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The Consolation of Philosophy was arguably the second most important text in Western Thought, after the Bible, for more than a thousand years. It was widely read and studied, translated (from the original Latin) by a broad range of people including King Alfred, Queen Elizabeth I, and Geoffrey Chaucer. In a day before printing, when books had to be hand-copied, a copy could be found in almost every serious reader's library.
Boethius was central figure in 6th Century Rome. In addition to holding h ...more
Boethius was central figure in 6th Century Rome. In addition to holding h ...more

Dec 29, 2014
Alexander
rated it
it was amazing
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review of another edition
Shelves:
theology,
philosophy
I should have read this long ago, and finally did so on the recommendation of a friend who (despite disagreeing with its basic outlook) considered it the most beautiful book in philosophy of religion that he had read. I can understand why: the overall arc of the book, the clarity and sharpness of its prose, the poetry with which its ideas are punctuated and expressed, and the depth of its themes all contribute to making it, as one commentator has said, as magnificent a work of literature as it i
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Read this and reviews of other classics in Western Philosophy on the History page of www.BestPhilosophyBooks.org (a thinkPhilosophy Production).
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Ancius Boethius wrote his masterpiece The Consolations of Philosophy in prison while awaiting his own death. (After rising to great political heights he was implicated in a plot against King Theodoric and unjustly condemned to death.) It is a meditation on the impermanence of the material world and a celebration of Philosophy and those in pursuit ...more
Read this and reviews of other classics in Western Philosophy on the History page of www.BestPhilosophyBooks.org (a thinkPhilosophy Production).
---
Ancius Boethius wrote his masterpiece The Consolations of Philosophy in prison while awaiting his own death. (After rising to great political heights he was implicated in a plot against King Theodoric and unjustly condemned to death.) It is a meditation on the impermanence of the material world and a celebration of Philosophy and those in pursuit ...more

"Philosophy" appears in the form of a woman to the statesman Boethius in this dialectical disquisition on the meaning of human suffering.
In real life the Roman, Boethius, wrote this while awaiting his own execution, during a time when the Dark Ages had just descended upon Europe. His death drawing close, he and the lady Philosophy go point by point over the cruelties of life to see if anything can ever justify it, to be able to look back and say, "It was worth it." The intensity of a thinker so ...more
In real life the Roman, Boethius, wrote this while awaiting his own execution, during a time when the Dark Ages had just descended upon Europe. His death drawing close, he and the lady Philosophy go point by point over the cruelties of life to see if anything can ever justify it, to be able to look back and say, "It was worth it." The intensity of a thinker so ...more

A Must read! The masterpiece of a Roman Scholar who was tragically executed by King Theodoric the Ostrogoth.

Dec 12, 2008
David
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Mar 18, 2009
Διόνυσος Ελευθέριος
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May 27, 2009
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Dec 29, 2010
M
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