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ajmaese's review against another edition
5.0
One of the most excellent books I've read (I'd only read selections beforehand). There are a few books that I read yearly, and this is now added to them.
john87's review against another edition
3.0
Meanderings and musings on the profound and the profane.
And that's about all of the philosophy I can muster!
As such I feel that The Consolation of Philosophy is better left to academics or those already well versed in the field. I prefer the elegance (and simplicity) of more modern writers; fully realizing that this is a fault of my own rather than the dialectic from Boethius.
And that's about all of the philosophy I can muster!
As such I feel that The Consolation of Philosophy is better left to academics or those already well versed in the field. I prefer the elegance (and simplicity) of more modern writers; fully realizing that this is a fault of my own rather than the dialectic from Boethius.
tinadots's review against another edition
5.0
This should be required reading at some point. It elucidated ideas I've contemplated and grappled with...felt both familiar and provocative.
bookishlybeauty's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
jennamcclendon's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
4.5
SOME GOOD (no pun intended) POINTS. I actually really enjoyed reading philosophy??? The half star is only really because it was confusing at times but that’s to be expected, I just got frustrated.
bkoser's review against another edition
5.0
"Until about two hundred years ago it would, I think, have been hard to find an educated man in any European country who did not love it. To acquire a taste for it is almost to become naturalised in the Middle Ages." -- C. S. Lewis, The Discarded Image
"What name of equal distinction has suffered such wane?" -- H. R. Patch
Boethius was the "last of the Romans, first of the scholastics". Until the Sack of Constantinople when Greek priests fled west with their manuscripts, the European medievals only knew Aristotle through his writing. He influenced Dante, Aquinas, Chaucer, Milton, and Shakespeare, and for a time rivaled the Bible and St. Augustine in popularity. Until reading The Discarded Image, I'd never even heard of him.
The Consolation of Philosophy lies halfway between Plato and Dante: it's a Socratic dialogue about why bad things happen to good people, what is the ultimate good, and how to resolve God's foreknowledge with human free will, framed as a conversation between Boethius (in prison in reality and in the story) and Lady Philosophy.
C. S. Lewis argues that medieval Christians were philosophically closer to their contemporary pagans than to modern Christians. Nothing drives that point home like reading this book and knowing that scholars disagree on if Boethius was a Christian.
I was nervous reading the first fifth of the book; I didn't get it and was hoping to not have another Robinson Crusoe situation (aka I don't like a highly-regarded book). But the philosophy gradually ramps up into some heady stuff, and I did end up enjoying it.
"What name of equal distinction has suffered such wane?" -- H. R. Patch
Boethius was the "last of the Romans, first of the scholastics". Until the Sack of Constantinople when Greek priests fled west with their manuscripts, the European medievals only knew Aristotle through his writing. He influenced Dante, Aquinas, Chaucer, Milton, and Shakespeare, and for a time rivaled the Bible and St. Augustine in popularity. Until reading The Discarded Image, I'd never even heard of him.
The Consolation of Philosophy lies halfway between Plato and Dante: it's a Socratic dialogue about why bad things happen to good people, what is the ultimate good, and how to resolve God's foreknowledge with human free will, framed as a conversation between Boethius (in prison in reality and in the story) and Lady Philosophy.
C. S. Lewis argues that medieval Christians were philosophically closer to their contemporary pagans than to modern Christians. Nothing drives that point home like reading this book and knowing that scholars disagree on if Boethius was a Christian.
I was nervous reading the first fifth of the book; I didn't get it and was hoping to not have another Robinson Crusoe situation (aka I don't like a highly-regarded book). But the philosophy gradually ramps up into some heady stuff, and I did end up enjoying it.
stefanv's review against another edition
4.0
For anyone who is human and has ever suffered, the first parts of this book contain much wisdom: do not attach your happiness to the comings and goings of the wheel of fortune, but derive it from within; from your virtues and your self-worth. For someone who is not religious, the latter parts - though interesting - strike less of a cord. However, it can deepen your understanding of Tolkiens legendarium, as he was greatly influenced by Boethius and applied its theology in his world.
bookishblond's review against another edition
One of C.S. Lewis' favorite books. I gave a copy to my father as a Christmas gift in 2007.
theethan's review against another edition
4.0
A classic text that I had on my shelf from undergrad. It is both an interesting philosophical text as it works, in a narrative structure, through Boehiuses concerns over good and evil but also as a historical text. The insight into the mid-first millennia was invaluable, and I enjoyed seeing the synthesis of previous philosophers given a more succinct form that would influence others for centuries.