The Consolation of Philosophy (Book III)

Heath Readings in the Literature of Europe | 500 A.D. | Anicius Manlius Torquatus Severinus Boethius

[Cincincinati Spiritus]

Just thought I'ld show off. I have "Consolatio Philosophiae" in the Latin. I could translate it for you but my Latin is pretty rusty. . . very rusty. Give me a few months. :) In the meanwhile I am sure you can still find his work in print, most likely in an anthology. It is a fairly short work.

And I must disagree with your assessment of the derth of thought between Rome and the Renaissance. Some of the greatest philosophy, political thought and literature was produced during the "dark ages," even if they were technologically "backwards." Using technology as the measure, ancient Greece was backwards compared with the Romans, but far surpassed them in literature and thought. I suppose it depends on how you measure the greatness of a civilization or a man. Boethius has some insight in this matter.

But what do you mean by your statement "since classical theories of history did not assume continuing progress" ?

[bourbon]

thanks for posting this. it's very interesting. I had heard of Boethius and known of his life story, but I had never read his works.

oddly enough, the first place I had ever heard of _The Consolation of Philosophy_ was in John Kennedy Toole's wonderful comic novel _A Confederacy of Dunces_. The protagonist in that novel, a New Orleans hot-dog vendor who fancies himself to be a great philosopher, hands out copies of Boethius' book to numerous people he believes are confused. If you or anyone else on this thread hasn't read this _ACofD_ you might want to. It's probably the funniest book I've ever read and a real scream for anyone with a background in philosophy or a good knowledge of New Orleans.

take care now....

[Avoiding_Sulla]

But what do you mean by your statement "since classical theories of history did not assume continuing progress" ?

I think he may have been referring to the ancient view, prior to the influx of Judeo-Christian thought, that life was cyclical, repetitive, rather than progressive.

[annalex]

Another outdated observation is that riches must be torn off from others.

[A.J.Armitage]

I didn't see that at all. I did see it saying that riches can be stolen, i.e., can be torn off from you if you have them. Maybe I missed something. BTW, I'll eventually get back to you on the other thread.

[annalex]

It is pretty clear here:

Would you heap up money? You will need to tear it from its owner.

We can't blame him; before capitalism, there was no systematic way to generate wealth, only ways to redistribute it by force.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

I think he may have been referring to the ancient view, prior to the influx of Judeo-Christian thought, that life was cyclical, repetitive, rather than progressive.

That was my main point, but many ancients did not presume to have a 'philosophy of history', they told a story, like Herodotus, or analyzed an historical event, like Thucydides. With Polybius, the idea of the rise and decline of cultures (Roman and Greek/Hellenistic, respectively) became more widespread. Christian historians were more interested in the bioigraphies of martyrs and church leaders, less interested in civil history, and inclined to leave historical purposes to Divine benevolence.

[Bob J]

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[Cincincinati Spiritus]

Christian historians were more interested in the biographies of martyrs and church leaders, less interested in civil history, and inclined to leave historical purposes to Divine benevolence

That is what I thought you meant. From what I understand almost universally the ancients saw history as cyclical. You do not give Chrisianity its due, however. For in my opinion it was divine revelation that began history, first with Creation, but also in God's guidance of the Jews in and through human events and individuals in preparation for Redemption and now looking forward to the final consummation. Christianity stopped the cycles. The Old Testament is the first progressive history, but many Christians have continued that perspective.

The belief in "progress" is a poor substitute eschatalogy without reference to anything beyond the material world. Evolution too is a hollow imitation.

[SunkenCiv]

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