3 October 2022

The Consolation of Boethius

Decades ago, I had to go to the hospital for surgery.  As I was gathering things, I looked at my shelves for a book or two to take with me.  At the time I didn’t self-identify as a Platonist; instead, I thought of myself as a Buddhist.  I had studied and practiced Buddhism for over 30 years, I had been a former Buddhist monastic, and I had taught classes in Buddhist thought at Junior Colleges and a few other locations.  I had a lot of Buddhist books, but for some reason none of them seemed to speak to me at this time, meaning none of them felt like they would assist me in my precarious situation.

Tucked away on a shelf, almost hidden, was a copy of The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius.  I had read it many years before in college and when I saw it, I took it off the shelf and put it in my small bag of things to take with me.  It turned out to be perfect; I found it uplifting, insightful, and beautifully crafted.  Since then, I have reread it every two or three years, and it has continued to have the same uplifting effect.

Over the years I have run into many people who have had a similar experience with Consolation.  The book is an antidote to the difficulties of life, putting them in perspective, and deepening our understanding of how these difficulties happen, and how wisdom opens a door that leads us beyond these difficulties.

In the English-speaking world Consolation has had a stellar career; it was translated into Anglo-Saxon by King Alfred, into Middle English by Chaucer, and into Early Modern English by Queen Elizabeth I.  In the medieval period the verse sections of Consolation were turned into songs; some of these songs have recently been reconstructed.  Today there are many translations of Consolation, indicating that it still has a wide appeal.

For those unfamiliar with Consolation, Boethius lived in the late 5^th, early 6^th, centuries.  He was classically educated and was intent on translating Greek philosophy into Latin.  Boethius entered into the political life of that time, rising to a very high position.  His two sons also attained high position.  Suddenly, Boethius was accused of treason by factions at court and he was arrested and thrown in prison.  A year later he was executed.  He wrote The Consolation of Philosophy while in prison.

In the opening of the Consolation Boethius laments his fate.  As Boethius falls into despair, the Goddess Philosophy appears to him in his prison room.  She takes it upon herself to remind Boethius of the teachings of philosophy, the nature of the world, and the wisdom that leads to the transcendence of the world and its sorrows.  The book is a dialogue between Boethius and Philosophy in both prose and verse.  It is thoroughly Platonic in its views, in its mode of discussion, and in its understanding that philosophy is salvific.  There are discussions about fate, wisdom, transcendence, the task of philosophy, and what it means to live a life of wisdom.  And there is a wonderful section on the nature of love:

What binds all things to order,

Governing earth and sea and sky,

Is love.

If love’s rein slackened

All things now held by mutual love

At once would fall to warring with each other

Striving to wreck that engine of the world

Which now they drive

In mutual trust with motion beautiful.

And love joins peoples too

By a sacred bond,

And ties the knot of holy matrimony

That binds chaste lovers,

Joins too with its law

All faithful comrades.

O happy race of men,

If the love that rules the stars

May also rule your hearts!

(Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, translated by S. J. Tester, Loeb Classical Library, 1973, page 227)

Looking back on my decision to take the Consolation with me to the hospital, I see it as a personal step, or decision, to move away from Buddhism and to enter into the house, or academy, that Platonism built.  I didn’t register it that way at the time as the decision to take Consolation with me was almost impulsive.  But what I learned from that experience is that philosophy is, as I said above, salvific, that philosophy offers deep consolation for the ups and downs of life, and leads those who will listen to its teachings to the realm that lies beyond all sorrow.