Fundamental Boethius: A Practical Guide to the Theological Tractates and Consolation of Philosophy

By M. James Ziccardi

In "Fundamental Boethius: A Practical Guide to the Theological Tractates and Consolation of Philosophy", M. James Ziccardi presents the key passages and ideas from two of Boethius' two most influential works, the "Theological
Tractates" and "Consolation of Philosophy".

Combined with explanations from the author, this book examines in an easy to follow format Boethius' most important contributions to both Medieval Philosophy and Christian Theology. The book also points out specific instances where Boethius borrows heavily from the ideas of earlier philosophers, the first and foremost of these being Aristotle.

Also included in the book is a biographical narrative on the life of Boethius.

(Portions of this book have been extracted from M. James Ziccardi's "The Essence of Medieval Philosophy.")

• Language: English
• Publisher: M. James Ziccardi
• Release date: Mar 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301769087

M. James Ziccardi

M. James Ziccardi lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter and has been a software analyst for over twenty-five years. Reading and writing about philosophy is his passion.

Book preview

Fundamental Boethius: A Practical Guide to the Theological Tractates and Consolation of Philosophy

M. James Ziccardi

Copyright 2012 by M. James Ziccardi

Smashwords Edition

Section 1 - Notes on the Text

With regard to quotations, content found within square brackets [] is mine; content found within parentheses () is Boethius’.

Sections in bold type or that are underlined are intended by me to highlight critical points.

Portions of this book have been extracted from "The Essence of Medieval Philosophy" by M. James Ziccardi.

Section 2 - Biography

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius was born in Rome around the year 480 AD into a wealthy Christian family which still claimed ties to the glory days of the Roman Empire. His parents died, however, when he was only a child, leaving the young Boethius to be taken in and cared for by Symmachus, a man who was considered by many to be the most saintly character of his day. Through the guidance of Symmachus, Boethius received and excellent education, and at a young age had earned the reputation for being the most accomplished man of his time. He would go on to become not only a philosopher, but an orator, poet, and musician. He was also one of the first Europeans to translate several of Aristotle’s works from their original Greek directly into Latin.

As a young man, Boethius turned his attentions towards politics and was soon elevated to a leadership position in the civic administration. At about this time he married Rusticiana, the virtuous daughter of Symmachus, and together they had two sons of equal promise, each of whom would follow their father into successful careers in the government. Sometime after the year 522, however, Boethius became aware of corrupt activities taking place within the administration. In his efforts to expose the matter, Boethius himself became caught up in the scandal. Consequently, he was accused by his rivals not only of treason, but of committing sacrilegious acts as well. In the end, Boethius was declared guilty, stripped of his honors and wealth, and sent to the town of Pavia where he was imprisoned for over a year. It was there that on October 23, 524 he was executed, most likely by sword or by clubbing. He was forty-four.

Boethius was made a saint in 1883 by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, and his feast day is celebrated on October 23, the date of his death. Since his death, Boethius’ writings have been inspirational to virtually all the later medial philosophers, and especially Thomas Aquinas and Peter Abelard. Even the current Pope, Benedict XVI, has found relevance to today’s Christian understanding in the life and teachings of Boethius. Boethius is also given credit for introducing into Christianity the notion of the Wheel of Fortune, or Rota Fortunae, which espouses the uncertainty of fate.

In this book we will be taking an in-depth look at the critical points that Boethius puts forward in two of his most famous works: the Theological Tractates and his masterpiece, the Consolation of Philosophy. In order to better understand Boethius’s theological beliefs concerning the Catholic Faith as well as his views on the metaphysics of substance, we will begin with the Theological Tractates, for it is in this work that Boethius attempts to reconcile the two. Furthermore, by presenting Boethius’s views on these matters in advance it is hoped that a more accurate frame of reference will be attained before we come to our review of Boethius’ final work, the Consolation of Philosophy. It should also be noted that in an effort to avoid any misinterpretation on my part, I have chosen to make frequent use of Boethius’ own words.

We now begin our examination of Boethius’ Theological Tractates.

Section 3 - The Theological Tractates

Written between the years 512 and 522, the Theological Tractates (also known as the Opuscula sacra) are a collection of five treatises in which Boethius attempts to defend various beliefs within the Catholic Faith, including those that pertain to the nature of the Trinity, the substance of God, and the union of God and man in Christ. However, as this book is more concerned with Boethius’ philosophy than his theology, we will, for the most part, be concentrating our efforts on the manner in which Boethius defends these beliefs through the reasoned and philosophical arguments he derived, at least in part, from the writings of Aristotle, Plato, Porphyry, and Augustine. (Porphyry (234–305 AD) was a Neo-Platonist from what is now Tyre, Lebanon. His ideas are commented on extensively in the works of Augustine.)

Furthermore, it should be pointed out in advance that a significant portion of the Tractates involves Boethius’ refutation of two competing sets of beliefs concerning the divinity of Christ: the one put forward by Nestorius, the other by Eutyches. For this reason it will be worth our while to say a few words on the men who proposed these ideas – ideas which for many, including Boethius, were considered to be heretical.

Nestorius (386-451): Nestorius was an early leader in the Eastern Christian Church who served as Archbishop of Constantinople from 428 to 431. He maintained that, with respect to Christ, there could have in no way been any union between man and the divinity of God, and that therefore Christ must have consisted essentially of two separate Persons, God and man. This view has come to be known as Nestorianism.

Eutyches (380-456): Eutyches was another early leader in the Eastern Christian Church who came to prominence for his vehement denunciations of the views put forward by Nestorius. Eutyches’ arguments against Nestorius were so fervent, in fact, that he came to be seen as endorsing a belief that, although it was diametrically opposed to that of Nestorius, was no less heretical. Eutyches’ belief was that the union of God and man in Christ was so complete that it, in effect, removed the nature of man from Him completely.

Later, we will see in detail how Boethius argues against these two opinions.

Section 4 - First Tractate

(The Trinity is One God Not Three Gods)

Boethius states that he is about to embark on an inquiry which few will be able to understand and who therefore do not deserve to read; for this inquiry will be to discover