Boethius Themes

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Boethius lived during the Medieval period in Italy, where the city-states warred with each other constantly. His was not an easy life, since it was one of politics and accusations. He was eventually exiled and executed, but not long before that occurred, he wrote the Consolation of Philosophy in which he shows how his philosophical teachings helped him rationalize and survive the trials he faced. His book deals with many themes, some of which are fortune, life, despair and death. Because of his life, he is now in a position to consider these themes. He pays special attention to fortune, because in his earlier life he felt like she was on his side but now she deserted him. Boethius the character seems to not understand the entire nature of …show more content…

Although Boethius the character's own viewpoint is not shown in this section, Boethius the writer is showing how he feels Fortune has impacted his own life through the calming and soothing words of Lady Philosophy. Lady Philosophy first addresses Boethius' own Fortune by stating that he is "yearning and pining for [his] earlier fortune" (2P1 line 2). She is talking about when he had a very successful political life and became consul of Rome. However at this point, he has been exiled and imprisoned and therefore feels as if Fortune has turned against him. Lady Philosophy believes it has, but is not surprised that it has due to the nature of Fortune that she has described. However, Lady Philosophy also discusses the point that "[Boethius] think[s] that Fortune has changed towards you, but you are mistaken" (2P1 line 9-10). She is discussing when Boethius was consul and thought that he was very fortunate, however Lady Philosophy sees this still as one of Fortune's games, saying that Fortune's nature never changed. At that point her fickleness was just in Boethius' favor. Lady Philosophy also questions if Boethius should truly treasure his Fortune, asking "Are the attentions of Fortune dear to you, when you cannot trust her to remain, and once she departs she will cause you grief?" (2P1 line 13-14) In this passage, Lady Philosophy again addresses the fickleness of Fortune and how it hurt Boethius when she went away, giving him a reason to not rely on Fortune. All of this leads to the point that if Boethius had not relied on Fortune to begin with, or if he realized what could come from relying on Fortune, he would not have felt as harmed once she

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