Lectures at the Cusanus Foundation

Friday, December 12, 2025
What is Happiness?
Aristotle's Ethica (Cod. Cus. 179)

Just as a swallow and a day do not make a summer, one day or a short time does not make anyone happy and blessed, Aristotle once noted. But what is a happy life anyway? Can one learn to be happy? Or does everything depend rather on chance? And what is happiness at all: Joy? Balance? Fulfillment? As part of the lecture series "Treasures of the Cusanus Library," held in the baroque hall of the Cusanus Monastery/St. Nicholas Hospital during the winter and spring months, Simeon Elias Hüttel M.A. will introduce the philosophy of happiness by Aristotle on December 12 at 7 p.m. Margret Koch will provide musical accompaniment. Following the lecture, a joint discussion over a glass of wine is planned. The medieval Aristotle manuscript in the possession of the Cusanus Monastery will also be on display. Admission is free…

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Friday, January 23, 2026
"I know that I know nothing!"
The Defense of Socrates (Cod. Cus. 177)

Friday, February 20, 2026
What is the Purpose of Solitude?
Petrarch's De Vita Solitaria (Cod. Cus. 53)

Friday, March 20, 2026
What is Good Governance?
Spirit and Power in Plutarch (Cod. Cus. 177)

Friday, March 27, 2026
Can One Learn to Die?
Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy (Wiegendruck 62)

We are pleased to welcome you to the lectures in the baroque hall of the Cusanus Monastery, followed by an inspiring discussion over a glass of wine. Musical accompaniment: Margret Koch.

The manuscripts and prints on the respective topics will be presented during the lectures.

Speaker: Simeon Elias Hüttel M.A., Librarian of the Cusanus Monastery

What constitutes a good and successful life? Does a truly blissful existence even exist? Just as a swallow does not make a summer, Aristotle once noted, one day or a short time does not make anyone happy or blessed.
The question of a successful human existence concerns us not just today. Western philosophy has been grappling since antiquity with a proper "doctrine of the right art of living." The library of the Cusanus Monastery in Bernkastel-Kues houses some of the most significant and fascinating works written on this subject. Can the thinkers of antiquity and the Renaissance help us find a clearer perspective on the pressing problem of our way of life?
How, for example, can friendships be cultivated? How should we shape our civic coexistence? How do we deal with solitude? How do we handle death? Together, we embark on a journey through the history of philosophy, searching for possible guides to a good life...