Boethius

It is difficult to overestimate the place of The Consolation of Philosophy
in the self-help canon. Though Boethius is not a household name
today, for over a millennium in the Christian West his work was second
only to the Bible in popularity.
Boethius' life was one of incredible privilege. Born Anicius Manlius
Severinus Boethius into an aristocratic family in the late Roman Empire,
he was adopted by the statesman Symmachus, whose daughter he married.
Groomed for power, he received the best education and was made
Consul while still in his late twenties. As well as being a pillar of the
Roman Senate and society, he was esteemed as a scholar, making translations
and commentaries of Aristotle that would keep alive the classical
tradition through the Middle Ages. But his aim to translate all the
works of Plato and Aristotle and to harmonize their ideas into one work
would never be fulfilled. For Boethius lived in interesting times.
The Roman Empire had metamorphosed into "Christendom," split
between East (Constantinople) and West (Ravenna). While he maintained
most of the old Roman institutions, the ruler of Italy was now not a
Roman, but a "barbarian," the Ostrogoth Theodoric. Boethius was
appointed Master of Offices in Theodoric's court, a sort of chief-of-staff
who could smooth relations between the Senate and the new regime.
However, a court intrigue saw Theodoric accuse Boethius of treason and,
despite assertions of innocence, he was sentenced to death by torture.
The life that had previously had everything now lay in ruins. How
could his beloved philosophy help him now? This awful predicament
made him uniquely suited to answer the question, and it was on death
row that The Consolation was written.
The wheel of Fortune
The book begins when a despondent prisoner in his cell (whom we take
to be Boethius himself) is visited by an apparition, Lady Philosophy.Having heard the prisoner rail against the injustice of his situation, Philosophy
begins reasoned arguments on why he should not blame Fortune.
Fortune comes and goes as she chooses, and therefore should never
be depended on. The prisoner has associated "happiness" with his high
position, public esteem, and wealth, but Philosophy argues that these
things cannot be the real source of happiness if they have led him to
where he sits now. If one is to depend on Fortune, one should expect
her departure as much as her arrival, just as seasons come and go. In
his rage, Boethius has forgotten how the world is ordered.
And how is it ordered? Philosophy gets the prisoner to agree that
the highest good we can seek is God, and that our pursuit of external
things including fame, wealth, or power are de facto graspings for this
source of true happiness. Unlike Fortune, God is unchanging and is
accessed through looking inward. Paradoxically, the person who seeks
to know God attains self-knowledge.
Still somewhat despondent, the prisoner complains that the wicked
often win out over the good. However, Philosophy questions this, noting
that if the wicked achieve their ends they become as animals,
whereas if the good succeed they rise above being human to the level of
gods. So evil can never really win, since "success" in evil does not lead
anywhere, whereas all attempts at good take us higher.
Fate and Providence
The book builds up to even bigger questions concerning Providence
and free will. Told that there is no chance in the universe, that Providence
orders everything perfectly, the prisoner rightly demands: "How
then do humans have free will?" Philosophy explains that "God sees in
the present the future events which proceed from free choice." God
knows what will happen if you make a particular choice, but does not
interfere in the choice made, unless asked for guidance.
The prisoner learns that whereas Providence effortlessly organizes
the universe as a whole, Fate concerns the movement of individual
beings within time. Those who are closer to God live in greater accord
with Providence and can therefore depend on it for help; those who
believe they are on their own are wholly tied to their fate and are—
again paradoxically—in lesser control of their destiny. Those who
appreciate stillness know the mind of Providence; those who apprehend
nothing but turmoil and chaos can only see the harshness of Fate.Meaning from misery
Philosophy tries to show Boethius that there is no better person than
he, who had enjoyed wealth, power, fame, and all the advantages of
high birth, to be forced to consider the ultimate worth of material
things. These are no protection against what has befallen him, and in
fact set him up for his fate. In his last days, writing as "the prisoner,"
he sees his life in perspective. His achievements, he realizes, are not as
important as the self-knowledge he is now gaining.
It dawns on Boethius that his life thus far has been about the power
of mastery, or willful self-creation. In the course of the year in prison
he replaces the mastery fixation of the adolescent/adult with an appreciation
of the universe's unity and oneness; he transforms himself from
grasping politician to wise elder. Comforted by Philosophy, even a
death as horrible as his is put into perspective.
Impact of The Consolation
The Consolation inspired Dante, Chaucer, and Aquinas, and was rendered
into English by both King Alfred (9th century) and Elizabeth I
(16th century). At a general level, the book helped to inspire the piety
and introspection that we now associate with the Middle Ages.
Boethius' desire to enlighten the broader public is expressed in the
form in which The Consolation is written, through the interleaving of
prose and poetry known as Menippean satire, which until then had
been a popular and light-hearted literary style. The book was designed
to seduce the reader into accepting its arguments through the provision
of delight as much as solace, and this it does. P. S. Walsh's translation
brilliantly captures the intent of the book.
Final comments
Though Boethius was one of the great intellects of his time, his book is
above all a personal work that speaks directly to the reader in whatever
age, offering instant advice, solace, and inspiration. Its central question
of free will may at first seem too intellectual, but in fact it is pivotal to
the whole self-help ethic, for being free of mind even when you are not
physically free, which Boethius achieves, is the essence of maturity. The
Consolation is one of the most in-depth discussions of the nature of
happiness you are ever likely to read.