Ritið : tímarit Hugvísindastofnunar - 01.10.2010, Side 150

150
gæfan, frjáls vilji og svo framvegis) og hvernig dauðinn er í meginhlutverki
sem ástæða og endamörk þess (eins og í Málsvörn Sókratesar), virðist það
ekki fjarri sanni. Lorenzo Valla kallaði Bóethíus fyrsta skólaspekinginn og
síðasta Rómverjann og óhætt er að fullyrða að Bóethíus hafi verið maður
andstæðra afla sem mótuðu menningarheim fornaldar og miðalda, en það
endurspeglast glögglega í eðli verksins sem heimspekileg orðræða og
ástundun annars vegar og heimspeki og bókmenntir hins vegar. Eflaust er
best að skoða hugsun Bóethíusar á mörkum þessara heima.
ABSTRACT
“A Good Man cannot be Harmed”.
The Consolation of Philosophy and Philosophy as a Way of Life
Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy is a complex and much debated work in regard
to its meaning, structure and thematics. In this article I take a stance against John
Marenbon’s claim that menippean satire is crucial for the deep philosophical
meaning of the work and his belief that Boethius’s emphasis is entirely on philos-
ophy as a logical argumentation and its capacity to give an account of reality.
Against Marenbon’s claim I argue that the other literary forms which Boethius
uses, the Roman consolatio and the Greek philosophical dialogue, are essential to
the meaning of the work in the context of Boethius’s life and imminent death. I
argue that Boethius’s emphasis is on philosophy as a way of life and that the
Consolation of Philosophy should be conceived as a spiritual exercise, as understood
by Pierre Hadot and Michel Foucault.
Keywords: Boethius, philosophy as a way of life, technologies of the self, spiritual
exercise, stoicism
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