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Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius was a Christian philosopherChristian philosophy Summary

Christian philosophy is a catch-all expression for a two-millennia tradition of rational thought that attempts to fuse the f...
 of the 6th century6th century

The 6th century is the period from 501 - 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era....
. He was born in RomeRome

Rome is the capital of Italy and of its region, called Latium....
 to an ancient and important family which included emperors Petronius MaximusPetronius Maximus

Petronius Maximus, was a Roman aristocrat, and briefly Western Roman Emperor for part of 455....
 and OlybriusOlybrius

Anicius Olybrius, Western Roman Emperor , was a member of a noble family and a native of Rome....
 and many consulsRoman consul

Consul was the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and the Empire....
. His father, Flavius Manlius Boethius, was consul in 487 after OdoacerOdoacer

Odoacer , also known as Odovacar was the half Hunnish, half Scirian chieftain of the Germanic Heruli....
 deposed the last Western Roman Emperor. Boethius himself was consul in 510 in the kingdom of the Ostrogoths. In 522 he saw his two sons become consuls. Boethius was executed by King Theodoric the GreatTheodoric the Great

Theodoric the Great , known to the Romans as Flavius Theodoricus, was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , and re...
, who suspected him of conspiring with the Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the...
.
Early lifeThe exact birthdate of Boethius is unknown. It is generally located at around AD 480, the same year of birth as St. Benedict. Boethius was born to a patricianPatrician

Patricians were originally the elite caste in ancient Rome....
 family which had been Christian for about a century. His father's line included two popes, and both parents counted Roman emperors among their ancestors.

It is unknown where Boethius received his formidable education in Greek.






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Timeline

480   Born

510   Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, a Christian philosopher, is appointed consul by Theodoric the Great.

522   Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius is imprisoned on charges of conspiring against Theodoric the Great.

523   Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius writes the ''Consolations of philosophy''.

524   Died

525   Died





Encyclopedia


Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius was a Christian philosopherChristian philosophy Summary

Christian philosophy is a catch-all expression for a two-millennia tradition of rational thought that attempts to fuse the f...
 of the 6th century6th century

The 6th century is the period from 501 - 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era....
. He was born in RomeRome

Rome is the capital of Italy and of its region, called Latium....
 to an ancient and important family which included emperors Petronius MaximusPetronius Maximus

Petronius Maximus, was a Roman aristocrat, and briefly Western Roman Emperor for part of 455....
 and OlybriusOlybrius

Anicius Olybrius, Western Roman Emperor , was a member of a noble family and a native of Rome....
 and many consulsRoman consul

Consul was the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and the Empire....
. His father, Flavius Manlius Boethius, was consul in 487 after OdoacerOdoacer

Odoacer , also known as Odovacar was the half Hunnish, half Scirian chieftain of the Germanic Heruli....
 deposed the last Western Roman Emperor. Boethius himself was consul in 510 in the kingdom of the Ostrogoths. In 522 he saw his two sons become consuls. Boethius was executed by King Theodoric the GreatTheodoric the Great

Theodoric the Great , known to the Romans as Flavius Theodoricus, was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , and re...
, who suspected him of conspiring with the Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the...
.

Early life

The exact birthdate of Boethius is unknown. It is generally located at around AD 480, the same year of birth as St. Benedict. Boethius was born to a patricianPatrician

Patricians were originally the elite caste in ancient Rome....
 family which had been Christian for about a century. His father's line included two popes, and both parents counted Roman emperors among their ancestors.

It is unknown where Boethius received his formidable education in Greek. Historical documents are ambiguous on the subject, but Boethius may have studied in Athens, and perhaps Alexandria. Since the elder Boethius is recorded as proctor of a school in Alexandria circa AD 470, the younger Boethius may have received some grounding in the classics from his father or a close relative.

As a result of his education and experience, Boethius entered the service of Theodoric the GreatTheodoric the Great Overview

Theodoric the Great , known to the Romans as Flavius Theodoricus, was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , and re...
, who commissioned the young Boethius to perform many roles.

Late life

By 520, at the age of about forty, Boethius had risen to the position of magister officiorumMagister officiorum

In Late antiquity, the Roman position of magister officiorum can first be traced to the rule of Roman Emperor Constantine I...
, the head of all the government and court services. Afterwards, his two sons were both appointed consuls, reflecting their father's prestige.

In 523, however, Theodoric ordered Boethius arrested on charges of treason, possibly for a suspected plot with the Byzantine Emperor Justin IJustin I

Flavius Iustinus , known in English as Justin I, was an Eastern Roman Emperor of the Justinian Dynasty, who rose thro...
, whose religious orthodoxy (in contrast to Theodoric's ArianArianism

Arianism is a Christological view originally held by followers of Arius, a Christian priest who lived and taught in Alexandr...
 opinions) increased their political rivalry. Boethius himself attributes his arrest to the slander of his rivals. Whatever the cause, Boethius found himself stripped of his title and wealth and imprisoned in PaviaPavia

Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on th...
, awaiting an execution that took place in 524 the following year. The method of his execution varies by source - he was perhaps killed with an axe, a sword or clubbed to death. His bodily remains were placed in the church of San Pietro in Ciel d'OroSan Pietro in Ciel d'Oro

San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro is a Roman Catholic basilica of the Augustinians in Pavia, Italy, in the Lombardy region....
 in Pavia. In the book Paradise of The Divine ComedyThe Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy , written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321, is widely considered the central epic...
, DanteDANTE

DANTE is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the var...
 had the spirit of Boethius be pointed out by St. Thomas Aquinas:

The soul who pointed out the world's dark ways,
To all who listen, its deceits unfolding.
Beneath in Cieldauro lies the frame
Whence it was driven; from woe and exile to
This fair abode of peace and bliss it came.

Works


Boethius's most popular work is the Consolation of PhilosophyConsolation of Philosophy

Consolation of Philosophy is a philosophical work by Boethius written in about the year 524 AD....
, which he wrote in prison while awaiting his execution, but his lifelong project was a deliberate attempt to preserve ancient classical knowledge, particularly philosophy. He intended to translate all the works of AristotleAristotle

Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great....
 and PlatoPlato

Plato , whose real name is believed to have been Aristocles, was an immensely influential ancient Greek philosopher, ...
 from the original GreekGreek language

Greek has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any single language within the Indo-European family....
 into LatinLatin

Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome....
. His completed translations of Aristotle's works on logicFacts About Logic

Logic, from Classical Greek ?????, originally meaning the word, or what is spoken, is most often said to be the stud...
 were the only significant portions of Aristotle available in Europe until the 12th century12th century

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200....
. However, some of his translations (such as his treatment of the topoiInventio

Inventio is the system or method used for the discovery of arguments in Western rhetoric and comes from the Latin, meani...
 in The TopicsTopics (Aristotle)

Topics is a text by Aristotle. The text deals with logic and logical argumentation....
) were mixed with his own commentary, which reflected both Aristotelian and Platonic concepts.

Boethius also wrote a commentary on the IsagogeIsagoge

The Isagoge or "Introduction" to Aristotle's "Categories", written by Porphyry in Greek and translated into Latin by Boethiu...
 by PorphyryPorphyry (philosopher) Overview

Porphyry was a Neoplatonist philosopher....
, which highlighted the existence of the problem of universalsProblem of universals

The problem of universals is a phrase used to refer to a nest of intertwined problems about universals within the philosophy...
: 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 philosophyMedieval philosophy

Medieval philosophy is the philosophy of Western Europe in the "era" now known as medieval or the Middle Ages, the period ro...
.

Besides these advanced philosophical works, Boethius is also reported to have translated important Greek texts for the topics of the quadriviumQuadrivium

The quadrivium comprised the four subjects, or arts, taught in medieval universities after the trivium....
. His loose translation of NicomachusNicomachus

Nicomachus was born in Gerasa, Roman Syria....
's treatise on arithmetic (De institutione arithmetica libri duo) and his textbook on music (De institutione musica libri quinque, unfinished) contributed to medieval education. His translations of EuclidEuclid Summary

Euclid , a Greek mathematician, who lived in Alexandria, Hellenistic Egypt, almost certainly during the reign of Ptolemy I...
 on geometry and PtolemyPtolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy, was a Greek-speaking geographer, astronomer, and astrologer who liv...
 on astronomy, if they were completed, no longer survive.

Boethius introduced the threefold classification of music:

1. Musica mundana - music of the spheres/world

2. Musica humana - harmony of human body and spiritual harmony

3. Musica instrumentalis - instrumental music (incl. human voice)

Boethius also wrote theological treatises, which generally involve support for the orthodox position against ArianArianism

Arianism is a Christological view originally held by followers of Arius, a Christian priest who lived and taught in Alexandr...
 ideas and other contemporary religious debates. His authorship was periodically disputed because of the secular nature of his other work, until the 19th century discovery of a biography by his contemporary CassiodorusCassiodorus

Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator, commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and great writer, se...
 which mentioned his writing on the subject.

Boethius has been called by Lorenzo VallaLorenzo Valla

Lorenzo Valla was an Italian humanist, rhetorician, and educator....
 the last of the RomansLast of the Romans Overview

"The Last of the Romans" is a term that has been applied to various people:...
 and the first of the scholastic philosophersScholasticism

Scholasticism comes from the Latin word scholasticus, which means "that [which] belongs to the school", and was a metho...
. Despite the use of his mathematical texts in the early universities, it is his final work, the Consolation of PhilosophyConsolation of Philosophy

Consolation of Philosophy is a philosophical work by Boethius written in about the year 524 AD....
, that assured his legacy in the Middle AgesMiddle Ages Summary

The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the clas...
 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 methodSocratic method

Socratic method is a dialectic method of inquiry, largely applied to the examination of key moral concepts and first descri...
 of Plato's dialogues, as the spirit of philosophy questions Boethius and challenges his emotional reactions to adversity. The work was translated into Old EnglishOld English language

Old English is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland ...
 by King Alfred, and into later EnglishEnglish language

English is a widely distributed language that originated in England but is now the primary language in numerous countries....
 by ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer was an English author, poet, philosopher, bureaucrat , and diplomat....
 and Queen Elizabeth; many manuscripts survive and it was extensively edited, translated and printed throughout EuropeEurope

Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth....
 from the 14th century14th century

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400....
 onwards. Many commentaries on it were compiled and it has been one of the most influential books in European culture. No complete bibliography has ever been assembled but it would run into thousands of items.

"The Boethian Wheel" (or "The Wheel of FortuneThe Wheel of Fortune

The Wheel of Fortune is a concept in medieval and ancient philosophy referring to the capricious nature of Fate.The wheel be...
") was a concept, stretching back at least to CiceroFacts About Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator, statesman, political theorist, and philos...
, 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 that 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.

Veneration

He is recognized as a saintSaint Summary

A saint is a term used to refer to someone who is a holy person....
 by the Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church Summary

The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church is the Christian Church in full communion with the Pope, the Bishop of Ro...
. His feast day is October 23. Pope Benedict XVI has insisted on his relevance to modern day Christians.

External links


  • by Boethius
  • at Patron Saints Index
  • at The Online Library of Liberty
  • - Benedict XVI Zenit.com