Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius

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Roman statesman andphilosopher, often styled "the last of the Romans", regarded by tradition as aChristianmartyr, born atRome in 480; died at Pavia in 524 or 525. Descended from a consularfamily, he was left anorphan at an early age and waseducated by thepious and noble-minded Symmachus, whose daughter, Rusticana, he married. As early as 507 he was known as a learned man, and as such was entrusted byKing Theodoric with several important missions. He enjoyed the confidence of the king, and as a patrician ofRome was looked up to by the representatives of the Roman nobility. When, however, his enemies accused him of disloyalty to theOstrogothic king, alleging that he plotted to restore "Roman liberty", and added the accusation of "sacrilege" (the practice ofastrology), neither his noble birth nor his great popularity availed him. He was cast intoprison, condemned unheard, and executed by order ofTheodoric. During hisimprisonment, he reflected on the instability of the favour of princes and the inconstancy of the devotion of his friends. These reflections suggested to him the theme of his best-knownphilosophical work, the "De Consolatione Philosophiae".

Tradition began very early to represent Boethius as amartyr for theChristian Faith. It was believed that among the accusations brought against him was devotion to theCatholic cause, which at that time was championed by the Emperor Justin against theArianTheodoric. In the eighth century this tradition had assumed definite shape, and in many places Boethius washonoured as amartyr, and his feast observed on the twenty-third of October. In recent times, critical scholarship has gone to the opposite extreme, and there have not been wanting critics who asserted that Boethius was not aChristian at all, or that, if he was, heabjured the Faith before his death. The foundation for this opinion is the fact that in the "Consolations of Philosophy" no mention is made of Christ or of theChristian religion. A saner view, which seems at the present time to be prevalent among scholars, is that Boethius was aChristian and remained aChristian to the end.

That he was aChristian isproved by histheological tracts, some of which, as we shall see, are undoubtedly genuine. That he remained aChristian is the obvious inference from the ascertained fact of his continued association with Symmachus; and if the "Consolations of Philosophy" bears no trace ofChristian influence, the explanation is at hand in the fact that it is an entirely artificial exercise, aphilosophical dialogue modelled on strictlypagan productions, a treatise in which, according to theideas of method which prevailed at the time,Christian feeling andChristian thought had no proper place. Besides, even if we disregard certain allusions which some interpret in aChristian sense, there are passages in the treatise which seem plainly to hint that, after philosophy has poured out all her consolations for the benefit of theprisoner, there are more potent remedies (validiora remedia) to which he may have recourse. There can be no reasonabledoubt, then, that Boethius died aChristian, though it is not easy to show from documentary sources that he died amartyr for theCatholicFaith. The absence of documentary evidence does not, however, prevent us from giving due value to the constant tradition on this point. The local cult of Boethius at Pavia was sanctioned when, in 1883, the Sacred Congregation of Rites confirmed the custom prevailing in thatdiocese of honouring St. Severinus Boethius, on the 23rd of October.

To thescience of mathematics and the theory of music Boethius contributed the "De Institutione Arithmetic Libri II", "De Institutione Music Libri V", and "Geometria Euclidis a Boethio in Latinum translata". The last-mentioned work is found in variousmanuscripts of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. There is also found among themanuscripts a work "De Geometri", which, in its extant form, is considered to be a ninth- or tenth-century elaboration of a work of Boethius. How far the work is genuine, and to what extent interpolations have crept in, is a question of more than ordinary interest for the student of general history, for on the answer to this question depends the determination of thedate of the first use of Arabic numerals in WesternEurope. Boethius'philosophical works include:

These exercised very great influence on the development ofmedieval terminology, method, anddoctrine, especially inlogic. In fact, theschoolmen, down to the beginning of the twelfth century, depended entirely on Boethius for theirknowledge ofAristotle's doctrines. They adopted his definitions and made them current in theschools; for instance, the definitions of "person", "eternity", etc.

Thetheological works of Boethius include "De Trinitate"; two short treatises (opuscula) addressed toJohn the Deacon (afterwardsPope John I); "Liber contra Eutychen et Nestorium"; and "De Fide Catholica" (generally regarded as spurious, although the only argument against its genuineness is the lack ofmanuscript authority). These were much studied in the earlyMiddle Ages, as is testified by the number of glosses found in themanuscripts as far back as the ninth century (e.g. glosses by JohnScotus Erigena and Remi of Auxerre). To thetheologians of theMiddle Ages generally they appealed as the genuine works of theChristianmartyr, Boethius. In modern times, those who denied that Boethius was aChristian were, of course,obliged to reject the opuscula as spurious. However, the publication of the so-called "Anecdoton Holderi" (ed. by Usener, Leipzig, 1877) brought to light a new argument for their genuineness. For, asCassiodorus ought certainly to have known which works of Boethius were genuine, when he wrote "[Boethius] scripsit librum de Sanct Trinitate et capita quaedam dogmatica et librum contra Nestorium", he settled the question as far as four of the treatises are concerned.

Boethius' best-known work is the "Consolations of Philosophy" written during hisimprisonment — "by far the most interesting example ofprison literature the world has ever seen." It is a dialogue between Philosophy and Boethius, in which the Queen of Sciences strives to console the fallen statesman. The main argument of the discourse is the transitoriness and unreality of all earthly greatness and the superior desirability of the things of the mind. There are evident traces of the influence of theNeo-Platonists, especially of Proclus, and little, if anything, that can be said to reflectChristian influences. The recourse toStoicism, especially to the doctrines of Seneca, was inevitable, considering the nature of the theme. It does astonish the modern reader, although, strange to say, it did not surprise themedieval student, that Boethius, aChristian, and, as everyone in theMiddle Ages believed, aChristianmartyr, should have failed, in his moment of trial andmental stress to refer to the obviousChristian sources of consolation. Perhaps themedieval student of Boethius understood better than we do that a strictly formal dialogue on the consolation ofphilosophy should adhere rigorously to the realm of "naturaltruth" and leave out of consideration the lesson to be derived from the moral maxims ofChristianity — "supernaturaltruth".

The work takes up many problems ofmetaphysics as well as of ethics. It treats of theBeing and Nature of God, of providence and fate, of the origin of theuniverse, and of the freedom of the will. Inmedieval times, it became one of the most popular and influentialphilosophical books, a favourite study of statesmen, poets, and historians, as well as ofphilosophers andtheologians. It was translated into Anglo-Saxon byKing Alfred the Great, and into Old German byNotker Teutonicus; its influence may be traced in Beowulf and inChaucer, in Anglo-Norman and Provençal popular poetry, in the first specimens of Italian verse, as well as in the "Divina Commedia". The important part which it played inDante'smental struggle after the death of Beatrice is described in the "Convito", where, strange to say, it is referred to as "a book not known to many". Echoes of it and citations from it occur frequently in the "Divina Commedia". For instance, the lines which Tennyson paraphrases by "a sorrow's crown of sorrow" are themselves at least a haunting memory of Boethius' "In omni adversitate fortunae infelicissimum genus est infortunii fuisse felicem" (De Consol. Phil., II, Pros. IV). That the "De Consolatione" was a favourite study of thetheologians as well as of the poets is evidenced by the numerous imitations under the title "De Consolatione Theologiae" which were widely read during the laterMiddle Ages.

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