Boethius was an eminent public figure under the Gothic emperor Theodoric, and an exceptional Greek scholar. When he became involved in a conspiracy and was imprisoned in Pavia, it was to the Greek philosophers that he turned. The Consolation was written in the period leading up to his brutal execution. It is a dialogue of alternating prose and verse between the ailing prisoner and his 'nurse' Philosophy. Her instruction on the nature of fortune and happiness, good and evil, fate and free will, restore his health and bring him to enlightenment. The Consolation was extremely popular throughout medieval Europe and his ideas were influential on the thought of Chaucer and Dante. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Consolation of Philosophy (Penguin Classics)

Boethius, Ancius

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Penguin Classics

The Consolation of Philosophy

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The Consolation of Philosophy has been described as the single most important and influential work in the West on medieval and early Renaissance Christianity, and is also the last great Western work of the Classical Period. Written while Boethius was in prison awaiting execution, the work consists of a dialogue in alternating prose and verse between the author, lamenting his own sorrows, and a majestic woman, who is the incarnation of his guardian Philosophy. The woman develops a modified form of Neo-Platonism and Stoicism, demonstrating the unreality of earthly fortunes, then proving that the highest good and the highest happiness are in God, and reconciling the apparent contradictions concerning the existence of everything.

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Consolation of Philosophy

Owing heavily to the styles of Plato and Socrates, Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy is a deep investigation into the nature of wisdom and the physical world. Making use of fiction, dialogue, and other Platonic conventions, Boethius’s envisioned discussions with Philosophy personified take the reader on a journey of philosophical inquiry and reflection that is as stimulating today as it was in the sixth century.

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