![]() The poem Boethius recites at the very beginning of the Consolation demonstrates his misery, and he blames Fortune for destroying the perfect happiness he used to possess. He has fallen from a remarkable position as one of the king’s closest personal advisors to an unenviable place in jail, awaiting execution for a crime he did not commit. ![]() ![]() Rather, wise people recognize the futility of searching for happiness in earthly pleasures rather than in “the sum of happiness” that is attainable through God.Īt first, Boethius is miserable and confused because he wrongly ties his sense of self and happiness to his fortune in the world. And Philosophy successfully gives Boethius the consolation he seeks: she shows him that his downfall does not affect his true happiness, since “ God is the essence of happiness” and one’s fortune in life has nothing to do with it. He craves some deeper understanding of his situation and wants to determine if he can still live his final days with a sense of genuine purpose and peace. ![]() Having suffered a cascade of misfortune, Boethius is ultimately accused of plotting to overthrow Ostrogothic King Theodoric and awaits an unjust execution ordered by the very ruler Boethius spent decades serving. Boethius’s title is deceptively literal: he dialogues with Philosophy in this book not because he seeks wisdom about the universe, but because he is sad and wants consolation. ![]()
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