Boethius’s ‘Consolation of Philosophy’: 3 Insights Into the Nature of Happiness

The “Consolation” was so popular that Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, translated it into Old English. Geoffrey Chaucer and Queen Elizabeth I also offered their own English translations in the 14th and 16th centuries. So why has this book been so influential, and why is it worth considering today? The answers lie in the story of its author.
Despite an impressive record, Boethius’s political career was cut short when he was accused of conspiracy against Theodoric. Innocence notwithstanding, Boethius was imprisoned in Pavia, Italy, in 523. One year later, he was brutally executed.
Lady Philosophy immediately scolds Boethius’s defeatism, reminding him that wallowing in self-pity can’t solve his unease. A symbol of reason and clarity, Lady Philosophy tells the prisoner that the only way to overcome his sorrows is to understand their nature. The way to understanding is reason.
As a first “remedy” for Boethius’s spiritual illness, Lady Philosophy discusses fortune. By “fortune,” she means all worldly things, like wealth, power, and even physical health. As she tells Boethius, these things are inherently volatile. Our material status could change from one moment to the next. A financial crash could deplete all our savings. An illness could impair our health irrevocably. Or, as was the case for Boethius, a political schema could flip our lives upside down.
Fortune seems to be indifferent to human suffering. It bestows blessings only to take them away without notice. Lady Philosophy warns Boethius that relying on fortune for happiness is not only useless, but also counterproductive. Wealth, power, and health—each can be lost in a moment. If we place faith in volatile things, we’ll become dependent on circumstances beyond our control.
Everyone experiences hardships. Our struggles vary in gravity, but they all seem to rob us of happiness. The “Consolation of Philosophy” reminds us that reliance on external circumstances is inevitably inadequate to attain spiritual stability. That stability is found within, in the cultivation of an inner life that adopts reason, virtue, and faith in the divine order as its guiding principles. These insights came from a prisoner awaiting his violent death. The least we can do to honor Boethius is to consider his wisdom and apply it to our own lives.