Synopsis
BOËTHIUS, Anicius Manlius Severinus, b. in Rome,
480; beheaded at Pavia, 525; descended from a wealthy and influential Roman
family; studied in Athens, and occupied for several years a very prominent
position in the Roman world, equally revered by the people, and esteemed by the
Ostrogothic king, Theodoric, the ruler of Italy. The decree of the Emperor
Justin against the Arians was the first event which made Boëthius
suspected; but Theodoric now banished him to Pavia, where he afterwards had him
confined in a dungeon, and finally beheaded. By his translations of
Aristotle’s Analytica, Topica, Soph. Elench., and of
the Isagoge of Porphyry, by his elaborate commentaries on these works,
and by his own independent writings, Introductio ad Categoricas
Syllogismos, De Syllogismo Categorico, De Syllogismo
Hypothetico, De Divisione, De Definitione, etc.,
Boëthius became the connecting link between the logical and metaphysical
science of antiquity and the scientific attempts of the middle ages; and a
still greater influence he came to exercise on medieval thought by his De
Consolatione Philosophæ and the various theological writings which
were ascribed to him. The Consolatio Philosophicæ was written
during the imprisonment of the author at Pavia; but though it is certain that
Boëthius was a Christian, at least nominally, it never touches Christian
ground: all the comfort it contains it owes to the optimism of the neo-platonic
school and to the stoicism of Seneca. Nevertheless, during the middle ages this
book was read with the greatest reverence by all Christendom. King Alfred
translated it into Anglo-Saxon, which translation was edited by Rawlinson,
Oxford, 1698; and Thomas Aquinas wrote a commentary on it. Having thus advanced
from the position of a mere logician to that of a moralist, he finally reached
that of a theologian. It is not probable that he has written any of the
theological works ascribed to him; but the tradition is very old. He is
mentioned by Alcuin as author of De Sancta Trinitate; by Hinemar of
Rheims, as author of Utrum Pater et Filius et Spinitus Sanctum de Divinitate
instantialiter praedicentur, etc. Collected editions of the works of
Boëthius appeared at Venice, 1492; Basle, 1546 and 1570; and in MIGNE: Patrol., tom. 68 and 64. The theological works were published at
Louvain, [306] 1633. The Consolatio Philosophæ was translated into
English by Preston, 1695.
F. Nitzsch,"Boethius," Philip Schaff, ed., A Religious Encyclopaedia or Dictionary of Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal,
and Practical Theology, 3rd edn., Vol. 1. Toronto, New York & London:
Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1894. pp.305-306.
 |
 Boethius, The Consolation of
Philosophy, Victor E. Watts, translator. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books,
1999. Pbk. ISBN: 0140447806. pp.192. {CBD} {Amazon.com} |
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Boethius, The Theological Tractates, 2nd edn. E.K. Rand, ed. H.F. Stewart &
E.K. Rand, translators. Loeb Classical Libary. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1973. Hbk. ISBN: 0674990838. pp.458. {Amazon.com} |
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Paul
Vincent Spade, Five Texts on the Mediaeval Problem of Universals: Porphyry,
Boethius, Abelard, Duns Scotus, Ockham. Hackett Publishing Co., Inc., 1994.
Hbk. ISBN: 087220250X. pp.238. {Amazon.com} |
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Boethius
of Dacia, On the Supreme Good, on the Eternity of the World, on Dreams: On
the Supreme Good, on the Eternity of the World, on Dreams. Mediaeval
Sources in Translation, 30. John F. Wippel, translator. Pontifical Institute of
Medieval, 1987. Pbk. ISBN: 0888442807. {Amazon.com} |
 |
W. Bark, "Boethius's Fourth Tractate,
the So-Called De Fide Catholica," Harvard Theological Review 39 (1946):
55-69. |
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Henry Chadwick, "The Authenticity of
Boethius's Fourth Tractate De Fide Catholic," Journal of Theological
Studies n.s. 31 (1980): 551-56. |
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Henry
Chadwick, Boethius: The Consolations of Music, Logic, Theology, and
Philosophy. Oxford: Clarendon, 1981. Reprinted: Oxford University Press
Reprints distributed by Sandpiper Books, 1981. Hbk. ISBN: 019826447X.
pp.330. {Amazon.com} |
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L. Cooper, A Concordance of
Boethius: The Five Theological Tractates and the Consolation of Philosophy.
Medieval Academy of America, Publication 1. Cambridge, 1928. |
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William Lane Craig, "Boethius on
Theological Fatalism," Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 64.4 (1990):
324-347. |
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Margaret
Gibson, ed., Boethius: His Life, Thought and Influence. Oxford:
Blackwell Publishers, 1981. Hbk. ISBN: 0631111417. pp.480. {Amazon.com} |
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Nikolaus M. Häring, ed., The
Commentaries on Boethius by Gilbert of Poitiers, Studies and Texts 13.
Toronto, 1966. |
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 Maarten J.F.M. Hoenen & Lodi W. Nauta, Boethius in the Middle Ages: Latin and Vernacular Traditions in the
Consolatio Philosophiae. Studien & Texte Zur Geistesgeschichte Des
Mittelalters. Leiden: Brill, 1997. Hbk. ISBN: 9004108319. pp.336. {Amazon.com} |
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Henrik
Lagerlund, Emotions and Choice from Boethius to Descartes. Kluwer
Academic Publishers, 2002. Pbk. ISBN: 1402010273. pp.356. {Amazon.com} |
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J. Magee, "Note on Boethius, Consalatio
1, 1, 5; 3, 7; A New Biblical Parallel," Verbum Caro 42 (1988):
79-82. |
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John
Marenbon, Boethius. Great Medieval Thinkers. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2003. Hbk. ISBN: 0195134060. pp.304. {Amazon.com} |
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Anicius
Manlius Severinus Boethius (J J O'Connor and E F Robertson) |
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Gerald
J.P. O'Daly, The Poetry of Boethius. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co.
Ltd., 1991. Hbk. ISBN: 0715623664. pp.264. |
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E.K.
Rand, The Founders of the Middle Ages. Cambridge: MA: Dover
Publications, 1928. Pbk. ISBN: 0486203697. pp.135-80. {Amazon.com} |
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John P. Rosheger, "Boethius and the
Paradoxical Mode of Theological Discourse," American Catholic Philosophical
Quarterly 75.3 (2001): 323-343. |
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H. Martin Rumscheidt, "Voices From
Prison: Beothius and Bonhoeffer," Studies in Religion/Sciences
Religieuses 10.4 (1981): 463-471. |
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J. Shiel, "Boethius' Commentary on
Aristotle," Medieval and Renaissance Studies 4 (1958):
217-44. |
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Anicius
Manlius Severinus Boethius (William Turner) |
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