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[ 76 ] the rise and fall of soul and self
From the sixth through the eleventh centuries, in the Byzantine East, where
Greek continued to be read, the influence of the Cappadocian Fathers—Basil,
Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory Nazianzus—was keenly felt. The writings of
the mystical Christian Neoplatonist, pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite were also
important. During this period, there was
some interaction between the Latin
and Byzantine traditions, most notably through the work of the ninth-century Irish
mystic John Scotus Eriugena, one of the few Latins of his age who did read Greek.
Eriugena translated the writings of pseudo-Dionysius, who at the time was mistak-
enly thought to be the Dionysius who had converted to Christianity when he had
heard St. Paul preach on the Athenian Areopagus and thus was accorded by Latin
philosophers a quasi-scriptural authority. Much later it was discovered that he was
not
that Dionysius but instead had lived in the Near East, probably in the late fifth
century, and had written his work under the influence of the Neoplatonist Proclus.
In the Latin West, on the other hand, until the thirteenth century Plato was
more influential than Aristotle. Cicero, who had been a student at the Platonic
Athenian Academy, reflected in those of his writings that were still available in
the Latin West the Skepticism that had come to dominate that school as well as
the Middle Platonism that, during his lifetime, was just beginning to replace it.
Boethius’s influential
Consolation of Philosophy was Platonic
. Of Plato’s own
works, Latin readers possessed in translation only parts of the Timaeus . They did,
though, possess some of Plotinus and most importantly Augustine, who acknowl-
edged his debt both to Plato and Plotinus. Augustine’s Platonism included accep-
tance of the eternal presence of Ideas in the mind of God, their immediate
comprehension by human reason, and the incorporeality and immortality of the
human soul. His repeated assertions that Platonism is closer than any other pagan
philosophy to Christian doctrine encouraged later attempts to reconcile them. 2
The Dark Ages in Europe
In 476, the barbarian Theodoric (454/5-526) defeated the last Roman emperor of
the West and inaugurated in Italy the Ostrogothic kingdom. Subsequently, he
wanted to maintain diplomatic contact with Constantinople, establishing him-
self as the chief agent in the West of the Roman emperor in the East. To this end,
he enlisted the services of Roman aristocrats who knew both how the Roman
bureaucracy worked and how to comport themselves in accordance with Greek
court etiquette. In this capacity, Boethius (480-525?) was drafted to became
Theodoric’s prime minister. Although Boethius seems to have discharged his
duties with distinction, Theodoric suspected him of conspiring with the emperor
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