Audiobook · read by volunteers
Consolation of Philosophy
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480–525)
Read by Kirsten Ferreri, Alex Patterson, Ben Douglas, David Barnes, Carl Manchester, Hugh McGuire, Cori Samuel, Mark Owen, hugh mac, Gesine · 41 chapters · 5 h 13
About the book
Imprisoned and awaiting execution, a once-powerful statesman sits in despair, convinced that fortune has abandoned him. Then a visitor appears: Philosophy herself, in the form of a majestic woman, who sets out to cure his sorrow by reminding him what is truly worth having. Through argument, verse and dialogue, she examines the nature of fortune, happiness, evil, providence and freedom.
Boethius wrote the Consolation of Philosophy in about the year 524, and it became one of the most widely read books of the Middle Ages. The recording uses H. R. James’s English translation, which preserves the book’s alternation of prose and poetry. In forty-one short sections and just over five hours, it offers a calm and thoughtful meditation on how to bear misfortune, written by a man who knew it at first hand.
Introduction
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (about 480–525) was a Roman statesman and philosopher who served under the Ostrogothic king Theodoric. Accused of treason, he was imprisoned and eventually executed. It was in prison, around the year 524, that he wrote the Consolation of Philosophy, in Latin. It was one of the most influential books in the West through the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, and it is often seen as the last great work of the classical tradition of philosophy.
The book is arranged as a conversation between Boethius and Lady Philosophy, and it alternates between prose passages and poems. Its themes include the instability of fortune, the nature of true happiness, the problem of evil and the relation between divine foreknowledge and human freedom. The argument draws on Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics, yet the tone is personal and consoling. It was translated into many languages over the following centuries, including by famous figures such as King Alfred and Chaucer, and it was studied in schools and monasteries throughout Europe.
The English translation recorded here is by H. R. James. The recording has 41 sections, with prose and verse sections each given their own place, and lasts a little more than five hours. It is read by volunteers for LibriVox.
Why listen today? Because the question the book asks, how a person can keep their peace of mind when everything seems to be lost, has not become any less pressing. The text is clear and humane, and its short sections make it easy to listen to in small portions. It is a book that offers company in difficult times.
Public domain
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius died in 525: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text