Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy as a Product of Late Antiquity

Antonio Donato is Assistant Professor of Medieval Philosophy, Queens College, CUNY, USA. He has a DPhil from Oxford University and a PHD from the University of Padua.

• Introduction 1 Boethius and the Ideology of the Roman Senatorial Aristocracy ­ The Ideology of the Roman Senatorial Aristocracy I: Education andLiterary Pursuits ­ The Ideology of the Roman Senatorial Aristocracy II: Wealth, Nobility,Political Prominence and Morality Boethius’ Family Heritage: the Anicii and the Symmachi ­ The Philosopher in Politics Consolation I.4 and the Ideology of the Roman Senatorial Aristocracy Philosophy and External Goods ­The Possession of Wealth Power and Dignitas The Vanity of GloryConclusion 2 ­ The Illness and the Healer Vita Activa and Vita Contemplativa in the Ideal Philosopher Boethius’ Illness: Forgetfulness Philosophy, a Peculiar Character ­ The Appearance of Philosophy Living as a Philosopher Philosophy, a ‘Dialectical’ Doctor Philosophy’s ­ Therapy and its Methods ­ The ‘Philosophical’ ­ Therapy Conclusion 3 How does Philosophy Convey her ­ Therapy?Poetry and Rhetoric as Instruments of Philosophy’s ­ Therapy Poetry and the Consolation ­ The Poetics of the Consolation Poetry, Music and ­ Therapy: the Consolation’s Sources ­ The Source of Music’s ­ Therapeutic Power: the Consolation’s SourcesMusic and ­ Therapy in Boethius’ De Musica ­ The Poems of the Consolation Poetry Quotations in the Consolation Rhetoric and the Consolation ­ The Use of Exemplum ­ The Use of Myths ­ The Use of Personi- cations Conclusion 4 Christianity and the Consolation Christianity and Classical Culture in Boethius’ Circles Christianity and Philosophia Philosophy and Wisdom in Boethius’ Works Philosophy and Wisdom in the Consolation Conclusion Concluding RemarksBibliography Index

Donato presents Boethius’s well-known Consolation of Philosophy in a strikingly new way, by stressing its author’s consciousness of himself as a Roman aristocrat, with very specific values and obligations. This thesis is developed into a reinterpretation of how Philosophy consoles, and how Boethius conveys his message through poetry and images as well as argument.