Abstract
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, a late ancient Roman thinker, profoundly influenced western medieval philosophy, literature, and the liberal arts. Boethius translated and commented on a number of important Aristotelian logical works. These translations and commentaries provided the foundations for early medieval logic, philosophy of language, and metaphysics. Boethius’ short theological treatises are remarkable for the way in which they apply Greek philosophical concepts to Christian doctrine. His Consolation of Philosophy is a vivid synthesis of Stoic, Aristotelian, and especially Neoplatonic ethics and philosophical theology. It is a masterpiece, whose literary qualities as well as its philosophical material have influenced generations of humanists.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Boethius. (1833). Topica Ciceronis commentaria. In J. C. Orelli (Ed.), Cicero Opera Omnia, V 1. Turin: Orelli, Fuesslini & Co..
Boethius. (1867). De institutione musica libri quinque (ed.: Friedlein, G.). Leipzig: Teubner..
Boethius. (1880). Commentarii in librum Aristotelis Peri Hermenias (ed.: Meiser, C.). Leipzig: Teubner.
Boethius. (1891). Opera. In J. P. Migne et al. (Eds.), Patrologiae cursus completas, series latina, 64. Paris: Migne.
Boethius. (1906). In Isagogen Porphyrii commentorum. In S. Brandt (Ed.), Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, 48. Vienna: F. Tempsky.
Boethius. (1990). De topicis differentiis. In D. Z. Nikitas (Ed.), De topicis differentiis und die byzantinische Rezeption dieses Werkes: Anhang, Eine Pachymeres-Weiterbearbeitung der Holobolos-Übersetzung, Corpus Philosophorum Medii Aevi Philosophi Byzantini 5. Athens/Paris: The Academy of Athens/Librairie J. Vrin.
Boethius. (1995). De institutione arithmetica (ed. & trans.: Guillaumin, J.Y.). Belles Lettres, Paris.
Boethius. (1998). De Divisione liber: critical edition, translation, prolegomena, and commentary (ed. & trans.: Magee, J.). Leiden: Brill.
Boethius. (2000). De Consolatione Philosophiae/Opscula Theologica (ed.: Moreschini, C.). Munich: Saur.
Boethius. (2008a). De syllogismo categorico: Critical edition with introduction, translation, notes, and indexes. In C. T. Thörnqvist (Ed.), Studia Graeca et Latina Gothoburgensia 68. Gothenborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.
Boethius. (2008b). Introductio ad syllogismos categoricos: Critical edition with introduction, commentary, and indexes. In C. T. Thörnqvist (Ed.), Studia Graeca et Latina Gothoburgensia 69. Gothenborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.
Eleonore, S. (Trans.). (1978). Boethius’s ‘De topicis differentiis’. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Eleonore, S. (Trans.). (1988). Boethius’s ‘in Ciceronis Topica’. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Folkerts, M. (Ed.). (1970). “Boethius” Geometrie II: Ein mathematisches Lehrbuch des Mittelalters, Boethius: Texte und Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der exakten Wissenschaften 9. Wiesbaden: F. Steiner.
Minio-Paluello, L. et al. (Eds.). (1961–1975). Aristoteles Latinus (Vols. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6). Bruges/Paris: Desclée De Brouwer (and later Brill, Leiden).
Norman, K. (Trans.). (1998) .Boethius on Aristotle’s ‘on interpretation’ 9. In D. Blank, & N. Kretzmann (Eds. & Trans.), Ammonius on Aristotle’s ‘on interpretation’ 9 with Boethius on Aristotle’s ‘on interpretation’ 9. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Relihan Joel, C. (Trans.). (2001). Boethius, ‘consolation of philosophy’. Indianapolis: Hackett.
Scott, M. (Trans.). (1991). Boethius’s De hebdomadibus (How can substances be good in virtue of the fact that they have being when they are not substantial goods?). In S. MacDonald (Ed.), Being and goodness: The concept of the good in metaphysics and philosophical theology (pp. 299–304). Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Spade Paul, V. (Trans.). (1994). Five texts on the mediaeval problem of universals. Indianapolis: Hackett.
Stewart, H. F., Rand, E. K., & Tester, S. J. (Eds. & Trans.). (1973). Boethius: Tractates; The consolation of philosophy, Loeb Classical Library 74. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Secondary Sources
Chadwick, H. (1981). Boethius: The consolations of music, logic, theology, and philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Courcelle, P. (1948). Les Lettres Grecques en Occident de Macrobe à Cassiodore. Paris: E. de Boccard (English trans. Courcelle, P. (1969). Late Latin writers and their greek sources. (trans.: Wedeck, H. E.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press).
De Rijk, L. M. (1988). On Boethius’s notion of being. In N. Kretzmann (Ed.), Meaning and inference in medieval philosophy: Studies in memory of Jan Pinborg (pp. 1–29). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Ebbesen, S. (1990). Boethius as an Aristotelian commentator. In R. Sorabji (Ed.), Aristotle transformed: The ancient commentators and their influence (pp. 373–391). Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Galonnier, A. (Ed.). (2003). Boèce ou la chaîne des savoirs. Louvain/Paris: Éditions Peeters.
Gersh, S. (1986). Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism, the Latin tradition, 2 vols. Notre Dame: The University of Notre Dame Press.
Gibson, M. (Ed.). (1981). Boethius: His life, thought and influence. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Gracia, J. J. E. (1984). Introduction to the problem of individuation in the early middle ages. Munich/Vienna/Washington, DC: Philosophia/The Catholic University Press of America.
Gruber, J. (1978). Kommentar zu Boethius De Consolatione Philosophiae, Texte und Kommentare – eine altertumswissenschaftliche Reihe 9. Berlin/New York: Gruyter.
Hadot, P. (1959). Un fragment du commentaire perdu de Boèce sur les Catégories d’Aristote dans le Codex Bernensis 363. Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Age, 26, 11–27.
Hadot, P. (1963). La Distinction de l’Être et de l’Étant dans le “De Hebdomadibus” de Boèce. In P. Wilpert (Ed.), Die Metaphysik im Mittelalter: Ihr Ursprung und Ihre Bedeutung (Miscellanea Mediaevalia 2) (pp. 147–153). Berlin: Gruyter.
Hoenen, M., & Nauta, L. (Eds.). (1997). Boethius in the Middle Ages: Latin and vernacular traditions of the Consolatio philosophiae. Leiden: Brill.
King, P. (2000). The problem of individuation in the Middle Ages. Theoria, 66, 159–184.
King, P. (2011). Boethius’s anti-realist arguments. Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 40, 381–401.
MacDonald, S. (1988). Boethius’s claim that all substances are good. Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, 70, 245–279.
Magee, J. (1989). Boethius on signification and mind, Philosophia Antiqua 52. Leiden: Brill.
Marenbon, J. (2003). Boethius, great medieval thinkers series. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Marenbon, J. (Ed.). (2009). The Cambridge companion to Boethius. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Martin, C. J. (1991). The logic of negation in Boethius. Phronesis, 36, 277–304.
Nash-Marshall, S. (2000). Participation and the good: A study in Boethian metaphysics. New York: Crossroads.
Obertello, L. (1974). Severino Boezio. Genoa: Academia Ligure di Scienze e Lettere.
Relihan, J. (2007). The prisoner’s philosophy: Life and death in Boethius’s ‘consolation’. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.
Schrimpf, G. (1966). Die Axiomenschrift des Boethius (De hebdomadibus) als philosophisches Lehrbuch des Mittelalters. Leiden: Brill.
Shiel, J. (1958). Boethius’ commentaries on Aristotle. Mediaeval and Renaissance Studies, 4, 217–244 (Revised and reprinted in Sorabji, R. (ed.). (1990). Aristotle transformed: The ancient commentators and their influence (pp. 349–372). Ithaca: Cornell University Press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Arlig, A.W. (2018). Boethius. In: Lagerlund, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1151-5_88-2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1151-5_88-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1151-5
Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1151-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities