false 31837 37 Boethius composed De Consolation Philosophiae in the sixth century A.D. 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 and 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, and Dante. In England it was rendered into Old English by Alfred the Great, into Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer, and 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. 835371 book 1962 The Consolation of Philosophy: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics) total:567|5:193|4:184|3:142|2:42|1:6| 567 2217 864 74 4 3 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Thu Sep 04 12:37:56 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 16 05:31:41 -0700 2008 3
Invaluable aid to understanding the worldview of Medieval man. For a scholarly analysis of what and how, refer to C. S. Lewis's The Discarded Image ISBN 0521477352....more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1994 Wed Oct 07 16:42:23 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 10:35:40 -0700 2009
In 524, Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius was executed, most likely by strangulation, on a charge of treason. Whilst languishing in prison, he wrote a book...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Aug 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 17:55:40 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 18:29:04 -0700 2009
Boethius, an imperial official in the waning days of Rome, wrote this book to console himself when he was a political prisoner under Theodoric the Ostrogoth – so it isn't exactly a book you'd expect to be brimming with relevan...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jun 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 15:17:47 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 15:18:37 -0700 2009

_Here you find the unequivocal declaration that not riches, not high position, not fame, not physical pleasure are worth pursuing in-and-of themselves. Such things are of value only if they are obtained in the pursuit of the highest Good. This hi...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue Mar 17 07:00:25 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 07:21:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 17:43:46 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 10:34:51 -0700 2009 librivox.org - free, volunteer driven, public domain audiobooks)

The book itself: I rather enjoyed this text. Boethius' use of Platonic dialogue as the vehicle for is philosophical points, intermixed with solid classical poetry (that served t...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Jan 09 23:27:56 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 13 15:28:30 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jan 13 05:48:21 -0800 2008 Thu Sep 11 16:54:13 -0700 2008 2 5 1 false false Wed Sep 26 06:02:56 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 26 06:03:55 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Mon Dec 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 01 07:43:53 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 12:01:22 -0800 2009
In real life the Roman, Boethius, wrote this while awaiting his own execution, during a time when the Dark Ages had just descended upon Euro...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Sep 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 01 12:26:41 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 15:49:08 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 07:42:03 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 11:32:20 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Sep 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 17 09:30:34 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 17 09:39:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Feb 29 17:44:53 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 15 14:21:32 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Aug 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 14 18:20:29 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 14 18:47:04 -0700 2008 While I can't help but wonder if Boethius wrote this to make himself feel better about his own impending execution, the piece is a...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Oct 10 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Tue Feb 17 16:11:50 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 16:14:28 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1997 Wed Dec 17 11:45:35 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 11:45:35 -0800 2008
If I could recommend only five books in philosophy to the casual reader, this would be one of them.]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 20:26:27 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 20:48:03 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 26 09:27:26 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 09:28:30 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Dec 22 08:48:02 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 08:49:23 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3209413