Reading Groups
On the Consolation of Philosophy Graduate Reading Group
Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, ILThe Consolation of Philosophy, written by Boethius while awaiting his execution at the hands of the Roman Emperor Theodoric for treason in AD 523, concerns a man confronted with his own unjust death. Mixing poetry and prose, Greek philosophy and Christian doctrine, Boethius discusses happiness, fortune, Divine Providence, and the ascent of the soul to God. This work, one of the most influential of the Middle Ages, remains a seminal treatise on the purpose of philosophy and how we ought to live in a world which we have but very limited control over.