The Peculiar Case of Boethius [6th Century C.E.]

The assumptions upon which Boethius' philosophical position rests, and the detailed arguments by which his position is expressed are, for the most part, not original [but]...derived from the classic works of Greek and Roman philosophy, most notably from Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero, and from the Neo-Platonists, and adapted during the Patristic period to the theology of Christian revelation. What is new in The Consolation, and the reason for its lasting influence and importance in the history of medieval philosophy, is the expert synthesis of these traditional ethical doctrines by an author who consciously limits his consideration to the powers of natural reason without direct recourse [to], or even mention of, Christian revelation.

--from R. Green's "Introduction" to his translation of the Consolatio (xv). Emphasis added.