Boethius (ca. 470-524)
“I think that ill fortune is of greater advantage to men than good fortune.” (524)
Boethius
Boethius is in prison. His fall from power has been a deep plunge. A Christian statesman in a troubled era, he used to guide kings and defend the Roman people. A scholar, he wrote defenses of Christianity and of the doctrine of the Trinity. A philosopher, he translated Greek works into Latin because few others could read Greek anymore. He has written works on mathematics and music. Yet this great man with a noble heart sits on death row in a filthy cell behind bars.
Fortune has turned against him. Because he defended his father-in-law, a senator who fell afoul of King Theodoric, Boethius is under suspicion. Disreputable men whom Boethius had earlier balked in their wrongdoing, have gained King Theodoric’s ear and, filled with vengeance, have poisoned the king’s mind regarding the scholarly statesman. Theodoric has arrested him.
At first, overwhelmed by his changed circumstances, Boethius’ mind sinks into darkness and stupor. He complains, and writes words of lament. But then, something happens. His tone changes. Lady Philosophy, he tells us, approaches him, and orders him to buck up. When he pities himself because of his desperate plight, she rebukes his attitude and demands he view his misfortune in a fresh light. Roused by her appearance, he pens a short masterpiece, The Consolation of Philosophy.
It will become one of the most popular and influential books of Medieval times, a bestseller for centuries. Alfred the Great will translate it into Anglo-Saxon and Notker Teutonicus into German.
No doubt the harsh conditions of the Middle Ages will have much to do with the Consolation’s popularity, for life piles suffering upon suffering for the people of Europe. Millions of Europeans during the Dark Ages will be subject to the same ups and downs as Boethius, and will find themselves in sympathy with him, and with his ruminations about fickle fate.
The theme of his book can be summed up with a single sentence from Book II, Meter VIII. “I think that ill fortune is of greater advantage to men than good fortune.”
Boethius acknowledges that this is a surprising statement, but places speeches in Lady Philosophy’s mouth to explain it. Good fortune lures men away from goodness. With pleasures all around them, it becomes easy to forget right. On the other hand, suffering brings men up short, forces them to remember themselves and builds character. It frees some whose minds have become chained to delightful but worthless baubles.
Boethius will write about many more things in his slender volume, including a thoughtful discussion of God’s foreknowledge and man’s free will. It will be his last and greatest gift to posterity, for Theodoric, without so much as allowing him a hearing, will have his skull crushed, silencing the most powerful intellect of the age.
—Dan Graves
Dig a Little Deeper
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