Boethius | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Martyr | |
| Born | c. 480 Rome, Kingdom of Odoacer |
| Died | 524 (aged 44) Pavia, Ostrogothic Kingdom |
| Venerated in | Diocese of Pavia |
| Major shrine | San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro |
| Feast | 23 October |
Philosophy career | |
| Notable work | The Consolation of Philosophy |
| Era | Medieval philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Neoplatonism |
Main interests | |
Notable ideas | |
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Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius,[6][note 1] commonly known simply as Boethius (/boʊˈiːθiəs/; Latin: Boetius; c. 480–524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, magister officiorum, polymath, historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the translation of the Greek classics into Latin, a precursor to the Scholastic movement, and, along with Cassiodorus, one of the two leading Christian scholars of the 6th century.[9] The local cult of Boethius in the Diocese of Pavia was sanctioned by the Sacred Congregation of Rites in 1883, confirming the diocese's custom of honouring him on the 23 October.[10]
Boethius was born in Rome a few years after the forced abdication of the last Western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus. A member of the Anicii family, he was orphaned following the family's sudden decline and was raised by Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, a later consul. After mastering both Latin and Greek in his youth, Boethius rose to prominence as a statesman during the Ostrogothic Kingdom, becoming a senator by age 25, a consul by age 33, and later chosen as a personal advisor to Theodoric the Great.
In seeking to reconcile the teachings of Plato and Aristotle with Christian theology, Boethius sought to translate the entirety of the Greek classics for Western scholars. He published numerous transcriptions and commentaries of the works of Nicomachus, Porphyry, and Cicero, among others, and wrote extensively on matters concerning music, mathematics, and theology. Though his translations were unfinished following an untimely death, it is largely due to them that the works of Aristotle survived into the Renaissance.
Despite his successes as a senior official, Boethius became deeply unpopular among other members of the Ostrogothic court for denouncing the extensive corruption prevalent among other members of government. After publicly defending fellow consul Caecina Albinus from charges of conspiracy, he was imprisoned by Theodoric around the year 523. While jailed Boethius wrote On the Consolation of Philosophy, a philosophical treatise on fortune, death, and other issues which became one of the most influential and widely reproduced works of the Early Middle Ages. He was tortured and executed in 524,[11] becoming a martyr in the Christian faith by tradition.[note 2][note 3]
- ^ Barrett 1940, p. 37.
- ^ Fried 2015, p. 102.
- ^ Smith 2014, p. 66.
- ^ Marenbon 2003, p. 168.
- ^ Hodgkin 1896, p. 688.
- ^ Marenbon 2003, p. 7.
- ^ a b Hodgkin 1885, p. 523.
- ^ Barrett 1940, p. 33.
- ^ Matthews 1981, p. 16.
- ^ Turner 1907.
- ^ Matthews 1981, p. 15.
- ^ Fried 2015, p. 28.
- ^ Barrett 1940, p. vii.
- ^ Barrett 1940, p. 59.
- ^ Boethius 2001, p. xxii.
- ^ Boethius 2000, p. xiv.
- ^ Marenbon 2003, p. 10.
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