罗马帝国的殉道者？--波爱修斯之死事件探析

A Martyr of the Roman Empire?——On the Death of Boethius

自吉本以来的传统观点认为,波爱修斯之死所体现的是东哥特蛮族统治者对罗马元老贵族的迫害,他本人也往往被看成为了罗马帝国而牺牲的。然而,结合当时的史料和政治环境可以发现,实际上波爱修斯的倒台并非是由于蛮族对罗马人的迫害,而是源于他本人在罗马元老院和东哥特宫廷中的诸多政敌的陷害。正是元老院法庭对他进行了最终审判,并处决了他,而波爱修斯当时并不认为自己是为了罗马帝国而死。在他看来,他仍然生活在罗马帝国中,仍然在为罗马人民服务。

This article reexamines the political event of the death of the famous philosopher Boethius in the early 6^(th) century.Since Gibbon,the death of Boethius was traditionally attributed to Ostrogothic barbarian rulers’persecution of the Roman senatorial families and regarded as a sacrifice for the Roman Empire.However,the historical sources and contemporaneous political conditions revealed differently:his death was brought about by his political enemies in the Roman Senate and the Ostrogothic court.It was the Roman Senate which finally issued his execution decree.Moreover,Boethius himself did not think that he died for the Roman Empire.In his view,he still lived in the Roman Empire and served the Roman people.