BOETH1US. 



63 1 



Bottoms. 



and soon gave proofs, in various publications, of the 

 extent of his erudition, and the amazing versatility 

 of his genius. Pis first work appears to have been 

 a defence of the orthodox creed against the Arian, 

 Eutychian, and Nestorian heresies ; and he afterwards 

 published a formal treatise upon the Trinity, which 

 abounds not only with philosophical terms, but with 

 metaphysical subtleties. Boethius appears to have 

 been the first who employed the Aristotelian philo- 

 sophy to explain the mysteries of religion : a plan 

 which was afterwards very eagerly adopted by the 

 school divines, and which, in their injudicious hands, 

 became the source of such endless wrangling and 

 error, as completely destroyed the spirit, and clouded 

 the beauty, of the mild and pure religion of the gos- 

 pel. 



His next object was to make his countrymen ac- 

 quainted with the arts and sciences, which had long 

 flourished, though they were now on the decline, in 

 Greece. With this view he translated, and illustra- 

 ted by commentaries, the geometry of Euclid, the 

 music of Pythagoras, the arithmetic of Nicomachus, 

 the mechanics of Archimedes, the astronomy of Pto- 

 lemy, the theology of Plato, and the logic of Aris- 

 totle : " And he alone," says Gibbon, " was esteem- 

 ed capable of describing the wonders of art, a sun- 

 dial, a water-clock, or a sphere which represented 

 the motions of the planets." In the midst of these 

 important studies, Boethrus never forgot his more 

 essential duties as a citizen, and master of a family : 

 his coffers, almost inexhaustible, were ever open for 

 the relief of the indigent ; and his eloquence, at that 

 time unrivalled, was uniformly exerted in the cause of 

 innocence, humanity, and justice. He now saw him- 

 self in possession of every thing requisite to his pub- 

 lic respectability and private happiness. Allied by 

 birth to the first nobles in the empire, his family 

 grandeur was increased by his marriage with the 

 daughter of Symmachus, who possessed every quali- 

 ty that could give pleasure to the nuptial union. His 

 ti;gnity and his acquirements well entitled him to 

 aspire to the highest offices in the state ; and his claims 

 were felt and recognised by the Emperor Theodoric. 

 He was exalted to the rank of consul and patrician : 

 the important station of master of the offices, gave 

 an honourable and useful employment to his talents ; 

 and when his two sons had grown up to manhood, 

 he enjoyed the singular satisfaction of seeing them 

 united in the consulship. 



Universally esteemed and respected, caressed by 

 his sovereign, and adored by his dependants, one cir- 

 cumstance alone threw a shade over his happiness, 

 and at last completely reversed the fair scene which 

 we have described. With the generous and inde- 

 pendent spirit of a Roman patriot, Boethius could 

 not see without deep regret the misfortunes of his 

 country, ruled by a foreigner, and oppressed and in- 

 sulted by barbarian conquerors. His authority had 

 often checked the pride and tyranny of the royal 

 officers j and his influence had rescued Paulianus from 

 the dogs of the palace. The provincials, whose for- 

 tunes had become the prey of public and private ra - 

 pacity, had often been relieved by his generosity ; 

 and he was the only person who was bold enough to 

 oppose the insolence of the barbarians, elated by 



conquest, excited by avarice, and encouraged by im- 

 punity. " In these honourable contests," says the 

 historian quoted above, " his spirit soared above the 

 consideration of danger, and perhaps of prudence ; 

 and we may learn from the example of Cato, that a 

 character of pure and inflexible virtue is the most 

 apt to be misled by prejudice, to be heated by en- 

 thusiasm, and to confound private enmities with pub- 

 lic justice." 



When age had converted into a tyrant the wise 

 and tolerant Theodoric, Boethius magnanimously re- 

 solved that he should not be degraded to the condi- 

 tion of a slave, and opposed, without fear, the sullen 

 barbarian, who thought the safety of the senate in- 

 compatible with the stability of his throne. When 

 the senator Albinus was accused, and already con- 

 victed of hoping the liberty of Rome, the eloquence 

 of Boethius, animated by all the warmth of friend- 

 ship and patriotism, was exerted in his defence. "If 

 Albinus," he exclaimed, " be guilty, the senate and 

 myself are all guilty of the same crime. If we are 

 innocent, Albinus is equally entitled to the protec- 

 tion of the laws." If merely to hope for the liberty 

 of Rome was criminal in the eyes of the tyrant, Boe- 

 thius could not fail to incur his mortal resentment 

 by the less equivocal avowal, that if he had known of 

 a conspiracy, Theodoric never should. He was ac- 

 cordingly involved in the same charge with his client 

 Albinus ; their signature, which they denied as a for- 

 gery, was exhibited in the senate, affixed to the ori- 

 ginal address inviting the Greek emperor, Justin, to 

 deliver Italy from the dominion of the Goths; and 

 Trigilla, Congiastus, and Cyprianus, persons of the 

 most infamous character, though of high rank, were 

 suborned to attest the treasonable designs of the pa- 

 trician. The senate, overawed by the power of the 

 tyrant, yet unwilling too severely to condemn the 

 most respected and illustrious of their members, pro- 

 nounced against him a reluctant sentence of banish- 

 ment ; while Boethiu3, lamenting the servility and 

 degeneracy of his countrymen, predicted, that none, 

 after him, should be found guilty of the same of- 

 fence. He was conveyed to the tower of Pavia, 

 where he was closely imprisoned and loaded with 

 fetters, expecting every moment the fatal mandate of 

 his sovereign. It was in this dismal situation that 

 he experienced the chief advantage of those studies 

 to which he had devoted his youth. He beguiled 

 the tedious interval between his imprisonment and 

 death, by composing the Consolation of Philosophy, 

 an incomparable treasure of sublime and delicate mo- 

 ral sentiments, but still more admirable, considering 

 the barbarism of the age, and the situation of the 

 author when it was written, for the classical purity 

 and elegance of its style. The most judicious critics 

 have not hesitated to compare the Consolation of 

 Philosophy with the happiest productions of Plato 

 andofTully; and Bertius, one of the editors and 

 commentators of Boethius, in a still loftier strain of 

 panegyric, endeavours to account for the superior 

 excellence of this performance by supposing, that, as 

 men approach nearer their death, they feel something 

 divine within them, and passing beyond the ordinary 

 limits of mankind, speak, see, and think much 

 nobler things than they could, ever do before. This. 



Boetliiir- 



