Boezio Severino Della Consolazione Della Filosofia; Tradotto ... da Benedetto Varchi [Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy; Italian Translation by Benedetto Varchi]

In Italian (Florentine). 1562 Ad Instantia de i Gionti di Fiorenza (Venice, Italy), 4 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches tall hardcover, marbled paper-covered boards over vellum spine and tips, hand lettering to spine, engraved title page, [7], 3-103, [1] ff. Moderate to heavy soiling, rubbing and edgewear to covers, with bumping and chipping along board edges. Soiling, contemporary ink notations and paper repairs to title page. A number of pages with moderate soiling, foxing or period ink marginal notations or underlining. A few pages with very light marginal dampstains. Otherwise, a good, complete copy of this rare sixteenth century Venetian edition. OCLC (No. 23625012, 797416942) locates only four copies at institutions worldwide - two in the U.S. (Harvard University and University of Michigan) and two in Italy (Biblioteca San Bernardino in Trento and Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan).

An early Florentine translation - by Italian humanist, historian and poet Benedetto Varchi (1502-1565) - of Boethius' immortal Consolation of Philosophy (De philosophiae consolatione), first written in Latin about 524 AD.

Boethius (circa 480-524) was a Roman senator, consul, magister officiorum, and philosopher of the early sixth century. Born four years after Odoacer deposed the last Roman Emperor and declared himself King of Italy, Boethius entered public service under Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great, who imprisoned and executed him in 524 on charges of conspiracy to overthrow him.

While jailed, Boethius composed this, his Consolation of Philosophy, a philosophical treatise on fortune, death and other issues, which became one of the most popular and influential works of the Middle Ages. It has been described as the single most important and influential work in the West on Medieval and early Renaissance Christianity, as well as the last great Western work of the Classical Period. Boethius was at the very heights of power in Rome, holding the prestigious office of magister officiorum, and was brought down by treachery. This experience inspired the text, which reflects on how evil can exist in a world governed by God (the problem of theodicy), and how happiness is still attainable amidst fickle fortune, while also considering the nature of happiness and God.

The Consolation has been described as 'by far the most interesting example of prison literature the world has ever seen.' (H.F. Stewart) A link to Christianity is often assumed, yet there is no reference made to Jesus Christ or Christianity or any other specific religion other than a few oblique references to Pauline scripture, such as the symmetry between the opening lines of Book 4 Chapter 3 and 1 Corinthians 9:24.

Boethius writes the book as a conversation between himself and Lady Philosophy. Lady Philosophy consoles Boethius by discussing the transitory nature of fame and wealth ('no man can ever truly be secure until he has been forsaken by Fortune'), and the ultimate superiority of things of the mind, which she calls the 'one true good.' She contends that happiness comes from within, and that virtue is all that one truly has, because it is not imperiled by the vicissitudes of fortune. Boethius engages questions such as the nature of predestination and free will, why evil men often prosper and good men fall into ruin, human nature, virtue, and justice. He speaks about the nature of free will and determinism when he asks if God knows and sees all, or does man have free will.