Boethius composed De Consolation Philosophiae in the 6th century while awaiting death by torture, condemned on a charge of plotting against Gothic rule, which he protested as manifestly unjust. Though a Christian, Boethius details the true end of life as the soul's knowledge of God, and consoles himself with the tenets of Greek philosophy, not with Christian precepts.Written in a form called Meippean Satire that alternates between prose & verse, Boethius' work often consists of a story told by Ovid or Horace to illustrate the philosophy being expounded.The Consolation of Philosophy dominated the intellectual world of the Middle Ages. It inspired writers as diverse Thomas Aquinas, Jean de Meun & Dante. In England it was rendered into Old English by Alfred the Great, into Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer. Later Queen Elizabeth I made her own translation. The circumstances of composition, the heroic demeanor of the author, and the Meippean texture of part prose, part verse have been a fascination for students of philosophy, literature and religion ever since.

La consolation de la philosophie

This new edition of Boethius' Consolatio Philosophiae and Opuscula Theologica aims to present both the metaphysical and literary works of this great Roman philosopher to readers. The text of the Consolatio collates all of the manuscripts already employed by the previous editors, plus a good number of 9th-10th century testimonia. As for the Opuscula Theologica, the last critical edition was the one edited by Peiper more than hundred years ago (1871). Although the Opuscula can also be found in a Loeb edition (Rand-Tester ed.), this new Teubner edition will be the first to offer any critical support and apparatus.

Boethius de Consolatione Philosophiae Opuscala Theologica

Consolation de la philosophie

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1918 edition. Excerpt: ... THE THIRD BOOK OF BOETHIUS i. Though she had ended her verse, yet the sweetness of it made me remain astonished, attentive, and desirous to hear her longer. Wherefore, after a while, I said: "O most effectual refreshment of wearied minds, how have I been comforted with thy weighty sentences and pleasing music! Insomuch that I begin to think myself not unable to encounter the assaults of Fortune. Wherefore, I am not now afraid, but rather earnestly desire to know those remedies, which before thou toldest me were too sharp." To which she answered: "I perceived as much as thou sayest, when I saw thee hearken to my speeches with so great silence and attention, and I expected this disposition of thy mind, or rather more truly caused it myself. For the remedies which remain are of that sort that they are bitter to the taste, but being inwardly received wax sweet. 15 quod tu te audiendi cupidum dicis, quanto ardore flagrares, si quonam te ducere aggrediamur agnosceres!" "Quonam?" inquam. "Ad ueram," inquit, "felicitatem, quam tuus quoque somniat animus, sed occupato ad imagines uisu ipsam illam 20 non potest intueri." Tum ego: "Fac obsecro et quae illa uera sit, sine cunctatione demonstra." "Faciam," inquit illa, "tui causa libenter. Sed quae tibi causa notior est, eam prius designare uerbis atque informare conabor ut ea perspecta cum in 25 contrariam partem flexeris oculos, uerae beatitudinis speciem possis agnoscere. I. Qui serere ingenuum uolet agrum, Liberat arua prius fruticibus, Falce rubos filicemque resecat, Vt noua fruge grauis Ceres eat. 5 Dulcior est apium mage labor, Si malus ora prius sapor edat. Gratius astra nitent ubi Notus Desinit imbriferos dare sonos. Lucifer ut tenebras pepulerit 10 Pulchra dies roseos agit equos. Tu quoque...

Traités théologiques

La Consolation est un texte unique dans l'antiquité, où une figure allégorique, Philosophia, s'adresse à son élève (Boèce) et lui apporte la consolation de son enseignement (évidemment une présentation du monde de type néo-platonicien). Ce dialogue est l’Œuvre d’un haut personnage romain chrétien, sénateur et patrice, emprisonné et accusé de haute trahison, alors qu’il attendait la mort, vers 524 après J.-C.. Cette situation « d’urgence » et d’imminence de la mort (pensons à celle de Socrate), démentie par la belle sobriété du texte, est devenu un modèle pour la philosophie, dernier rempart de la beauté et de la méditation, symbole de résistance à l’oppression et de méditation sur la condition humaine.La Consolation de Philosophie devait devenir l’un des ouvrages fondamentaux du Moyen Age, à côté de ceux de St Augustin, de St Benoît et de Bède le vénérable. C’est évidemment aussi un lointain modèle de la Divine Comédie de Dante. Boèce est un parfait représentant de la haute culture italienne de l’époque, déchirée entre sa fidélité à une tradition classique tenace (les satires grecques ou latines, la philosophie grecque, les consolations de Cicéron, Ovide ou Sénèque) et les réalités politiques de son temps, celui de l’Empereur Justinien (occupation par les Goths, la persécution des chrétiens, attrait d’un Orient encore brillant de sa vie culturelle).La présente traduction, inédite, tient compte de très nombreux travaux modernes ; elle est due à un spécialiste de Boèce, Jean-Yves Guillaumin, professeur à l'Université de Franche-Comté.

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