Just Finished:
The Consolation of Philosophy (523), by Boethius; translated by V. E. Watts
The poetry gets better as you go along, even though some of the logic, which is so necessary to this work, begins to fall apart. (Or at least it seemed to, to me.) That said, there's a lot of good stuff in here, and not just for those interested in philosophy or medieval thought. Indeed, I imagine that a lot of people, particularly those of a religious or deity-centered spiritual persuasion, will find a lot to value in here, most of which remains relevant to coping with everyday life and the thought of mortality. And for those of a markedly less religious or spiritual bent, like myself, there are still some absolute gems in here, not unlike, say, the book of Ecclesiastes (though it is not as consistently beautiful). It's not difficult to see why this was as popular and influential as it was in centuries past, and to some degree I think it probably deserves a bit of a resurgence, beyond merely being quoted from in some films (24 Hour Party People) or sneaking into modern literature (Tom Shippey believes that there is a lot of Boethius to be found in The Lord of the Rings). There's more room for ancient philosophy and theology in the modern reader's library than one might think--as good as it is, Aurelius's Meditations isn't the only ancient philosophy text worthy of popular adoption and adoration.
Currently Reading:
The Interpretation of Dreams (1899), by Sigmund Freud, translated by J. A. Underwood
Just started on this; have only read excerpted selections of it before. Curious to experience it in its entirety.
