On Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, pt. 1
A Book-by-Book Reading Guide
In this short series on Boethius, I’m providing some resources for reading the Consolation of Philosophy. In each post I will give a basic outline of a book of the Consolation along with some reading questions to guide you as you work your way through the text. Welcome to the feast!
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Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy was one of the most celebrated and influential books of the medieval period. It is an extended dialogue between Boethius and Lady Philosophy (a personification of the love of wisdom) that explores themes of justice vs. injustice, innocent suffering, good and evil, virtue, the quest for happiness in the midst of a broken world, and the relationship between time and eternity. Among those heady topics, however, there are also beautiful meditations on very personal questions of courage in the face of unjust suffering and hope in the face of doom. It is a text that is truly and properly consoling of the deepest anguishes of life in this world, conducted through the instruction of Philosophy herself. But what I admire so much about the Consolation is that it refuses saccharine and sentimental consolations. Lady Philosophy is a rigorous therapist of Boethius’ mind and heart. She consoles with truth not pleasure, intervening to stem the flow of poisonous despair in Boethius’ mind and imagination. She presses him—and us, the readers—with rigorous dialogue, heady philosophical discussion, and intense confrontations with some of the hardest questions of life. The book is a wonder of philosophy and poetry; it is truly one of the greatest texts of our world.
And yet it is not only a great book, worthy to be read for its intellectual power and beauty. It is indeed a consolation for all of us as readers, too. If we linger with them, we will find Lady Philosophy and Boethius eventually discussing ideas and experiences that tap into perennial issues of the human experience. We will find our questions, though perhaps couched in different words and explored through unfamiliar concepts, taken up and taken seriously by these two interlocutors: why do good people suffer while evil people prosper? is there any hope for me in the midst of loss? is God actually in control? why bother being good if it is only going to work out badly for you?
If you’ve not yet gone on this intellectual and spiritual journey with Boethius and Lady Philosophy, consider yourself warmly invited! If you are looking for an intellectual challenge, enjoy the feast that Lady Philosophy lays out. If you are looking for spiritual consolation, I hope that reading this book can give you a taste of the peace of eternity. As Lady Philosophy sings, “Once the troubles of earth are overcome, you gain the fixed stars.”
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Boethius (480-524) was a Roman philosopher and political official who ascended to the heights of power as magister officiorum under Theodoric the Great. At the very height of his powers, however, he was betrayed at court and ended up unjustly imprisoned and sentenced to execution. While imprisoned, Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy, one of the greatest texts of history and of that special genre of “Prison Literature.”
An Online of Book 1:
Boethius begins in prison, falling into intellectual and emotional despair as he listens to the poetic dirge of the Muses whose music nourishes his despair.
Lady Philosophy bursts into the space and rebukes the Muses. She will teach Boethius new verses to bring him back to himself even in the midst of his suffering. Her therapy will be both philosophical and musical.
It is worth considering why Lady Philosophy’s “consolation” will include song. Is there something about music that does intellectual/moral/spiritual work in us? Is music a kind of therapy? Is Lady Philosophy trying to attune Boethius in some ways beyond just intellectually convincing him?
The tragedy and irony of Boethius is the way his love of the common good of the people is what undoes him (1.4.8)
His love was taught to him by Philosophy herself (through Plato’s Republic) and her account of the wise rule of just leaders.
Boethius is incredulous, not about the fact of wickedness, but rather at the successes of wicked men (1.4.28). He protests against this, both politically and theologically.
The moral and theological problem: if there is a God, how can there be evil? If there is not a God, how can there be good?
Boethius accuses Philosophy: I am in this situation because of you (1.4.41).
God controls all cosmic powers, ordering and arranging them; the same goes for all human deeds (1.5.26-30).
Philosophy’s rebuttal is that Boethius himself departs from his “fatherland” because no human being has the power to drive him out (1.5).
Exile from God’s true city is impossible.
Boethius’ real complaint is against Fortune (1.5.10) and her fickle treatment of him in history.
To heal Boethius, Philosophy must be gentle because Boethius is subject to passions to soften him and make him ready to receive stronger philosophical medicines.
Philosophy’s strategy is to begin by taking the metaphysical and epistemological pulse of Boethius’ thought by inquiring:
Is the world random or guided by God’s providence?
If God pilots the boat of the world, what are the rudders of God’s government?
What is the goal of things?
What is the source of things?
To know the source is to know the goal! (1.6.12)
Exitus-reditus philosophy. Circle imagery.
What is a human being?
Boethius: A rational, moral animal
Philosophy: Fool, you have ceased to know yourself!
Your problem, Boethius, is self-forgetfulness (1.6.18). From this first error, he loses knowledge of the telos (goal) of creation and the rudders of the world.
But Philosophy identifies that Boethius has one correct belief, his belief that the world functions according to divine reason. This will be enough of a foundation for her reconstruction of Boethius’ understanding and his personhood.
Reading Questions for Book 1:
--What differences are there between Boethius the character and Boethius the author?
-- What spiritual and moral state does Lady Philosophy find Boethius in? What role does poetry play both in Boethius' state and in Philosophy's therapy? Why is poetry such a significant part of the book?
-- What is a human being and why is the lack of self-knowledge spiritually dangerous?
-- What does Boethius believe that is true and that will prove to be a tool that Philosophy uses for her therapy? Do you agree that this one thing is indeed both true and useful? Why or why not?