000, p. xxvii, Introduction.
58. Hodgkin 1894, p. 277.
59. Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 14.
60. OLL.
61. Boethius 2001, p. .
62. Spade 2016, 4.2.
63. Aquinas & Frederick 2005, p. 14–.
64. Rubenstein 2004, p. 62.
65. Boethius 2001, p. xvi—xvii.
66. Stump 1988, p. 3.
67. Stump 1988, p. 22.
68. Stump 1988, p. 25.
69. Stump 1988, p. 26.
70. Stump 1988, p. 34.
71. Stump 1988, p. 35.
72. Stump 1978, p. 29.
73. Stump 1978, p. 31.
74. Stump 1978, p. 6.
75. Stump 1978, p. 7, 9–8.
76. Stump 1978, p. 180.
77. Stump 1978, p. 33.
78. Stump 1978, p. 181.
79. Stump 1978, p. 198.
80. Stump 1978, p. 48.
81. Stump 1978, p. 204.
82. Stump 1978, p. 205.
83. Stump 1978, p. 35.
84. Cassiodorus 1992, I.45.4.
85. Pope Benedict XVI 2008.
86. Marenbon 2016.
87. Herbermann 1913.
88. Schrader 1968, p. 615–628.
89. Masi 1979, p. 24.
90. Beddie 1930, p. 3.
91. Boethius 1989, p. xiii—xv.
92. Grout 1980, p. 24 (https://archive.org/details/historyofwestern3rdgrou/page/24).
93. Bower 2006, p. 146 (https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory0000unse_t8n5/page/146).
94. Boethius 1867b, p. 189.
95. Boethius 1989, p. 8.
 96. Herman 2013, p. 196.
97. Paul 1872.
98. Cooper 1902, Editorial Note (https://www.exclassics.com/consol/cons3.htm).
99. Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 15.
100. Speer 2011, p. 95.
101. MacDonald, Scott (1988). "Boethius's Claim that all Substances are Good" (https://www.degr
uyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/agph.1988.70.3.245/pdf). Archiv für Geschichte der
Philosophie. 70 (3). doi:10.1515/agph.1988.70.3.245 (https://doi.org/10.1515%2Fagph.1988.
70.3.245). S2CID 144565831 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144565831).
102. Bradshaw 2009, p. 105–128.
103. Kaylor & Philips 2012, p. 551–589.
104. Folkerts 1970, p. .
105. Boethius 2004, p. x.
106. Boethius 2007, Preface by H.R. James.
107. Dwyer 1976, p. 5–13.
108. Boethius 1999, p. 24, n. 1.
109. Carroll-Clark 1994.
110. Rubin 2018, p. 93.
111. Watkins 2016, p. 108.
112. Farmer 2011, p. 53.
113. Calvi, S. Severino Boezio.
114. Martyrologium Romanum 2004, p. 586.
115. St John's, Severinus Boethius Oct 23.
116. Miller 1999.
117. Lewis 1944, p. 57.

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Weblinks

Pope Benedict XVI (12 March 2008), Boethius and Cassiodorus (https://www.vatican.va/holy_fat
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b/20101207030103/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/cult-martyru
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O'Connor, J. J.; Robertson, E. F. (May 2000), "Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius" (http://www-
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St John's Orthodox Church, Colchester

Further reading
Attwater, Donald; Catherine Rachel John (1995), The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, London:
Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-051312-7, OCLC 34361179 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/
34361179)
Baird, Forrest E.; Walter Kaufmann (2008), From Plato to Derrida, Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, ISBN 978-0-13-158591-1
Boethius (1973) [1918]. The Theological Tractates and The Consolation of Philosophy.
Translated by Stewart, H.F.; Rand, E.K.; Tester, S.J. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
 Chadwick, Henry (1981), Boethius, the Consolations of Music, Logic, Theology, and
Philosophy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-826549-8, OCLC 8533668 (htt
ps://www.worldcat.org/oclc/8533668)
Colish, Marcia L. (2002), Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 400–
1400, New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-07852-7, OCLC 185694056 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/oclc/185694056)
Magee, John (1989), Boethius on Signification and Mind, Leiden: Brill Publishers,
ISBN 978-90-04-09096-5
Marenbon, John (2009), The Cambridge Companion to Boethius, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-87266-9
Papahagi, Adrian (2010). Boethiana medievalia : a collection of studies on the early
medieval fortune of Boethius' consolation of philosophy. Bucharest: Zeta Books. ISBN 978-
973-1997-79-7.
Suto, Taki (2011), Boethius on Mind, Grammar and Logic. A Study of Boethius'
Commentaries on Peri Hermeneias, Cambridge: Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-21418-7
Westfall, Joseph (2008), "Boethius: Kierkegaard and The Consolation", in Stewart, Jon (ed.),
Kierkegaard and the Patristic and Medieval Traditions, Ashgate Publishing, pp. 207–222,
ISBN 978-0-7546-6391-1

External links

Works
Works by Boethius in eBook form (https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/boethius) at Standard
Ebooks
Works by Boethius (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/4992) at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about Boethius (https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28%28subject%3A%22
Boethius%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Boethius%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Bo
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0AND%20Boethius%29%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29) at Internet Archive
Works by Boethius (https://librivox.org/author/4104) at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

{en} De Trinitate (On the Holy Trinity) (http://pvspade.com/Logic/docs/BoethiusDeTrin.pdf) –

Boethius, Erik Kenyon (trans.)
{en} Theological Tractates (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/boethius/tracts.toc.html); Christian
Classics Ethereal Library
A 10th-century manuscript of Institutio Arithmetica is available online from Lund University,
Sweden (https://web.archive.org/web/20020905034243/http://laurentius.lub.lu.se/volumes/M
h_1/)
The Geoffrey Freudlin 1885 edition of the Arithmetica, from the Cornell Library Historical
Mathematics Monographs (http://historical.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/cul.math/docviewer?did
=cdl274&seq=3)
Online Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries (http://ho
s.ou.edu/galleries/02LateAncient/Boethius/) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2020111
3103207/http://hos.ou.edu/galleries/02LateAncient/Boethius/) 2020-11-13 at the Wayback
Machine
Codices Boethiani: A Conspectus of Manuscripts of the Work of Boethius (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20160329193807/http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/publications/surveys-and-texts/codices
-boethiani/)
 Works by Boethius at Perseus Digital Library (https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchre
sults?q=Boethius&redirect=true)
MS 1083/30 Regiment of princes; Consolation of philosophy at OPenn (http://openn.library.u
penn.edu/Data/0028/html/ms_1083_030.html)
MS 484/15 Commentum super libro Porphyrii Isagoge; De decim predicamentis at OPenn (h
ttp://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0028/html/ms_484_015.html)

On Boethius' life and works

Blessed Severinus Boethius (https://web.archive.org/web/20080420181214/http://saints.sqp
n.com/saints0g.htm) at Patron Saints Index
Blackwood, Stephen. The Meters of Boethius: Rhythmic Therapy in the Consolation of
Philosophy. (https://web.archive.org/web/20100803040230/https://etd.library.emory.edu/vie
w/record/pid/emory:7r5f2)
Blackwood, Stephen (2015). The Consolation of Boethius as Poetic Liturgy (http://global.ou
p.com/academic/product/the-consolation-of-boethius-as-poetic-liturgy-9780198718314;jsess
ionid=F14EC59F0332F5B936CF7F76BF2F96B4?cc=us&lang=en&). Oxford Early
Christian Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 398. ISBN 978-0-19-871831-4.
O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Boethius" (https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/
Biographies/Boethius.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St
Andrews
Phillips, Philip Edward. Boethius: A Selected Bibliography for Students (http://boethius.blogs
pot.com/p/bibliography.html)
Boethius (https://web.archive.org/web/20070416104741/http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/Aut
horBioPage.php?recordID=0054) at The Online Library of Liberty
On Boethius and Cassiodorus (https://web.archive.org/web/20081228052658/https://www.va
tican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20080312_e
n.html) – Pope Benedict XVI

On Boethius' logic and philosophy

Correia, Manuel. "Boethius" (http://www.iep.utm.edu/boethius). Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy.
Marenbon, John. "Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius" (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bo
ethius/). In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
The Philosophical Works of Boethius. Editions and Translations (https://www.ontology.co/bib
lio/boethius-editions.htm)
Boethius' Logic and Metaphysics. An Annotated Bibliography (https://www.historyoflogic.co
m/biblio/boethius-logic-biblio.htm)

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