Boethius and Philosophy

However, immediately, philosophy comes to him in a vision as Lady Philosophy, offering him more than poetry could ever offer, namely the opportunity to make rational sense of the world as a means of transcending his suffering instead of wallowing in it. The dialogue between Boethius and Lady Philosophy ensues, in which Boethius learns that there is indeed more in life than poetry to answer human suffering. In fact, philosophy offers a return to reason from the madness of meaningless misery, and even happiness or at least well-being which flows from the guidance of reason.

Lady Philosophy's first words to Boethius are to warn him against the false comfort of poetry and to offer instead the true consolation of philosophy and reason. The Muses of Poetry "will only nourish him with their sweet poison" and "kill the fruitful harvest of reason with the sterile thorns of the passions" (4). Philosophy, on

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endures in the face of trouble is the state of reason. Despite his philosophical education, Boethius had become convinced, step by step, that he was happy with his fame, wealth and power, with "the pleasures of false happiness" (22). When those possessions and honors were stripped from him, he felt he had lost his happiness and any chance at winning it back again. Philosophy tells him, however, that now he has the experience to see the truth of philosophy in reality, in his own life. This terrible situation in which he finds himself is precisely the best situation for him to be in in order to discover the highest truth available to human beings about the meaning of existence. Again, the point is made that the journey to true and lasting happiness or well-being must begin at a point of utter misery. Only at such a point is the human being reduced to such unhappiness that he at last can begin to question what happiness truly is. Up to that point, for all his philosophical reading, Boethius was still under the spell of the belief that fame, good fortune, wealth and power were the sources of happiness. Now they are gone and he is miserable. Will he be like most other men and either try to win his possessions and honors back, or
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Approximate Word count = 2271
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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