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Boethius (c. 480-c. 525) was a Christian philosopher and author of many translations and works of philosophy, most famously the "Consolations of Philosophy" which were probably written when he was under house arrest, having been accused of treason by King Theoderic the Great. He was subsequently executed. "On Interpretation" is the second part of the "Organon", as Aristotle's collected works on logic are known; it deals comprehensively and systematically with the relationship between logic and language. In his first six chapters, Aristotle defines name, verb, sentence, statement, affirmation and negation. Boethius preserves lost interpretations by two of the greatest earlier interpreters, Alexander and Porphyry, and the defence of the work's authenticity against criticism. He records the idea of Porphyry that Aristotelians believe in three types of name and verb, written, spoken and mental, in other words a language of the mind. Boethius' commentary formed part of his project to bring knowledge of Plato and Aristotle to the Latin-speaking world. It had great influence, remaining the standard introduction to "On Interpretation" throughout the Latin Middle Ages. ... Read more

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This account begins in 1400 BC with the primitive villages of the Italic tribes. The scene was transformed by the arrival of the Greeks and Etruscans who had Rome and Central Italy under their cultural spell by 600 BC. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1882.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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Creating the Sort of Fortune That You Want
There are many translations of The Consolation of Philosophy (The Consolation), the influential classic written about an imaginary conversation Boethius has with Lady Philosophy while awaiting his execution. So why read Fortune's Prisoner? How is it different? How is it better?

After reading a translation of The Consolation of Philosophy by David R. Slavitt, in the original style of prosimetric text (alternating prose and verse), I turned to this James Harpur edition offering a collection of just the thirty nine poems. And I am glad I did.

There are several good reasons to purchase this book in addition to a translation of The Consolation. The poems stand together as a complete work by themselves. They are thoughtful, and they are beautiful. Additionally, the author has added several features that I found contributed to a better understanding of the text and verse. First, Appendix II has an excellent overview of each of the five books of The Consolation. Additionally, Harpur gives each of the verses a title, helping the reader to focus on a key idea covered in the poem, and thus meets his stated objective "to suggest the poem's theme and provide a little orientation." Furthermore, most of the verses include one or two epigraphs taken either from the verse itself or from an outside source. I enjoyed these thoughtful quotations, and I found they also furthered my understanding of the theme and my enjoyment of the verse. Further, I believe they met the objective of the author: to demonstrate that "Boethius was part of a philosophical and spiritual tradition extending backwards and forwards from his time: indeed ... He preserved and transmitted this tradition." Fortune's Prisoner is well worth your consideration.

Boethius speaks on justice, the nature of good and evil, fortune, and ponders free will
An aristocrat and scholar in a time where neither were too much smiled upon, Boethius let his voice be heard for generations after, a millennium and a half later. "Boethius, Fortune's Prisoner: The Poems of Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy" is the ancient man's book of poetry, translated into today's language by classically trained poet in his own right, James Harpur. Boethius speaks on justice, the nature of good and evil, fortune, and ponders free will. "Boethius, Fortune's Prisoner: The Poems of Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy" is highly recommended to community library poetry collections and for any who want a look into the past which is gazing right back at them. Light Returns: Night scattered, the sense of darkness went,/My eyes regained their power, just as when//Northwesterlies build clouds up into mountains,/Skies blacken, the atmosphere grows dim,//The Sun's wiped out, the stars have not appeared/And night pulls down its curtain everywhere;//Then if the north wind rushes from its cave/In Thrace, beats back the dark, unlocks the day//The sun so suddenly, so brilliantly bright/Now blinds our squinting eyes with dazzling. ... Read more

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"Acknowledging that the Consolation of Philosophyis ‘over-familiar and under-read,’ Joel Relihan puts to the side old bromides about the work and instead pays careful attention to the narrative(s) Boethius constructs, grounding his readings in the contexts the work cultivates, especially its Menippean elements. The result is perhaps the first satisfying reading of the Consolation to be produced, a satisfaction felt also in the ways Relihan mirrors Boethius himself in the thoroughness of his scholarship and the elegance of his exposition. No one who studies Boethius will be able to ignore this book." — Joseph Pucci, Brown University

"Anyone who has been fascinated, intrigued, or perhaps puzzled by the meaning, structure or argument of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy will find Joel Relihan's new book, The Prisoner's Philosophy: Life and Death in Boethius's Consolation, a welcome addition to the study of this core text of the early medieval world whose influence extends to the present time. Relihan's study is a tour de force that belongs in the library of all those who appreciate Boethius' depth and subtlety. Fortune's wheel has indeed turned in the favor of those who wish to explore with Relihan the intricacies and brilliance of the Consolation." —Fr. John Fortin, O.S.B., Saint Anselm College

"The Prisoner’s Philosophy is an excellent work both of scholarship and of communication in support of a provocative thesis. Relihan and Heise present the Consolation as a new beginning for philosophy within a Christian context—a beginning only rarely appreciated since it enlists philosophy in aid of human affairs and resists the lure of an other worldly escape.Boethius not only despoiled Cynics, Satirists and Neoplatonists of their gold, but also crafted out of it a new Christian realism. Through a close reading of the text and of its reception, Relihan and Heise attend to the challenge that Boethius’ Christian vision and literary genius posed to rationalist conceptions throughout the Middle Ages." —Paul LaChance, College of Saint Elizabeth

In this book, Joel C. Relihan delivers a genuinely new reading of the Consolation. He argues that it is a Christian work dramatizing not the truths of philosophy as a whole, but the limits of pagan philosophy in particular. He views it as one of a number of literary experiments of late antiquity, taking its place alongside Augustine's Confessions and Soliloquies as a spiritual meditation, as an attempt by Boethius to speak objectively about the life of the mind and its relation to God. ... Read more

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In this highly praised new translation of Boethius’s The Consolation of Philosophy, David R. Slavitt presents a graceful, accessible, and modern version for both longtime admirers of one of the great masterpieces of philosophical literature and those encountering it for the first time. Slavitt preserves the distinction between the alternating verse and prose sections in the Latin original, allowing us to appreciate the Menippian parallels between the discourses of literary and logical inquiry. His prose translations are lively and colloquial, conveying the argumentative, occasionally bantering tone of the original, while his verse translations restore the beauty and power of Boethius’s poetry. The result is a major contribution to the art of translation.

Those less familiar with Consolation may remember it was written under a death sentence. Boethius (c. 480–524), an Imperial official under Theodoric, Ostrogoth ruler of Rome, found himself, in a time of political paranoia, denounced, arrested, and then executed two years later without a trial. Composed while its author was imprisoned, cut off from family and friends, it remains one of Western literature’s most eloquent meditations on the transitory nature of earthly belongings, and the superiority of things of the mind. In an artful combination of verse and prose, Slavitt captures the energy and passion of the original. And in an introduction intended for the general reader, Seth Lerer places Boethius’s life and achievement in context.

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Publisher: E. Stock, c1897.Publication date: 1897Subjects: HappinessPhilosophyPhilosophy and religionPhilosophy / History ... Read more

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The One and the Good
_Here you find the unequivocal declaration that not riches, not high position, not fame, not physical pleasure are worth pursuing in-and-of themselves. Such things are of value only if they are obtained in the pursuit of the highest Good. This highest Good is demonstrated to be God. Moreover, Boethius points out that when evil men succeed in obtaining such goals over the righteous, then they cease to truly be men- they are beasts and subhuman. This is a refreshing reminder in the modern world, a world not unlike that of late Roman times.

_All happiness, all worth, all reason for being, lies in the One and the Good. Even when we commit immoral acts, it is a result of ignorance on our part in seeking this ultimate goal. Indeed, to turn from the quest of finding the One is to cease to exist at any meaningful level. There is no "fire and brimstone", or talk of eternal torment in hell here. There doesn't need to be. As long as you willfully or ignorantly stray from the Path then you are in hell. And to not find reconnection with the One and the Good is to cease to exist. All of our earthly existence is for the purpose of reawakening to our true nature. This truth lies within all of us and it is only reached by personal introspection (Know thyself.) Only in this way will we return to the eternal Source that lies beyond time itself.

_The consolation of the Consolatio lies in the fact that suffering serves a purpose if it puts us back on the true Path. Moreover, earthly recognition of virtue is irrelevent. God always recognises the man of virtue if the masses do not.

The One and the Good
Here you find the unequivocal declaration that not riches, not high position, not fame, not physical pleasure are worth pursuing in-and-of themselves. Such things are of value only if they are obtained in the pursuit of the highest Good. This highest Good is demonstrated to be God. Moreover, Boethius points out that when evil men succeed in obtaining such goals over the righteous, then they cease to truly be men- they are beasts and subhuman. This is a refreshing reminder in the modern world, a world not unlike that of late Roman times.

All happyness, all worth, all reason for being, lies in the One and the Good. Even when we commit immoral acts, it is a result of ignorance on our part in seeking this ultimate goal. Indeed, to turn from the quest of finding the One is to cease to exist at any meaningful level.

There is no "fire and brimstone", or talk of eternal torment in hell here. There doesn't need to be. As long as you willfully or ignorantly stray from the Path then you are in hell. And to not find reconnection with the One and the Good is to cease to exist. All of our earthly existence is for the purpose of reawakening to our true nature. This truth lies within all of us and it is only reached by personal introspection (Know thyself.) Only in this way will we return to the eternal Source that lies beyond time itself.

The consolation of the Consolatio lies in the fact that suffering serves a purpose if it puts us back on the true Path. Moreover, earthly recognition of virtue is irrelevent. God always recognises the man of virtue if the masses do not.
... Read more

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Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, written in Latin around 525 A.D., was to become one of the most influential literary texts of the Middle Ages.The Old English prose translation and adaptation which was produced around 900 and claims to be by King Alfred was one of the earliest signs of its importance and use, and the subsequent rewriting of parts as verse show an interest in rivalling the literary shape of the Latin original. The many changes and additions have much to tell us about Anglo-Saxon interests and scholarship in the Alfredian period.This new edition is the first to present the second prose-and-verse version of the Old English text, and allows it to be read alongside the original prose version, for which this is the first edition for over a century, and the introduction and commentary reveal much about the history of the text and its composition.

The edition contains critical texts of both versions; a translation; a full introduction examining the manuscripts, the composition of the prose text and of the subsequent verse, the language, the authorship and date of the two versions, the relationship to other texts of the period and later uses of it, and the nature and purpose of the work; a detailed commentary exploring the relationship to the Latin text and to the early medieval commentary tradition; textual notes; and a glossary.
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This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

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In Ciceronis Topica and De topicis differentiis are Boethius’s two treatises on Topics (loci). Together these two works present Boethius’s theory of the art of discovering arguments, a theory that was highly influential in the history of medieval logic. Eleonore Stump here presents the first English-language translation of In Ciceronis Topica. Noteworthy as a dialectical text, In Ciceronis Topica is also a rich storehouse of information on Stoic logic and Roman law and rhetoric, as well as on Boethius himself and the thought and culture of his period. Stump’s Introduction supplies essential information about In Ciceronis Topica, Boethius’s life, and the tradition of dialectic; her detailed notes explore the many philosophical problems in Boethius’s text. ... Read more

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AnImportant Contribution to the Scholarship of Classical Logic
Professor Stump's translation of the In Ciceronis Topica, by Boethius, deserves high praise, not only because it makes available to English readers an important Latin treatise on the logic of the topics, but also because of its erudition, bountiful notes, and explanations of this somewhat arcane (at least to modern readers) part of classical logic.

Boethius stood (c. 500 AD) at the cusp between the ancient world and the medieval world, and his works occupy a unique position in philosophical history because of the light they shed upon classical (Greek and Roman) philosophy. He is a writer both eloquent and easy to follow. Medieval philosophers (e.g. Aquinas) made frequent use in their commentaries of the writings of Boethius.

This commentary of Boethius deals with "topics", which are pointers indicating the pathways to dialectical argument - they are described as "seats" of arguments - "places" where arguments are found hidden. The text of Boethius comments the Ciceronian treatise that enumerates, describes, and orders "the topics", in the tradition (nominally, at least) of Aristotle. Professor Stump, in turn, masterfully comments at length and in detail on the Boethian text, leading the reader to a more profound and orderly appreciation of what a topic is supposed to be, how the topics are divided into species, and to what uses topics may be put. (It is noteworthy that the concept of a "topic" is not precisely the same for Aristotle, whose ancient - and highly opaque - treatise bears the name "The Topics", and for Cicero, who was directing his writing to a legal expert attempting to garner expertise in the topical art for judicial purposes.)

The professor's translation itself flows and reads easily, and is replete with parenthetical help to the reader. Although I have not scrutinized the Latin text, it seems apparent that this translation also closely approximates the style and vocabulary of Boethius, and it is not so "loose" a translation as to lose the original content to nuances of modern idiom.

The extra materials and chapters included by way of historical and philosophical commentary cast much-needed light on the meaning of the text itself, and are of tremendous value to anyone who approaches as a neophyte this area of logic.

I purchased the paperback version last year and have been very happy with the quality of the pages and binding.

I also purchased Professor Stump's translation of De Topicis Differentiis (likewise by Boethius), and have been as equally delighted by that book as by the present (the In Ciceronis Topica is a much longer and more detailed work, inasmuch as it is apparently Boethius' introductory treatise on the subject). It is very useful to have and read both books, since the De Topicis Differentiis translation also includes a number of expository chapters by Professor Stump -- chapters which aid the reader in philosophical terminology and overall context.

Although I have never had the opportunity to meet her, I am profoundly grateful to Professor Stump for publishing these illuminating translations (I hope she will also translate Boethius' treatise on hypothetical syllogisms one day). She has made available to modern readers the conceptual underpinnings of an art which, but for the devotion of a few wise scholars, is now almost lost ... Read more

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An Excellent Translation With Very Useful Notes, And A Life Of Boethius,Drawn Up With Great Accuracy And Fidelity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

book 1-4 says nothing new; book 5 dsn't know what he's tlking abt
plus the notes are a waste. they're unnecessary and i don't know why the translator thinks we're all so stupid.
his argument dsn't pan out.
offered no consolation, nor addressed the problem of evil/theodicy as the title misleadingly suggested
a real disappointment

Classic of philosophical thought
The next time you have a bad day and get mired in self-pity, think about Boethius. Born into a wealthy Roman family around 480 C.E., Boethius was a successful scholar and politician. Early in his career, he wrote influential treatises on Aristotle's logic and Christian theology. He became a senator and found favor with the rulers of the Roman world, ultimately taking the highest post in the Western government (then located in Ravenna, rather than Rome). But his world fell apart when his king, Theoderic, charged him with treason. Confined to his house and awaiting a particularly gruesome execution (you don't want to know), Boethius comforted himself with philosophical reflection. Working partly in verse and partly in prose, as translated by P.G. Walsh, Boethius crafted a long dialogue with the goddess Philosophy, who slowly convinces him that happiness based on worldly things is fleeting and false, and that true happiness can come only from knowledge of God and his goodness. getAbstract is glad to offer a look at this classic work, which inspired people from Dante to C.S. Lewis, even in their darkest hours.

A Path to Personal Peace
In 524 AD Boethius was confined under severe house arrest while awaiting trial for treason. The imprisonment did apparently permit access to some books and writing materials. He had been a very honored Roman aristocrat, and had received an excellent classical education in his youth. He had translated several Greek books into Latin.

His present situation left him very depressed; it was not at all the future that he had expected. Then Lady Philosophy appeared in his imagination. She was commanding, and chased away the muses of the theater who had been occupying his attention with tragedy and superficial entertainment. He at first did not recognize Philosophy. Then he remembered her as the teacher of his youth. She had come to claim her own, and to nurse him back to mental health.

Boethius and Philosophy had an extended discourse. Boethius recorded it in "The Consolation of Philosophy" (translated by P. G. Walsh, Oxford, 2000). He was troubled by the frequent apparent absence of justice and goodness in human affairs. Boethius was a Christian, but this book utilized dialectics as practiced by Socrates and recounted by Plato in his "Republic". The Christian point of view is founded on faith that God, goodness, and a final purpose exist because they are revealed in the Bible. In the Platonic view taken by Boethius, the presence in human affairs of God and purpose ("purpose" appears in Richard Green's translation of "The Consolation of Philosophy".) can be established by reasoning. The reasoning does require faith in something, namely in the orderly and lawful progression of events in the natural world, as suggested for instance in the orderly motions of the heavenly bodies (Walsh, p. 17, "...this tiniest of sparks will cause life's heat to be resuscitated in you."). In the language of the time, orderly progression was determined by divine reason.

"The Consolation of Philosophy" was little noticed in the turmoil following the final collapse of the Western Empire. But it was transcribed under Charlemagne in the eighth century, and it remained thereafter a very influential book for a thousand years. Chaucer translated it into English. One can imagine that its very deterministic outlook was too constraining as the later Renaissance burst forth and demanded unbounded freedom for the individual.

We may be entering more sober times. Some of us may find that our present realities do not meet our expectations. We share this with Boethius. If we have never achieved the success or fame accorded Boethius, we still may have reverses due to the economy or old age. Can "The Consolation of Philosophy" help us? If we turn to it as a reasoned approach, does it hold up in the light of modern science?

Our most highly developed science is physics. How does a modern physicist regard the world? Based first of all on quantum mechanics, he is apt to feel that reality at the fundamental level is probabilistic rather than deterministic. But there have been those who seem to disagree, most notably Einstein and Schrödinger. Einstein's vision of reality involves a space-time continuum. Doesn't this imply that any part of the whole is predetermined by the requirement that it fit adjacent parts? This corresponds with the medieval belief that the world, present, past, and future, is known to God. Boethius felt that this is compatible with free will for humans, in a way that is not immediately evident to out human reason. He resolves this after finding why human affairs do not seem to be guided by the hand of God, as is the material world.

Physics is not the only science. Biology is much closer to human concerns. The most spectacular aspect of modern biology is the discovery of the structure of DNA and the mode of its expression in the body. DNA bridges the gap between organismic biology and evolutionary biology. The structure of DNA is described with a mechanistic model, and its expression results from causal relationships. This is very deterministic.

In organismic biology perhaps the greatest accomplishment in the twentieth century was the theoretical and quantitative explication of the firing of the giant neuron in the Atlantic squid, since the same model can be applied to many other neurons and species simply by adjusting parameters. Eric Kandel has extended the quantitative and molecular understanding of neural behavior further in his work on synapses. This establishes the molecular basis of memory. In his Nobel address ("Science", 2 November 2001, pp. 1030-1038), Kandel noted that the solution of the general problem of neural functioning in memory will require a systems approach, and he is confident that this and other questions in the biology of learning will be addressed in the near future. I wonder if Kandel is too optimistic?

A neuropsychological theory of memory and learning was advanced by Donald Hebb in 1949, and used by Hebb in his teaching of psychology (Hebb, D.O., "Textbook of Psychology" (3rd Ed.), Saunders, Philadelphia, 1972. See also Hebb, D.O., "The Organization of Behavior", Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002.). Hebb's theory introduced cell assemblies in neural networks, but was nonmathematical. Hebb was not a mathematician, and in addition the tools for putting the theory in mathematical form were not available. Powerful computers did not exist (a modern PC would suffice for a small idealized network), and the mathematical field of nonlinear dynamics was relatively undeveloped. Now those tools exist, but apparently the approach has never been tried. Has contemporary science gone beyond such fundamental things?

Now let's consider a bit of social science. Going back 56 years, the Second World War had been over long enough to give people time to think about how to change human culture and prevent another war. One idea for changing social behavior was offered by the behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner. He presented it in the form of a novel, titled "Walden Two" (reissued 1976, Prentice-Hall). Walden Two was an imagined utopian community. The description and history of such communities is interesting in itself, but my purpose here is to compare the formative influences in Walden Two with those that our society has brought to bear in recent decades. Walden Two had been in existence for ten years, and its population after the war was about 1000. At that time its educational procedures for children had been worked out. They began at birth, and were so thorough in instilling cooperative attitudes that male aggression never appeared in early childhood. I wonder whether that might interfere with normal male hormonal balance. Maybe, if the cooperative attitude is desirable, training should begin after proper male development. At any rate, if we aimed to develop a socialist society, training for reduction of male aggression should be introduced at some age. We are now going in the opposite direction. In our society, fathers encourage aggressive behavior in their sons, so that they will be able to get their share in the capitalistic culture. The development of aggressive instincts does not stop there. The influence of television on all ages promotes violent attitudes. Whether Skinner considered this in his later years I don't know. He did not live long enough to see the development of violent computer games, but surely he would be appalled. As things stand, we appear to be committed irrevocably to an unrestrained capitalistic society, in which waste could be unbounded. Can we halt this with recycling? Or are we headed for social disaster? The wise course for the individual is to prepare for acceptance, whatever comes.

Coming back to the present, many of us are disappointed, and are looking for encouragement or consolation. Some will find it in religion based on faith, especially the forgiving Christian faith revealed in the Bible. There will also be mystics, who have a direct experience of God, and therefore don't need a conscious act of faith. Others may turn to a more secular view. Notable is the outlook expressed by Stephen Jay Gould in "Wonderful Life" (Norton, 1989). Gould sees precious value in human life precisely because its origin was dependent on contingent events, and hence was so unlikely. This is very different from the deterministic view I have taken. Gould draws further assurance from the apparent release of the free will from determinism.

Finally there is the path chosen by Boethius. It is the way of a rational mind that has been confronted with the harsh reality of reversals or deprivations. It is the path of acceptance, as a higher value becomes evident. Again we question whether this view makes sense in the light of modern science. Is there something about the human mind that makes it override material values? Many have tried to define the source of the difference between human perception and that of other animals. One current view is that consciousness is the special human resource. But do we really know that other animals don't possess consciousness?

The difference between humans and animals may be that humans have passed a threshold in symbolic activity. When our ape-like ancestors left the forest, and began hunting on the hilly savannas, they became more social, both to hunt big game in groups and to prepare food at the camp. This promoted a dramatic development of language. Brain regions involved in symbolic activity expanded. It became possible to tell stories of hunting adventures. Stories cultivated imagination, and imagination led to visions of what might be over the next hill. This in turn led to the concept of a space beyond all hills, an abstract space. The regularity of the Sun and Moon demonstrated order in the abstract space. Maintained by what agency? There must be a divine will that promotes order. At that point our ancestors were DISCOVERING the spiritual realm.

Ages later writing appeared, which made it possible to transmit precise knowledge, and so led to advanced culture. We discovered mathematical relations, and made a start in learning physical laws. These developments depended on the conscious mind, but also involved the subconscious in an essential way. The subconscious is not limited by sequential logic. Like nature, it considers everything at once. And so we draw closer to God. It is the above characteristics that make the individual human mind precious. It depends on culture, but rises above culture. The individual mind comprehends a whole world. Except perhaps when we pass our threshold of tolerable pain, the mind is able to rise above physical discomforts and deprivations, and find refuge in comtemplation of the world within.

Remains vital after fifteen hundred years
The particular edition I am reviewing is the Oxford World's Classics translation by P. G. Walsh.

This is one of those classics that can catch an unsuspecting reader completely by surprise, especially if one has read many other works by near contemporaries.The circumstances under which it was composed are legendary, and lend the work a legitimacy granted to few other works.Boethius was among the foremost government officials in what was essentially the successor government to the end of the Roman Empire.Rome and much of the rest of what would later become Italy was under the control of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric.A product of one of the leading Roman familes, Boethius ascended to a power of great honor and authority under Theodoric, only to be accused of treason late in the latter's life, at which point Boethius was imprisoned and condemned to death.While awaiting his fate (including whether Theodoric actually intended on carrying out the sentence), Boethius wrote this remarkable dialog between a prisoner whose situation closely resembles Boethius' and Philosophy personified as a woman.Although many topics are discussed, the heart of the dialog is the nature of true happiness.

Although few of its readers are likely to face circumstances as dire as Boethius', the work remains remarkably pertinent in an age where ideals of happiness are dictated almost entirely by our modern consumer society.Philosophy carefully explains to the prisoner that that happiness can never be found in such things as fame or power or riches and other things that are confused with the true source of happiness.For Boethius' Philosophy, happiness is ultimately rooted in the Christian God, but even for non-Christians, the lightly theological tone of the work provides much reflection on the nature of happiness in almost any kind of situation.

The Walsh edition of this work is, in my opinion, the finest readily available edition in English.The notes are marvelous, both providing overviews to each upcoming section as well as providing detailed comments on specific lines in the text.The introduction gives any new reader of the work all the context and background that he or she would need to digest the work.Best of all, the translation is exceptionally readable, and the translations of the many poems far above the average for most academic translations of verse.

I recommend this work strongly to either of two kinds of readers.First, for anyone who is a student of intellectual history the work remains for an understanding of a host of writers in the middle ages, as well as for many 19th century poets.Second, anyone interested in devotional or reflectional works, whether religious or philosophical, this remains one of the most essential works in the history of thought.By almost any standard, this is a work that demands careful reading and study.

An essential and poignant work
For a long time, this would stand as the last major work in which philosophy played the role it was accustomed to play in Antiquity; most medieval thinkers would make philosophy the servant of theology and strip it of its profoundly ethical roots - after all, Christianity became the philosophical way of life par excellence. By using philosophy as a character, Boethius emphasizes its vital role in everyday life and the choices that life entails. Although Boethius is usually mentioned in conjunction with Aristotelian and Christian thought, this work is especially linked to Platonism, Stoicism and Neoplatonism: a) it follows the progression of Socratic discourse in a journey that leads one from the suppression of false beliefs towards a gradually clearer approximation of what Good is, and Philosophy is akin to the priestess Diotima of Plato's Symposium; b) the harrowing context in which it was written mirrors the composition of Seneca's Letters to Lucilius; c) its frequent allegorical use of poetry and myths follows the path set forth by the Stoics and Neoplatonists. The first few books free Philosophy's interlocutor from his errors, and Boethius then explores the work's central subjects: justice, the nature of good and evil, providence (themes that also intensely preoccupied Plotinus late in his life). Treating 'Consolation...' only as a compendium of ancient Greek philosophy would be doing it a major disservice, as it would underscore the personal dimension lying at the very heart of the work. Those who forgot that philosophy is a lot more than the mere juggling of concepts should definitely read this key book. ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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1924. The volume is divided into five books which contain notices of the chief Christian writers from the beginning till what is known as the Middle Ages, that it, from the great Tertullian at the end of the 1st century of the Christian era to St. Isidore of Seville at the close of the 6th. The books are divided into chapters, prefaced by bibliographical notices and enriched by notes of anything which could serve to inform the reader on the subject matter treated of. The lives of the various writers are brief, but are complete, and contain the important historical settings which gave occasion to the writing of the various pieces. Partial Contents: Latin Christian literature and the old learning; Sources of Origin; Third Century down to the peace of the Church AD 313; Golden age of Latin Christian literature; Break up of the empire; On the Threshold of the Middle Ages. ... Read more

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An Unsurpassable Classic of Latin Patristic Scholarship
Thankfully, we have P. Labroille's 'History and Literature of Christianity from Tertullian to Boethius' in print today, for the old hardback editions of this milestone work of literary scholarship are indeed hard to find and are, even at that juncture, very expensive.In this work, Labroille exercises his superior merits as a Latinist and a patristic scholar; and the fruits of his formal profession render his understanding of the historical context of proto-Roman Christianity tremendously adept and full of insight. Now, the scope of this opus transcends what the title suggests, for Labroille's critique of Latin patristic literature begins at its point of origin before its common beginning with Tertullian.The author makes it a careful point to emphasize that if we are to understand the role and development of Latin Christian literature we must not overlook the significance that the first Latin translations from the Septuagint played in establishing a loose basis for all subsequent authors prior to St Jerome.These scattered Latin translations were, after all, used as a principal authority for the earliest Latin ecclesiastics (albeit, juxstaposed with the the Greek version) and to minimize the impact these versions had upon authors such as Tertullian, when writing formal treatises, would be unfounded.Did not the mighty Augustine himself swear by the dignity and authority of the archaic Latin versions, over and above, Jerome's Vulgate?The voluminous writings of Augustine are layered with citations from the old versions.Many of these citations Augustine employed are at variance with the Vulgate and certainly played no inconsequential role in the formulation of his theology.Thus, not just chronologically speaking, but doctrinally, the origins of the line of Latin Christian literature began from the point of the old Latin versions of Scripture.Moreover, the title suggests that the work ends with Boethius, when it actually ends with Isidore of Seville; and Labroille gives fine critiques of several minor authors that filled the interlude between those two authors.Thus, the scope this work exhaustively treats the period from the earliest appearance of the old Latin versions to the time of Isidore, at the dawn of the Middle Ages.In fact, the work as a whole exhaustively critiques every known Latin author during this epoch and satisfies every measure of biography, historiography and literary interpretation to an outstanding degree.It is doubted that there ever has been, or ever will be, a work that has been so faithfully committed to deciphering and perpetuating the memory of Latin Christianity in the manner that Pierre de Labroille's has.Just why this work has fallen into such a sink of obscurity, is not clearly intelligible.As a whole, this early twentieth-century work is still completely relevant today as it was when it was first published; and that is the mark of a true classic. ... Read more

Product Description
General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1900Original Publisher: Clarendon pressSubjects: Christian lifeHappinessPhilosophy and religionHistory / GeneralPhilosophy / History ... Read more