The desire to console others is an expression of
empathy, and appears to be
instinctual in primates. Dutch primatologist
Frans de Waal has observed acts of consolation occurring among non-human
primates such as
chimpanzees. The formal concept of consolation as a social practice has existed since ancient times. For example, as an examination of letters from
ancient Rome indicates of that culture: Although "the most frequent occasion for consolation was death", ancient consolation literature addressed other causes for consolation, including "exile, poverty, political failure, illness, shipwreck, and old age". Papyrus letters from that era "often employ standard consolations, such as 'death is common to all' and frequently mention the dispatch of food stuffs". In both ancient Greece and Rome, the
Consolatio or
consolatory oration was a type of ceremonial
oration, typically used
rhetorically to comfort mourners at funerals. It became one of the most popular
classical rhetoric topics. The
Platonist philosopher
Crantor of Soli (c. 325–c. 275 BC), a member of
Plato's Academy, pioneered the writing of essays in this distinct tradition. Although only fragments of his essays have survived, his influence is noted in the works of later writers, particularly
Cicero's
Tusculan Disputations and
Plutarch's
Consolation to Apollonius.
Seneca the Younger (4 BC–65 AD) produced the most recognizable examples of
Consolatio in
his three Consolations,
Ad Marciam,
Ad Polybium, and
Ad Helviam Matrem. The most recognizable example of
Consolatio in verse form is the
pseudo-Ovidian
Consolatio ad Liviam.
Plutarch's works include three works constructed in the
Consolatio tradition:
De exilio,
Consolatio ad uxorem,
Consolatio ad Apollonium. Taken literally, Boethius consoles himself for the anguish of knowing that his death has been decreed by philosophizing. == In the arts ==