Boethius the Demiurge
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BOETHIUS THE DEMIURGE: TIMAEAN DOUBLE-CIRCLE SPIRAL STRUCTURE IN THE CONSOLATIO by Cristalle N. Watson Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia April 2020 © Copyright by Cristalle N. Watson, 2020 For my Opa, Karl Heinz Hiob 1926-1999 Vir doctissimus & lover of words, who first introduced me to Latin Ars longa, vita brevis ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES..............................................................................................................vi LIST OF FIGURES...........................................................................................................vii ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION........................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2: POETRY AND THE CIRCLE IN THE CONSOLATIO: AN OVERVIEW….............................................................................................................3 2.1 A "MULTIFACETED" CONSOLATIO AND AUTHOR.............................................3 2.2 THE METERS OF THE CONSOLATIO: A NEGLECTED STUDY............................11 2.3 IIIM9: CENTRAL PIVOT, TIMAEAN PARAPHRASE, PRAYER...........................17 2.4 THE CIRCLE IN THE CONSOLATIO AND IN IIIM9.............................................22 CHAPTER 3: IIIM9 AS TIMAEUS PARAPHRASE........................................................28 3.1 INTRODUCTION (17A-27B) .........................................................................28 3.2 FIRST PART OF TIMAEUS' SPEECH (27D-47E)..............................................29 3.2.1 The Eternal Model.........................................................................30 3.2.2 The Demiurge................................................................................30 3.2.3 The Elements.................................................................................31 3.2.4 The World's Body and Soul...........................................................32 3.2.5 Time...............................................................................................34 3.2.6 The Creation of Lesser Souls.........................................................36 3.3 SECOND (47E-69A) AND THIRD (69B-92C) PARTS OF TIMAEUS' SPEECH.....38 iii 3.4 IIIM9 AS NEOPLATONIC-INFLUENCED TIMAEAN PARAPHRASE..................40 3.5 RECTILINEAR AND HELICAL MOTION; THE X AND THE SPIRAL...................47 CHAPTER 4: IIIM9 AS DOUBLE-CIRCLE TIMAEAN MICROCOSMOS..................53 4.1 THE RHYTHMIC PATTERN OF IIIM9............................................................53 4.1.1 Lines 25-28: Adonic Climax and Bucolic Diaresis.......................57 4.2 IIIM9 AS TIMAEAN MICROCOSMOS; BOETHIUS AS DEMIURGE...................61 4.3 MICROCOSMOS AND DEMIURGE IN NEOPLATONIC LITERARY THEORY.......63 4.4 IIIM9 AND THE CONSOLATIO NARRATIVE...................................................66 CHAPTER 5: IIIM9 AS MODEL FOR THE CONSOLATIO: THE CIRCLE OF THE SAME (IP1-IIIM12)...........................................................................................67 5.1 INITIAL PINNACLE (STAGE 0), FIRST FALL, AND FIRST NADIR (STAGE 1A): IM1-IP5......................................................................................................68 5.2 PREPARATION FOR FIRST ASCENT (STAGE 1B): IM6-IM7...........................75 5.3 FIRST ASCENT (STAGES 2A, 2B, 3): IIP1-IIIM9..........................................77 5.4 FIRST PINNACLE (STAGE 4): IIIP10-IIIP12.23............................................85 5.5 "CROSSOVER": IIIP12.24-38.......................................................................88 5.5.1 X: A Clash of Arguments...............................................................88 5.5.2 An Incomplete Consolation?..........................................................90 5.6 INTERLUDE: "ORPHEUS" AND THE SECOND FALL (STAGE 5): IIIM12.........93 CHAPTER 6: IIIM9 AS MODEL FOR THE CONSOLATIO: THE CIRCLE OF THE DIFFERENT (IVP1-VP6) ................................................................................102 6.1 SECOND NADIR & PREPARATION FOR SECOND ASCENT (STAGE 6): IVP1-M1..................................................................................................102 6.2 SECOND ASCENT (STAGES 7A, B, C): IVP2-VM5......................................107 6.2.1 Stage 7a (IVP2-IVM4).................................................................110 iv 6.2.2 Stage 7b (IVP5-IVM7).................................................................118 6.2.3 Stage 7c (VP1-M5)......................................................................131 6.3 FINAL PINNACLE (STAGE 8): VP6.............................................................148 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION........................................................................................151 7.1 THE SPIRAL RETURN AND INCLUSIVE PERFECTION...................................151 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...........................................................................................................157 APPENDIX A: THE CONSOLATIO NARRATIVE AS THREE-DIMENSIONAL CYLINDRICAL HELIX.................................................................................................162 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Book V as "Reprise" of Book I: Parallels....................................132 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 The Double-Circle Spiral Structure of IIIM9...........................56 Figure 2 The Circle of the Same in the Consolatio Narrative.................68 Figure 3 The Circle of the Different in the Consolatio Narrative.........102 vii ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to relate the content and form of the central poem (IIIM9) of Boethius' Consolatio to the narrative structure and philosophical movement of the work as a whole. A line-by-line metrical analysis of IIIM9 yields a double-circle spiral pattern reflecting its Timaean content; IIIM9 is thus a microcosmos, with Boethius, as author, in the position of Demiurge. This pattern in turn serves as paradigm for the narrative of the Consolatio, which likewise falls into two circles, each consisting of a fall from a previous pinnacle followed by an ascent to a new pinnacle. In the first circle, that of the Same, the Prisoner attempts to return to God by leaving behind the divided world of human experience and ratio to attain the unifieD realm of divine intellegentia. However, his human inability to consistently hold onto this unity causes him to undergo a second fall. In the circle of the Different, the Prisoner must combine human ratio, represented by rectilinear motion, with divine intellegentia, represented by circular motion, to yield a composite motion: the spiral. This spiral mode of return to God, an "inclusive perfection," allows the Prisoner and all created beings to participate in the divine unity without losing their individual identities and natures. viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To begin with, my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Wayne J. Hankey, for his help, guidance, and patience over these past three years. My gratitude as well to my other committee members, Dr. Michael Fournier and Dr. Peter O'Brien, for their helpful suggestions and the timely elimination of several glaring errors. I also thank all the other professors at Dalhousie Classics from whose seminars I have learned so much, and Donna Edwards for her tireless work on all our behalf. My gratitude as well to the Killam Trusts, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and Dalhousie University. Thanks to my family -- my mom, dad, and sister -- for their encouragement and support, not only during the writing of this thesis, but throughout the long and sometimes wandering path that my studies have taken; I could not have reached this milestone without them. In particular, thanks to my mother for teaching me to read and to my "bookworm" family for giving me a lifelong love of literature. I remember with love my Opa as well, who taught curious 5-year-olD Cristalle her first Latin words (puer, puella, aqua, cibus -- see, I still remember them!), awakening in me a lasting passion for this beautiful language. Thank you to all my colleagues (both past and present) at Dalhousie Classics; I look forward to many more years of discussion and companionship as a lasting member oF this vibrant community. My thanks as well to the King's College Chapel community and First Congregational Church for spiritually and musically enriching my time in Halifax and for providing help and encouragement in difficult times. Thanks as well to all the Latin students I've worked with as a TA and tutor at Dal, and from whom I have been able to learn even while I taught. I wish to thank by name three close friends in particular: Lorraine DeVanthey, who first suggested in 2015 that I pursue an MA at Dal Classics (and gave me persistent nudges over the subsequent months until I started listening); Michelle Joy Ochitwa, whose chance Facebook post about a mysterious volume she'd found in a used bookstore first introduced me to the Consolatio (Divine Providence strikes again!); and my first Latin teacher, Sarah Van Der Pas, who helped me master the rudiments with her patient explanations and engaging Latin games, and whose expert help I continue to seek regarding particularly tricky points of grammar and syntax. I thank as