Boethius Consolation of Philosophy as a Product of Late Antiquity

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In the last fifty years the field of Late Antiquity has advanced significantly. Today we have a picture of this period that is more precise and accurate than before. However, the study of one of the most significant texts of this age, Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, has not benefited enough from these advances in scholarship. Antonio Donato aims to fill this gap by investigating how the study of the Consolation can profit from the knowledge of Boethius' cultural, political and social background that is available today. The book focuses on three topics: Boethius' social/political background, his notion of philosophy and its sources, and his understanding of the relation between Christianity and classical culture. These topics deal with issues that are of crucial importance for the exegesis of the Consolation. The study of Boethius' social/political background allows us to gain a better understanding of the identity of the character Boethius and to recognize his role in the Consolation. Examination of the possible sources of Boethius' notion of philosophy and of their influence on the Consolation offers valuable instruments to evaluate the role of the text's philosophical discussions and their relation to its literary features. Finally, the long-standing problem of the lack of overt Christian elements in the Consolation can be enlightened by considering how Boethius relies on a peculiar understanding of philosophy's goal and its relation to Christianity that was common among some of his predecessors and contemporaries.

Reviews

Donato presents Boethiuss well-known Consolation of Philosophy in a strikingly new way, by stressing its authors 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. -- Professor John Marenbon, Trinity College, Cambridge, UK
Antonio Donato's trenchant analysis of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy as a "product" of Late Antiquity includes fresh and important insights which aid in resolving many of the traditional exegetical difficulties readers have had with this text. Historians, philosophers, and theologians will surely profit from this new reading of Boethius -- William E. Carroll, University of Oxford, UK
This is an important book. With itand in the company his three substantial and near-contemporary articles on Consolation, modestly unrecorded in his bibliography1 Donato emerges as a new and powerful voice in Boethian studies. -- Joel C. Relihan, Wheaton College, USA * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

Author Bio

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.