Boethius Ponders Before The Gallows

Boethius the smarty-pants

Boethius was the smartest guy in the world in 520 AD. Everyone agreed. But not everyone was happy with him.

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480-524) was a big deal in the early 500’s. Born to a wealthy family in Rome, he was fluent in Greek at a time when few in the west could speak the language of ancient philosophy. He translated Aristotle, Plato, Euclid, and Plato so that others in the Latin-speaking West could read the classics. A bit of a show-off, maybe.

In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Boethius was active in politics. He was elected senator when he was 25, then consul at age 33. He was appointed to the position of magister officiorum, or Master of Offices, under King Theodoric in 510. This made him the chief administrator of Italy, including the military, finance, and justice. A bit of a player, it seems.

One of the biggest controversies during Boethius’s career was the Acacian schism, where Pope Felix III in Rome fought with Patriarch Acacius in Constantinople over the dual nature of Christ. This controversy was part theological and part about power, an early rift between east and west. It’s complicated, and in the 30+ years of the disagreement, Boethius got mixed up in the fight.

In 523, Boethius was accused of colluding with those who were plotting with the Byzantine emperor in Constantinople to overthrow King Theodoric in Italy. Boethius denied the charges, protesting his innocence. He was accused of treason, made to stand trial, and condemned to death.

Many historians believe that he was falsely accused and a victim of political intrigue. He had spoken out against corruption among other officials in the court, so they threw him under the bus at the first opportunity.

Boethius was distraught. He remained in prison for nearly a year, trying to understand why this had happened. While thinking through his fate, he wrote The Consolation of Philosophy, where he reflects on the nature of happiness, justice, and God's sovereignty.

In his book, Boethius tells a story where the personification of wisdom, Lady Philosophy, came to him to help him figure out why he was in prison. He hadn’t done anything wrong, so why was he being punished?

The Consolation of Philosophy was highly regarded throughout the medieval period for its exploration of the human condition and the search for meaning in life and continues to be an admired work today. You might have been assigned to read a part of it in your Humanities 101 class in college.

In the end, he was executed. But his writings lived on. You might imagine that he held his head high on the way to the chopping block, knowing he had acted justly in life and was on his way to heaven. Boethius is considered a martyr, and he was buried in the same church as Saint Augustine of Hippo, which ain’t such a bad consolation prize.

One day, you’re probably gonna get fired.

Laid off, made redundant, downsized, whatever you call it, you want to stay at your job, but ya ain’t gonna work there no more. It will hurt.

You will search for answers. It is unlikely that you will ever know the truth. Was it something you said? Something you did? Who made the decision? Can the decision be reversed?

No matter your level of anguish, the sentence will be carried out. You will meet with HR. They will give you a packet of information. You will feel overwhelmed. If you are lucky, you will walk freely out the door, not be escorted from the building.

The good news is that your outcome will definitely be better than it was for Boethius. He lost his wealth, power, and reputation, and then was executed. And he was innocent! That is a rough draw.

You will live on. You may lose some money, lose some status, lose some friends, but in the end it’s just work. Maybe you’ll even end up somewhere better - who knows? You probably won’t write a timeless tome of philosophy when you’re between jobs, but you can exit with dignity and use your downtime wisely.

Boethius wrote about the Wheel of Fortune, where you’re up today and down tomorrow. It stands up even today. So keep a positive outlook and try to have fun on the ride of life, even during the bumpy parts.