Cassiodorus, Flavius Magnus Aurelius, c. 490-c. 585 (statesman and historian)
Dates
- Existence: c. 490-c. 585 - 585
Biography
Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus (c. 490-c. 585), statesman and historian, was born on his family's estate at Scyllaceum (Squillace), Calabria. He was quaestor, consul and, ultimately, chief minister of Theodoric the Great, King of the Ostrogoths, and remained in high office under the succeeding Gothic rulers. He was given responsibility for producing a Latin version of the state's papers and correspondence, which were later collected as Variae epistolae. After his retirement, Cassiodorus erected the monastery of Vivarium on his estate, where he settled, collecting manuscripts and organising the copying and translation of classical texts. Cassiodorus wrote histories of the Goths; commentaries on the Psalms, Pauline epistles, the Acts, and the Apocalypse; treatises on the liberal arts; and works on the early Christian fathers. 'De anima', a treatise on the soul, was added to the Variae.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Cassiodous: ''De Anima''
A translation by G.E. Bevan and A.B. Turner of Stephane de Rouville's French text of 'De anima' (Paris, 1874), 35 pages, with a preface and contents page. There is a covering letter to Cambridge University Library, 2 July 1977, from Harold Palmer, who instigated the translation project and helped to organise the text.