BOETHIUS.

£17,500 · Offered by Sokol Books

.A very good, well-margined copy, in a charming C18 English binding, of this exquisitely printed incunabular edition of Boethius s De consolatione philosophiae , including the famous commentary assigned to Thomas Aquinas, but probably written by the Oxford Dominican Thomas Waleys (1287?-1350?). With its extensive reader s annotations spanning nearly a century, this copy provides a remarkable snapshot of Renaissance Boethian scholarship. Rebound in the late C18, it has surprisingly retained generous outer margins and the odd untrimmed outer edge. . .One of the most influential early Christian philosophers, Boethius (477-524AD) was a Roman politician in the service of Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths. He probably studied in Athens where he became fluent in Greek and acquainted with important Hellenic philosophers. Imprisoned by Theodoric for high treason, he famously wrote De Consolatione philosophiae in 523-24, eventually leading to his execution. This milestone of Western philosophy reflects on the negative turn of events in Boethius s hitherto very successful career. In a fictional dialogue, Lady Philosophy consoles him, as they discuss the evanescent nature of worldly fame and riches, virtue, the ills of fortune, human folly, passion, hatred, free will, justice and predestination, with Boethius s Christianity heavily tempered by Hellenism. Waleys s commentary was one of the most successful and most reprinted. Boethius s work was taught at grammar schools for its elegant La

• Binding: Hardcover

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