Saint Augustine and Boethius, the medieval authors, are famous for the great works City of God and Consolation of Philosophy, where they reflected on philosophy, religion, and fundamental issues of being. This paper aims to analyze the two literary works, their spiritual nature, the writers’ worldview, the direction proposed, and how these writings fit into the Roman world in decline in the 5th and 6th centuries.
Saint Augustine’s City of God renders the author’s opinion on the role of Christianity in the world in response to the pagans’ claims of religion being the reason for Rome’s fall. St. Augustine argues that Rome fell exactly because people lost their morale, and the Christian belief was the only right way to live and fulfill the humans’ duty in the world (Teubner 12). The writing’s spiritual nature reflects the development of Christianity during the Middle Ages among barbarians in western provinces. The author saw the world’s development in faith in God, truth, and virtue, and advocated for a government being crucial for such sinful creatures as humans.
As well as Saint Augustine, Boethius perceives the world as the constant battle between the good and the evil. The author wrote his great work Consolation of Philosophy being imprisoned and questioning his morals and ethics (Cernica 6). He comes to understand that the only true path is through the spirituality of self, free will, virtue, and justice, but not through material wealth and power. Boethius argues that the greater good, which lies in God’s truth, will lead humanity to happiness and joy while giving in to wickedness will bring people closer to animals and farther from God. This spiritual route of the writing harmoniously entered the Western Medieval world in its way towards religious piety.
To conclude, both authors viewed the world as God’s creation of good and evil. Even though Boethius did not imply the Christian belief in his work, as did Saint Augustine, he saw the authentic human development in faith and virtue. Thus, both authors influenced the religious path of the Roman world in its decline and laid a foundation for spiritual growth in Medieval times.
Works Cited
Cernica, Niadi-Corina. “Consolation of Philosophy.” Proceedings of the XXIII World Congress of Philosophy 21:5-9, 2018.
Teubner, Jonathan D. An Analysis of St. Augustine’s The City of God Against the Pagans. 1st ed., Taylor & Francis, 2018.