Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy
| allegory of Philosophy and dialogue |
| innocent are punished unjustly while wicked flourish |
| Metra I, v: all creation follows order set by God, except man, who is tossed by Fortune (47) |
| distracted by emotion; you have forgotton your true nature (51) |
| forgotton the means by which the world is governed |
| change is Fortune's true nature, her normal behavior |
| inconstancy is her very essence (57) |
| "commit your boat to the winds |
| and you must sail whichever way they blow" (55) |
| wheel of Fortune (II, i, 56) |
| "nothing is miserable except when you think it so . . . |
| all luck is good luck to the man who bears it with equanimity" (63) |
| "If happiness is the highest good of rational nature |
| and anything that can be taken away is not the highest good |
| --since it is surpassed by what can't be taken away-- |
| Fortune by her very mutability can't hope to lead to happiness" (63) |
| when man forgets his nature, he sinks lower than the beasts (68) |
| "when a being endowed with a godlike quality in virtue of his rational nature |
| thinks that his only splendor lies in the possession of inanimate goods, |
| it is the overthrow of the natural order." (67) |
| Fortune has nothing worth pursuing, no intrinsic good (72) |
| Bad fortune is of more use than good fortune (76): reveals true friends |
The Supreme Good and lesser goods: |
| Supreme Good is filled with supreme and perfect goodness = |
| perfect happiness = absolute sufficiency = power = reverence |
| = glory = pleasure (summary p. 105, 115-6) |
| when these objects are distinct, they are not good; |
| they become good through the acquisition of unity (105) |
| every happy individual is therefore divine (by participation) |
| everyone desires happiness |
| pursuit of false, or fragmentary goods results from misunderstanding of true good |
| St. Augustine: "disordered love" |
| The imperfection of distinct, lesser goods |
| Wealth: few can share it; reduces others to poverty (65); |
| Honor: honor not accorded to virtue because of the office held |
| but because of the virtue of the one who holds the office |
| Power: no matter how much power any man has, |
| it is limited in its scope (70); |
| Fame: no matter how famous you are, your fame covers only a small area; |
| Bodily Pleasure: the end of pleasure is sorrow |
| Metra III, viii: "In their blindness men know not / where lies the good they seek" (93) |
| natural world takes it origin from what is unimpaired and perfect, |
| & then degenerates into this fallen and worn-out condition (99) |
The Nature of evil and wicked men: |
| there is nothing that God could not do |
| therefore evil is nothing (112) |
| "privatio boni" 'absence of good' |
| Boethius returns to complaint from Bk I: evil exists and goes unpunished, wickedness flourishes |
| Philosophy answers: the good are always strong and the wicked always humbled and weak |
| wicked can never attain the Supreme Good |
| by giving up the common goal of all that exists |
| wicked men cease to exist themselves: |
| i.e. they do not have absolute and complete existence |
| because they do not keep their proper place and preserve their own nature (122) |
| power of evil men is based on weakness; no longer have the power to do good |
| can only do evil, which is nothing (122) |
| only the wise can achieve their desire |
| while the wicked busy themselves with what gives pleasure |
| but never attain their real objective (123) |
| goodness is its own reward |
| the punishment of the wicked is their own wickedness |
| anything that turns from goodness ceases to exist |
| the wicked cease to be what they once were (125) |
| wicked suffer more when unpunished |
| those who commit an injustice are more unhappy |
| than those who suffer from it (130) |
| wickedness is a disease of the mind |
Providence vs. the course of fate: |
| the divine plan as a unified whole in God's foresight is Providence; |
| the unfolding of this plan in the course of time is fate |
| the simplicity of Providence vs. |
| the ever-changing web of fate |
| which is manifested in and through time (136) |
| analogy of concentric circles (136) |
| other analogies: Fate:Providence is like |
| reasoning:understanding, and |
| coming into being:that which is, and |
| bad fortune serves a purpose |
| there is no such thing as chance |
| what seems to be chance is merely an unexpected event |
Can universal foreknowledge of God and freewill coexist? |
| does an event occur because God foreknows it, |
| or does God foreknow it because it will occur? |
| God views events from outside time, from eternity |
| all events are simultaneously present to him |
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