,greek3 homs de kai en toutois dialampei to kalon1 epeidan pher tis eukols pollas kai megalas atychias1 m di analgsian1 alla gennadas n kai megalopsychos4 ,aristotle's ',ethics1' ,i41 xi4 #ab4 ,illustration3 ,diptych representing ,narius ,manlius ,boethius1 father of ,anicius ,manlius ,severinus ,boethius4 ,the inscription in full would run thus3-- ,,narivs ,,manlivs ,,boethivs ,,vir ,,clarissimvs ,,et ,,inlvstris ,,expraefectvs ,,praetorio ,,praefectvs ,,vrbis ,,et ,,comes ,,consvl ,,ordinarivs ,,et ,,particivs 7,for description vid4 ,preface1 p4 vi7 ,,the ,,consolation ,,of ,,philosophy ,,of ,,boethius4 ,translated into ,english ,prose and ,verse by ,h4,r4 ,,james1 ,m4,a41 ,,ch4 ,,ch4 ,,oxford4 ,quantumlibet igitur sviant mali1 sapienti tamen corona non decidet1 non arescet4 ,melioribus animum conformaveris1 nihil opus est judice prmium deferente1 tu te ipse excellentioribus addidisti2 studium ad pejora deflexeris1 extra ne qusieris ultorem1 tu te ipse in deteriora trusisti4 ,,london3 ,,elliot ,,stock1 #fb1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 #ahig4 ,,preface4 ,the book called ',the ,consolation of ,philosophy' was throughout the ,middle ,ages1 and down to the beginnings of the modern epoch in the sixteenth century1 the scholar's familiar companion4 ,few books have exercised a wider influence in their time4 ,it has been translated into every ,european tongue1 and into ,english nearly a dozen times1 from ,king ,alfred's paraphrase to the translations of ,lord ,preston1 ,causton1 ,ridpath1 and ,duncan1 in the eighteenth century4 ,the belief that what once pleased so widely must still have some charm is my excuse for attempting the present translation4 ,the great work of ,boethius1 with its alternate prose and verse1 skilfully fitted together like dialogue and chorus in a ,greek play1 is unique in literature1 and has a pathetic interest from the time and circumstances of its composition4 ,it ought not to be forgotten4 ,those who can go to the original will find their reward4 ,there may be room also for a new translation in ,english after an interval of close on a hundred years4 ,some of the editions contain a reproduction of a bust purporting to represent ,boethius4 ,lord ,preston's translation1 for example1 has such a portrait1 which it refers to an original in marble at ,rome4 ,this ,i have been unable to trace1 and suspect that it is apocryphal4 ,the ,hope ,collection at ,oxford contains a completely different portrait in a print1 which gives no authority4 ,i have ventured to use as a frontispiece a reproduction from a plaster-cast in the ,ashmolean ,museum1 taken from an ivory diptych preserved in the ,bibliotheca ,quiriniana at ,brescia1 which represents ,narius ,manlius ,boethius1 the father of the philosopher4 ,portraiture of this period is so rare that it seemed that1 failing a likeness of the author himself1 this authentic representation of his father might have interest1 as giving the consular dress and insignia of the time1 and also as illustrating the decadence of contemporary art4 ,the consul wears a richly-embroidered cloak2 his right hand holds a staff surmounted by the ,roman eagle1 his left the mappa circensis1 or napkin used for starting the races in the circus2 at his feet are palms and bags of money--prizes for the victors in the games4 ,for permission to use this cast my thanks are due to the authorities of the ,ashmolean ,museum1 as also to ,mr4 ,t4,w4 ,jackson1 ,curator of the ,hope ,collection1 who first called my attention to its existence4 ,i have to thank my brother1 ,mr4 ,l4 ,james1 of ,radley ,college1 for much valuable help and for correcting the proof-sheets of the translation4 ,the text used is that of ,peiper1 ,leipsic1 #ahgd4 ,,proem4 ,anicus ,manlius ,severinus ,boethius lived in the last quarter of the fifth century ,a4,d41 and the first quarter of the sixth4 ,he was growing to manhood1 when ,theodoric1 the famous ,ostrogoth1 crossed the ,alps and made himself master of ,italy4 ,boethius belonged to an ancient family1 which boasted a connection with the legendary glories of the ,republic1 and was still among the foremost in wealth and dignity in the days of ,rome's abasement4 ,his parents dying early1 he was brought up by ,symmachus1 whom the age agreed to regard as of almost saintly character1 and afterwards became his son-in-law4 ,his varied gifts1 aided by an excellent education1 won for him the reputation of the most accomplished man of his time4 ,he was orator1 poet1 musician1 philosopher4 ,it is his peculiar distinction to have handed on to the ,middle ,ages the tradition of ,greek philosophy by his ,latin translations of the works of ,aristotle4 ,called early to a public career1 the highest honours of the ,state came to him unsought4 ,he was sole ,consul in #eaj ,a4,d41 and was ultimately raised by ,theodoric to the dignity of ,magister ,officiorum1 or head of the whole civil administration4 ,he was no less happy in his domestic life1 in the virtues of his wife1 ,rusticiana1 and the fair promise of his two sons1 ,symmachus and ,boethius2 happy also in the society of a refined circle of friends4 ,noble1 wealthy1 accomplished1 universally esteemed for his virtues1 high in the favour of the ,gothic ,king1 he appeared to all men a signal example of the union of merit and good fortune4 ,his felicity seemed to culminate in the year #ebb ,a4,d41 when1 by special and extraordinary favour1 his two sons1 young as they were for so exalted an honour1 were created joint ,consuls and rode to the senate-house attended by a throng of senators1 and the acclamations of the multitude4 ,boethius himself1 amid the general applause1 delivered the public speech in the ,king's honour usual on such occasions4 ,within a year he was a solitary prisoner at ,pavia1 stripped of honours1 wealth1 and friends1 with death hanging over him1 and a terror worse than death1 in the fear lest those dearest to him should be involved in the worst results of his downfall4 ,it is in this situation that the opening of the ',consolation of ,philosophy' brings ,boethius before us4 ,he represents himself as seated in his prison distraught with grief1 indignant at the injustice of his misfortunes1 and seeking relief for his melancholy in writing verses descriptive of his condition4 ,suddenly there appears to him the ,divine figure of ,philosophy1 in the guise of a woman of superhuman dignity and beauty1 who by a succession of discourses convinces him of the vanity of regret for the lost gifts of fortune1 raises his mind once more to the contemplation of the true good1 and makes clear to him the mystery of the world's moral government4 ,,index ,,of ,,verse ,,interludes4 ,,book ,i4 ,,the ,,sorrows ,,of ,,boethius4 ,,song ,,page ,i4 ,,boethius' ,,complaint #c ,,ii4 ,,his ,,despondency #i ,,iii4 ,,the ,,mists ,,dispelled #ab ,,iv4 ,,nothing ,,can ,,subdue ,,virtue #af ,v4 ,,boethius' ,,prayer #bg ,,vi4 ,,all ,,things ,,have ,,their ,,needful ,,order #cc ,,vii4 ,,the ,,perturbations ,,of ,,passion #ch ,,book ,,ii4 ,,the ,,vanity ,,of ,,fortune',s ,,gifts4 ,i4 ,,fortune',s ,,malice #dg ,,ii4 ,,man',s ,,covetousness #ea ,,iii4 ,,all ,,passes #ee ,,iv4 ,,the ,,golden ,,mean #fb ,v4 ,,the ,,former ,,age #gj ,,vi4 ,,nero',s ,,infamy #gf ,,vii4 ,,glory ,,may ,,not ,,last #hb ,,viii4 ,,love ,,is ,,lord ,,of ,,all #he ,,book ,,iii4 ,,true ,,happiness ,,and ,,false4 ,i4 ,,the ,,thorns ,,of ,,error #ic ,,ii4 ,,the ,,bent ,,of ,,nature #ii ,,iii4 ,,the ,,insatiableness ,,ok ,,avarice #aje ,,iv4 ,,disgrace ,,of ,,honours ,,conferred ,,by ,a ,,tyrant #aji ,v4 ,,self-,,mastery #aac ,,vi4 ,,true ,,nobility #aaf ,,vii4 ,,pleasure',s ,,sting #aah ,,viii4 ,,human ,,folly #aba ,,ix4 ,,invocation #acj ,x4 ,,the ,,true ,,light #ada ,,xi4 ,,reminiscence #aej ,,xii4 ,,orpheus ,,and ,,eurydice #aeh ,,book ,,iv4 ,,good ,,and ,,ill ,,fortune4 ,i4 ,,the ,,soul',s ,,flight #aff ,,ii4 ,,the ,,bondage ,,of ,,passion #agg ,,iii4 ,,circe',s ,,cup #ahb ,,iv4 ,,the ,,unreasonableness ,,of ,,hatred #aid ,v4 ,,wonder ,,and ,,ignorance #aig ,,vi4 ,,the ,,universal ,,aim #bab ,,vii4 ,,the ,,hero',s ,,path #bai ,,book ,v4 ,,free ,,will ,,and ,,god',s ,,foreknowledge4 ,i4 ,,chance #bbi ,,ii4 ,,the ,,true ,,sun #bcc ,,iii4 ,,truth',s ,,paradoxes #bda ,,iv4 ,a ,,psychological ,,fallacy #bej ,v4 ,,the ,,upward ,,look #bee ,,book ,i4 ,,the ,,sorrows ,,of ,,boethius4 ,,summary4 ,boethius' complaint 7,song ,i474--,,ch4 ,i4 ,philosophy appears to ,boethius1 drives away the ,muses of ,poetry1 and herself laments 7,song ,,ii47 the disordered condition of his mind4--,,ch4 ,,ii4 ,boethius is speechless with amazement4 ,philosophy wipes away the tears that have clouded his eyesight4--,,ch4 ,,iii4 ,boethius recognises his mistress ,philosophy4 ,to his wondering inquiries she explains her presence1 and recalls to his mind the persecutions to which ,philosophy has oftentimes from of old been subjected by an ignorant world4 ,,ch4 ,,iv4 ,philosophy bids ,boethius declare his griefs4 ,he relates the story of his unjust accusation and ruin4 ,he concludes with a prayer 7,song ,v47 that the moral disorder in human affairs may be set right4--,,ch4 ,v4 ,philosophy admits the justice of ,boethius' self-vindication1 but grieves rather for the unhappy change in his mind4 ,she will first tranquillize his spirit by soothing remedies4--,,ch4 ,,vi4 ,philosophy tests ,boethius' mental state by certain questions1 and discovers three chief causes of his soul's sickness3 7#a7 ,he has forgotten his own true nature2 7#b7 he knows not the end towards which the whole universe tends2 7#c7 he knows not the means by which the world is governed4 ,,book ,i4 ,,song ,i4 ,,boethius' ,,complaint4 ,who wrought my studious numbers ,smoothly once in happier days1 ,now perforce in tears and sadness ,learn a mournful strain to raise4 ,lo1 the ,muses1 grief-dishevelled1 ,guide my pen and voice my woe2 ,down their cheeks unfeigned the tear drops ,to my sad complainings flow6 ,these alone in danger's hour ,faithful found1 have dared attend ,on the footsteps of the exile ,to his lonely journey's end4 ,these that were the pride and pleasure ,of my youth and high estate ,still remain the only solace ,of the old man's mournful fate4 ,old8 ,ah yes2 swift1 ere ,i knew it1 ,by these sorrows on me pressed ,age hath come2 lo1 ,grief hath bid me ,wear the garb that fits her best4 ,o'er my head untimely sprinkled ,these white hairs my woes proclaim1 ,and the skin hangs loose and shrivelled ,on this sorrow-shrunken frame4 ,blest is death that intervenes not ,in the sweet1 sweet years of peace1 ,but unto the broken-hearted1 ,when they call him1 brings release6 ,yet ,death passes by the wretched1 ,shuts his ear and slumbers deep2 ,will not heed the cry of anguish1 ,will not close the eyes that weep4 ,for1 while yet inconstant ,fortune ,poured her gifts and all was bright1 ,death's dark hour had all but whelmed me ,in the gloom of endless night4 ,now1 because misfortune's shadow ,hath o'erclouded that false face1 ,cruel ,life still halts and lingers1 ,though ,i loathe his weary race4 ,friends1 why did ye once so lightly ,vaunt me happy among men8 ,surely he who so hath fallen ,was not firmly founded then4 ,i4 ,while ,i was thus mutely pondering within myself1 and recording my sorrowful complainings with my pen1 it seemed to me that there appeared above my head a woman of a countenance exceeding venerable4 ,her eyes were bright as fire1 and of a more than human keenness2 her complexion was lively1 her vigour showed no trace of enfeeblement2 and yet her years were right full1 and she plainly seemed not of our age and time4 ,her stature was difficult to judge4 ,at one moment it exceeded not the common height1 at another her forehead seemed to strike the sky2 and whenever she raised her head higher1 she began to pierce within the very heavens1 and to baffle the eyes of them that looked upon her4 ,her garments were of an imperishable fabric1 wrought with the finest threads and of the most delicate workmanship2 and these1 as her own lips afterwards assured me1 she had herself woven with her own hands4 ,the beauty of this vesture had been somewhat tarnished by age and neglect1 and wore that dingy look which marble contracts from exposure4 ,on the lower-most edge was inwoven the ,greek letter ,greek3 ,p1 on the topmost the letter ,greek3 ,th1,a and between the two were to be seen steps1 like a staircase1 from the lower to the upper letter4 ,this robe1 moreover1 had been torn by the hands of violent persons1 who had each snatched away what he could clutch4,b ,her right hand held a note-book2 in her left she bore a staff4 ,and when she saw the ,muses of ,poesie standing by my bedside1 dictating the words of my lamentations1 she was moved awhile to wrath1 and her eyes flashed sternly4 ',who1' said she1 'has allowed yon play-acting wantons to approach this sick man--these who1 so far from giving medicine to heal his malady1 even feed it with sweet poison8 ,these it is who kill the rich crop of reason with the barren thorns of passion1 who accustom men's minds to disease1 instead of setting them free4 ,now1 were it some common man whom your allurements were seducing1 as is usually your way1 ,i should be less indignant4 ,on such a one ,i should not have spent my pains for naught4 ,but this is one nurtured in the ,eleatic and ,academic philosophies4 ,nay1 get ye gone1 ye sirens1 whose sweetness lasteth not2 leave him for my muses to tend and heal6' ,at these words of upbraiding1 the whole band1 in deepened sadness1 with downcast eyes1 and blushes that confessed their shame1 dolefully left the chamber4 ,but ,i1 because my sight was dimmed with much weeping1 and ,i could not tell who was this woman of authority so commanding--,i was dumfoundered1 and1 with my gaze fastened on the earth1 continued silently to await what she might do next4 ,then she drew near me and sat on the edge of my couch1 and1 looking into my face all heavy with grief and fixed in sadness on the ground1 she bewailed in these words the disorder of my mind3 ,,footnotes3 ,a ,greek3 ,p 7,p7 stands for the ,political life1 the life of action2 ,greek3 ,th 7,th7 for the ,theoretical life1 the life of thought4 ,b ,the ,stoic1 ,epicurean1 and other philosophical sects1 which ,boethius regards as heterodox4 ,see also below1 ch4 iii41 p4 #ad4 ,,song ,,ii4 ,,his ,,despondency4 ,alas6 in what abyss his mind ,is plunged1 how wildly tossed6 ,still1 still towards the outer night ,she sinks1 her true light lost1 ,as oft as1 lashed tumultuously ,by earth-born blasts1 care's waves rise high4 ,yet once he ranged the open heavens1 ,the sun's bright pathway tracked2 ,watched how the cold moon waxed and waned2 ,nor rested1 till there lacked ,to his wide ken no star that steers ,amid the maze of circling spheres4 ,the causes why the blusterous winds ,vex ocean's tranquil face1 ,whose hand doth turn the stable globe1 ,or why his even race ,from out the ruddy east the sun ,unto the western waves doth run3 ,what is it tempers cunningly ,the placid hours of spring1 ,so that it blossoms with the rose ,for earth's engarlanding3 ,who loads the year's maturer prime ,with clustered grapes in autumn time3 ,all this he knew--thus ever strove ,deep ,nature's lore to guess4 ,now1 reft of reason's light1 he lies1 ,and bonds his neck oppress2 ,while by the heavy load constrained1 ,his eyes to this dull earth are chained4 ,,ii4 ',but the time1' said she1 'calls rather for healing than for lamentation4' ,then1 with her eyes bent full upon me1 ',art thou that man1' she cries1 'who1 erstwhile fed with the milk and reared upon the nourishment which is mine to give1 had grown up to the full vigour of a manly spirit8 ,and yet ,i had bestowed such armour on thee as would have proved an invincible defence1 hadst thou not first cast it away4 ,dost thou know me8 ,why art thou silent8 ,is it shame or amazement that hath struck thee dumb8 ,would it were shame2 but1 as ,i see1 a stupor hath seized upon thee4' ,then1 when she saw me not only answering nothing1 but mute and utterly incapable of speech1 she gently touched my breast with her hand1 and said3 ',there is no danger2 these are the symptoms of lethargy1 the usual sickness of deluded minds4 ,for awhile he has forgotten himself2 he will easily recover his memory1 if only he first recognises me4 ,and that he may do so1 let me now wipe his eyes that are clouded with a mist of mortal things4' ,thereat1 with a fold of her robe1 she dried my eyes all swimming with tears4 ,,song ,,iii4 ,,the ,,mists ,,dispelled4 ,then the gloom of night was scattered1 ,sight returned unto mine eyes4 ,so1 when haply rainy ,caurus ,rolls the storm-clouds through the skies1 ,hidden is the sun2 all heaven ,is obscured in starless night4 ,but if1 in wild onset sweeping1 ,boreas frees day's prisoned light1 ,all suddenly the radiant god outstreams1 ,and strikes our dazzled eyesight with his beams4 ,,iii4 ,even so the clouds of my melancholy were broken up4 ,i saw the clear sky1 and regained the power to recognise the face of my physician4 ,accordingly1 when ,i had lifted my eyes and fixed my gaze upon her1 ,i beheld my nurse1 ,philosophy1 whose halls ,i had frequented from my youth up4 ',ah6 why1' ,i cried1 'mistress of all excellence1 hast thou come down from on high1 and entered the solitude of this my exile8 ,is it that thou1 too1 even as ,i1 mayst be persecuted with false accusations8' ',could ,i desert thee1 child1' said she1 'and not lighten the burden which thou hast taken upon thee through the hatred of my name1 by sharing this trouble8 ,even forgetting that it were not lawful for ,philosophy to leave companionless the way of the innocent1 should ,i1 thinkest thou1 fear to incur reproach1 or shrink from it1 as though some strange new thing had befallen8 ,thinkest thou that now1 for the first time in an evil age1 ,wisdom hath been assailed by peril8 ,did ,i not often in days of old1 before my servant ,plato lived1 wage stern warfare with the rashness of folly8 ,in his lifetime1 too1 ,socrates1 his master1 won with my aid the victory of an unjust death4 ,and when1 one after the other1 the ,epicurean herd1 the ,stoic1 and the rest1 each of them as far as in them lay1 went about to seize the heritage he left1 and were dragging me off protesting and resisting1 as their booty1 they tore in pieces the garment which ,i had woven with my own hands1 and1 clutching the torn pieces1 went off1 believing that the whole of me had passed into their possession4 ,and some of them1 because some traces of my vesture were seen upon them1 were destroyed through the mistake of the lewd multitude1 who falsely deemed them to be my disciples4 ,it may be thou knowest not of the banishment of ,anaxagoras1 of the poison draught of ,socrates1 nor of ,zeno's torturing1 because these things happened in a distant country2 yet mightest thou have learnt the fate of ,arrius1 of ,seneca1 of ,soranus1 whose stories are neither old nor unknown to fame4 ,these men were brought to destruction for no other reason than that1 settled as they were in my principles1 their lives were a manifest contrast to the ways of the wicked4 ,so there is nothing thou shouldst wonder at1 if on the seas of this life we are tossed by storm-blasts1 seeing that we have made it our chiefest aim to refuse compliance with evil-doers4 ,and though1 maybe1 the host of the wicked is many in number1 yet is it contemptible1 since it is under no leadership1 but is hurried hither and thither at the blind driving of mad error4 ,and if at times and seasons they set in array against us1 and fall on in overwhelming strength1 our leader draws off her forces into the citadel while they are busy plundering the useless baggage4 ,but we from our vantage ground1 safe from all this wild work1 laugh to see them making prize of the most valueless of things1 protected by a bulwark which aggressive folly may not aspire to reach4' ,,song ,,iv4 ,,nothing ,,can ,,subdue ,,virtue4 ,whoso calm1 serene1 sedate1 ,sets his foot on haughty fate2 ,firm and steadfast1 come what will1 ,keeps his mien unconquered still2 ,him the rage of furious seas1 ,tossing high wild menaces1 ,nor the flames from smoky forges ,that ,vesuvius disgorges1 ,nor the bolt that from the sky ,smites the tower1 can terrify4 ,why1 then1 shouldst thou feel affright ,at the tyrant's weakling might8 ,dread him not1 nor fear no harm1 ,and thou shall his rage disarm2 ,but who to hope or fear gives way-- ,lost his bosom's rightful sway-- ,he hath cast away his shield1 ,like a coward fled the field2 ,he hath forged all unaware ,fetters his own neck must bear6 ,,iv4 ',dost thou understand8' she asks4 ,do my words sink into thy mind8 ,or art thou dull as the ass to the sound of the lyre8 ,why dost thou weep8 ,why do tears stream from thy eyes8 ',speak out1 hide it not in thy heart4 ,if thou lookest for the physician's help1 thou must needs disclose thy wound4' ,then ,i1 gathering together what strength ,i could1 began3 ',is there still need of telling8 ,is not the cruelty of fortune against me plain enough8 ,doth not the very aspect of this place move thee8 ,is this the library1 the room which thou hadst chosen as thy constant resort in my home1 the place where we so often sat together and held discourse of all things in heaven and earth8 ,was my garb and mien like this when ,i explored with thee nature's hid secrets1 and thou didst trace for me with thy wand the courses of the stars1 moulding the while my character and the whole conduct of my life after the pattern of the celestial order8 ,is this the recompense of my obedience8 ,yet thou hast enjoined by ,plato's mouth the maxim1 that states would be happy1 either if philosophers ruled them1 or if it should so befall that their rulers would turn philosophers4 ,by his mouth likewise thou didst point out this imperative reason why philosophers should enter public life1 to wit1 lest1 if the reins of government be left to unprincipled and profligate citizens1 trouble and destruction should come upon the good4 ,following these precepts1 ,i have tried to apply in the business of public administration the principles which ,i learnt from thee in leisured seclusion4 ,thou art my witness and that divinity who hath implanted thee in the hearts of the wise1 that ,i brought to my duties no aim but zeal for the public good4 ,for this cause ,i have become involved in bitter and irreconcilable feuds1 and1 as happens inevitably1 if a man holds fast to the independence of conscience1 ,i have had to think nothing of giving offence to the powerful in the cause of justice4 ,how often have ,i encountered and balked ,conigastus in his assaults on the fortunes of the weak8 ,how often have ,i thwarted ,trigguilla1 steward of the king's household1 even when his villainous schemes were as good as accomplished8 ,how often have ,i risked my position and influence to protect poor wretches from the false charges innumerable with which they were for ever being harassed by the greed and license of the barbarians8 ,no one has ever drawn me aside from justice to oppression4 ,when ruin was overtaking the fortunes of the provincials through the combined pressure of private rapine and public taxation1 ,i grieved no less than the sufferers4 ,when at a season of grievous scarcity a forced sale1 disastrous as it was unjustifiable1 was proclaimed1 and threatened to overwhelm ,campania with starvation1 ,i embarked on a struggle with the prtorian prefect in the public interest1 ,i fought the case at the king's judgment-seat1 and succeeded in preventing the enforcement of the sale4 ,i rescued the consular ,paulinus from the gaping jaws of the court bloodhounds1 who in their covetous hopes had already made short work of his wealth4 ,to save ,albinus1 who was of the same exalted rank1 from the penalties of a prejudged charge1 ,i exposed myself to the hatred of ,cyprian1 the informer4 ',thinkest thou ,i had laid up for myself store of enmities enough8 ,well1 with the rest of my countrymen1 at any rate1 my safety should have been assured1 since my love of justice had left me no hope of security at court4 ,yet who was it brought the charges by which ,i have been struck down8 ,why1 one of my accusers is ,basil1 who1 after being dismissed from the king's household1 was driven by his debts to lodge an information against my name4 ,there is ,opilio1 there is ,gaudentius1 men who for many and various offences the king's sentence had condemned to banishment2 and when they declined to obey1 and sought to save themselves by taking sanctuary1 the king1 as soon as he heard of it1 decreed that1 if they did not depart from the city of ,ravenna within a prescribed time1 they should be branded on the forehead and expelled4 ,what would exceed the rigour of this severity8 ,and yet on that same day these very men lodged an information against me1 and the information was admitted4 ,just ,heaven6 had ,i deserved this by my way of life8 ,did it make them fit accusers that my condemnation was a foregone conclusion8 ,has fortune no shame--if not at the accusation of the innocent1 at least for the vileness of the accusers8 ,perhaps thou wonderest what is the sum of the charges laid against me8 ,i wished1 they say1 to save the senate4 ,but how8 ,i am accused of hindering an informer from producing evidence to prove the senate guilty of treason4 ,tell me1 then1 what is thy counsel1 ,o my mistress4 ,shall ,i deny the charge1 lest ,i bring shame on thee8 ,but ,i did wish it1 and ,i shall never cease to wish it4 ,shall ,i admit it8 ,then the work of thwarting the informer will come to an end4 ,shall ,i call the wish for the preservation of that illustrious house a crime8 ,of a truth the senate1 by its decrees concerning me1 has made it such6 ,but blind folly1 though it deceive itself with false names1 cannot alter the true merits of things1 and1 mindful of the precept of ,socrates1 ,i do not think it right either to keep the truth concealed or allow falsehood to pass4 ,but this1 however it may be1 ,i leave to thy judgment and to the verdict of the discerning4 ,moreover1 lest the course of events and the true facts should be hidden from posterity1 ,i have myself committed to writing an account of the transaction4 ',what need to speak of the forged letters by which an attempt is made to prove that ,i hoped for the freedom of ,rome8 ,their falsity would have been manifest1 if ,i had been allowed to use the confession of the informers themselves1 evidence which has in all matters the most convincing force4 ,why1 what hope of freedom is left to us8 ,would there were any6 ,i should have answered with the epigram of ,canius when ,caligula declared him to have been cognisant of a conspiracy against him4 ,if ,i had known1 said he1 thou shouldst never have known4 ,grief hath not so blunted my perceptions in this matter that ,i should complain because impious wretches contrive their villainies against the virtuous1 but at their achievement of their hopes ,i do exceedingly marvel4 ,for evil purposes are1 perchance1 due to the imperfection of human nature2 that it should be possible for scoundrels to carry out their worst schemes against the innocent1 while ,god beholdeth1 is verily monstrous4 ,for this cause1 not without reason1 one of thy disciples asked1 ,if ,god exists1 whence comes evil8 ,yet whence comes good1 if ,he exists not8 ,however1 it might well be that wretches who seek the blood of all honest men and of the whole senate should wish to destroy me also1 whom they saw to be a bulwark of the senate and all honest men4 ,but did ,i deserve such a fate from the ,fathers also8 ,thou rememberest1 methinks--since thou didst ever stand by my side to direct what ,i should do or say--thou rememberest1 ,i say1 how at ,verona1 when the king1 eager for the general destruction1 was bent on implicating the whole senatorial order in the charge of treason brought against ,albinus1 with what indifference to my own peril ,i maintained the innocence of its members1 one and all4 ,thou knowest that what ,i say is the truth1 and that ,i have never boasted of my good deeds in a spirit of self-praise4 ,for whenever a man by proclaiming his good deeds receives the recompense of fame1 he diminishes in a measure the secret reward of a good conscience4 ,what issues have overtaken my innocency thou seest4 ,instead of reaping the rewards of true virtue1 ,i undergo the penalties of a guilt falsely laid to my charge--nay1 more than this2 never did an open confession of guilt cause such unanimous severity among the assessors1 but that some consideration1 either of the mere frailty of human nature1 or of fortune's universal instability1 availed to soften the verdict of some few4 ,had ,i been accused of a design to fire the temples1 to slaughter the priests with impious sword1 of plotting the massacre of all honest men1 ,i should yet have been produced in court1 and only punished on due confession or conviction4 ,now for my too great zeal towards the senate ,i have been condemned to outlawry and death1 unheard and undefended1 at a distance of near five hundred miles away4,c ,oh1 my judges1 well do ye deserve that no one should hereafter be convicted of a fault like mine6 ',yet even my very accusers saw how honourable was the charge they brought against me1 and1 in order to overlay it with some shadow of guilt1 they falsely asserted that in the pursuit of my ambition ,i had stained my conscience with sacrilegious acts4 ,and yet thy spirit1 indwelling in me1 had driven from the chamber of my soul all lust of earthly success1 and with thine eye ever upon me1 there could be no place left for sacrilege4 ,for thou didst daily repeat in my ear and instil into my mind the ,pythagorean maxim1 ,follow after ,god4 ,it was not likely1 then1 that ,i should covet the assistance of the vilest spirits1 when thou wert moulding me to such an excellence as should conform me to the likeness of ,god4 ,again1 the innocency of the inner sanctuary of my home1 the company of friends of the highest probity1 a father-in-law revered at once for his pure character and his active beneficence1 shield me from the very suspicion of sacrilege4 ,yet--atrocious as it is--they even draw credence for this charge from thee2 ,i am like to be thought implicated in wickedness on this very account1 that ,i am imbued with thy teachings and stablished in thy ways4 ,so it is not enough that my devotion to thee should profit me nothing1 but thou also must be assailed by reason of the odium which ,i have incurred4 ,verily this is the very crown of my misfortunes1 that men's opinions for the most part look not to real merit1 but to the event2 and only recognise foresight where ,fortune has crowned the issue with her approval4 ,whereby it comes to pass that reputation is the first of all things to abandon the unfortunate4 ,i remember with chagrin how perverse is popular report1 how various and discordant men's judgments4 ,this only will ,i say1 that the most crushing of misfortune's burdens is1 that as soon as a charge is fastened upon the unhappy1 they are believed to have deserved their sufferings4 ,i1 for my part1 who have been banished from all life's blessings1 stripped of my honours1 stained in repute1 am punished for well-doing4 ',and now methinks ,i see the villainous dens of the wicked surging with joy and gladness1 all the most recklessly unscrupulous threatening a new crop of lying informations1 the good prostrate with terror at my danger1 every ruffian incited by impunity to new daring and to success by the profits of audacity1 the guiltless not only robbed of their peace of mind1 but even of all means of defence4 ,wherefore ,i would fain cry out3 ,,footnotes3 ,c ,the distance from ,rome to ,pavia1 the place of ,boethius' imprisonment1 is #dee ,roman miles4 ,,song ,v4 ,,boethius' ,,prayer4 ',builder of yon starry dome1 ,thou that whirlest1 throned eternal1 ,heaven's swift globe1 and1 as they roam1 ,guid'st the stars by laws supernal3 ,so in full-sphered splendour dight ,cynthia dims the lamps of night1 ,but unto the orb fraternal ,closer drawn1,d doth lose her light4 ',who at fall of eventide1 ,hesper1 his cold radiance showeth1 ,lucifer his beams doth hide1 ,paling as the sun's light groweth1 ,brief1 while winter's frost holds sway1 ,by thy will the space of day2 ,swift1 when summer's fervour gloweth1 ,speed the hours of night away4 ',thou dost rule the changing year3 ,when rude ,boreas oppresses1 ,fall the leaves2 they reappear1 ,wooed by ,zephyr's soft caresses4 ,fields that ,sirius burns deep grown ,by ,arcturus' watch were sown3 ,each the reign of law confesses1 ,keeps the place that is his own4 ',sovereign ,ruler1 ,lord of all6 ,can it be that ,thou disdainest ,only man8 ',gainst him1 poor thrall1 ,wanton ,fortune plays her vainest4 ,guilt's deserved punishment ,falleth on the innocent2 ,high uplifted1 the profanest ,on the just their malice vent4 ',virtue cowers in dark retreats1 ,crime's foul stain the righteous beareth1 ,perjury and false deceits ,hurt not him the wrong who dareth2 ,but whene'er the wicked trust ,in ill strength to work their lust1 ,kings1 whom nations' awe declareth ,mighty1 grovel in the dust4 ',look1 oh look upon this earth1 ,thou who on law's sure foundation ,framedst all6 ,have we no worth1 ,we poor men1 of all creation8 ,sore we toss on fortune's tide2 ,master1 bid the waves subside6 ,and earth's ways with consummation ,of ,thy heaven's order guide6' ,,footnotes3 ,d ,the moon is regarded as farthest from the sun at the full1 and1 as she wanes1 approaching gradually nearer4 ,v4 ,when ,i had poured out my griefs in this long and unbroken strain of lamentation1 she1 with calm countenance1 and in no wise disturbed at my complainings1 thus spake3 ',when ,i saw thee sorrowful1 in tears1 ,i straightway knew thee wretched and an exile4 ,but how far distant that exile ,i should not know1 had not thine own speech revealed it4 ,yet how far indeed from thy country hast thou1 not been banished1 but rather hast strayed2 or1 if thou wilt have it banishment1 hast banished thyself6 ,for no one else could ever lawfully have had this power over thee4 ,now1 if thou wilt call to mind from what country thou art sprung1 it is not ruled1 as once was the ,athenian polity1 by the sovereignty of the multitude1 but one is its ,ruler1 one its ,king1 who takes delight in the number of ,his citizens1 not in their banishment2 to submit to whose governance and to obey whose ordinances is perfect freedom4 ,art thou ignorant of that most ancient law of this thy country1 whereby it is decreed that no one whatsoever1 who hath chosen to fix there his dwelling1 may be sent into exile8 ,for truly there is no fear that one who is encompassed by its ramparts and defences should deserve to be exiled4 ,but he who has ceased to wish to dwell therein1 he likewise ceases to deserve to do so4 ,and so it is not so much the aspect of this place which moves me1 as thy aspect2 not so much the library walls set off with glass and ivory which ,i miss1 as the chamber of thy mind1 wherein ,i once placed1 not books1 but that which gives books their value1 the doctrines which my books contain4 ,now1 what thou hast said of thy services to the commonweal is true1 only too little compared with the greatness of thy deservings4 ,the things laid to thy charge whereof thou hast spoken1 whether such as redound to thy credit1 or mere false accusations1 are publicly known4 ,as for the crimes and deceits of the informers1 thou hast rightly deemed it fitting to pass them over lightly1 because the popular voice hath better and more fully pronounced upon them4 ,thou hast bitterly complained of the injustice of the senate4 ,thou hast grieved over my calumniation1 and likewise hast lamented the damage to my good name4 ,finally1 thine indignation blazed forth against fortune2 thou hast complained of the unfairness with which thy merits have been recompensed4 ,last of all thy frantic muse framed a prayer that the peace which reigns in heaven might rule earth also4 ,but since a throng of tumultuous passions hath assailed thy soul1 since thou art distraught with anger1 pain1 and grief1 strong remedies are not proper for thee in this thy present mood4 ,and so for a time ,i will use milder methods1 that the tumours which have grown hard through the influx of disturbing passion may be softened by gentle treatment1 till they can bear the force of sharper remedies4' ,,song ,,vi4 ,,all ,,things ,,have ,,their ,,needful ,,order ,he who to th' unwilling furrows ,gives the generous grain1 ,when the ,crab with baleful fervours ,scorches all the plain2 ,he shall find his garner bare1 ,acorns for his scanty fare4 ,go not forth to cull sweet violets ,from the purpled steep1 ,while the furious blasts of winter ,through the valleys sweep2 ,nor the grape o'erhasty bring ,to the press in days of spring4 ,for to each thing ,god hath given ,its appointed time2 ,no perplexing change permits ,he ,in ,his plan sublime4 ,so who quits the order due ,shall a luckless issue rue4 ,,vi4 ',first1 then1 wilt thou suffer me by a few questions to make some attempt to test the state of thy mind1 that ,i may learn in what way to set about thy cure8' ',ask what thou wilt1' said ,i1 'for ,i will answer whatever questions thou choosest to put4' ,then said she3 ',this world of ours--thinkest thou it is governed haphazard and fortuitously1 or believest thou that there is in it any rational guidance8' ',nay1' said ,i1 'in no wise may ,i deem that such fixed motions can be determined by random hazard1 but ,i know that ,god1 the ,creator1 presideth over ,his work1 nor will the day ever come that shall drive me from holding fast the truth of this belief4' ',yes1' said she2 'thou didst even but now affirm it in song1 lamenting that men alone had no portion in the divine care4 ,as to the rest1 thou wert unshaken in the belief that they were ruled by reason4 ,yet ,i marvel exceedingly how1 in spite of thy firm hold on this opinion1 thou art fallen into sickness4 ,but let us probe more deeply3 something or other is missing1 ,i think4 ,now1 tell me1 since thou doubtest not that ,god governs the world1 dost thou perceive by what means ,he rules it8' ',i scarcely understand what thou meanest1' ,i said1 'much less can ,i answer thy question4' ',did ,i not say truly that something is missing1 whereby1 as through a breach in the ramparts1 disease hath crept in to disturb thy mind8 ,but1 tell me1 dost thou remember the universal end towards which the aim of all nature is directed8' ',i once heard1' said ,i1 'but sorrow hath dulled my recollection4' ',and yet thou knowest whence all things have proceeded4' ',yes1 that ,i know1' said ,i1 'and have answered that it is from ,god4' ',yet how is it possible that thou knowest not what is the end of existence1 when thou dost understand its source and origin8 ,however1 these disturbances of mind have force to shake a man's position1 but cannot pluck him up and root him altogether out of himself4 ,but answer this also1 ,i pray thee3 rememberest thou that thou art a man8' ',how should ,i not8' said ,i4 ',then1 canst thou say what man is8' ',is this thy question3 ,whether ,i know myself for a being endowed with reason and subject to death8 ,surely ,i do acknowledge myself such4' ,then she3 ',dost know nothing else that thou art8' ',nothing4' ',now1' said she1 ',i know another cause of thy disease1 one1 too1 of grave moment4 ,thou hast ceased to know thy own nature4 ,so1 then1 ,i have made full discovery both of the causes of thy sickness and the means of restoring thy health4 ,it is because forgetfulness of thyself hath bewildered thy mind that thou hast bewailed thee as an exile1 as one stripped of the blessings that were his2 it is because thou knowest not the end of existence that thou deemest abominable and wicked men to be happy and powerful2 while1 because thou hast forgotten by what means the earth is governed1 thou deemest that fortune's changes ebb and flow without the restraint of a guiding hand4 ,these are serious enough to cause not sickness only1 but even death2 but1 thanks be to the ,author of our health1 the light of nature hath not yet left thee utterly4 ,in thy true judgment concerning the world's government1 in that thou believest it subject1 not to the random drift of chance1 but to divine reason1 we have the divine spark from which thy recovery may be hoped4 ,have1 then1 no fear2 from these weak embers the vital heat shall once more be kindled within thee4 ,but seeing that it is not yet time for strong remedies1 and that the mind is manifestly so constituted that when it casts off true opinions it straightway puts on false1 wherefrom arises a cloud of confusion that disturbs its true vision1 ,i will now try and disperse these mists by mild and soothing application1 that so the darkness of misleading passion may be scattered1 and thou mayst come to discern the splendour of the true light4' ,,song ,,vii4 ,,the ,,perturbations ,,of ,,passion4 ,stars shed no light ,through the black night1 ,when the clouds hide2 ,and the lashed wave1 ,if the winds rave ,o'er ocean's tide1-- ,though once serene ,as day's fair sheen1-- ,soon fouled and spoiled ,by the storm's spite1 ,shows to the sight ,turbid and soiled4 ,oft the fair rill1 ,down the steep hill ,seaward that strays1 ,some tumbled block ,of fallen rock ,hinders and stays4 ,then art thou fain ,clear and most plain ,truth to discern1 ,in the right way ,firmly to stay1 ,nor from it turn8 ,joy1 hope and fear ,suffer not near1 ,drive grief away3 ,shackled and blind ,and lost is the mind ,where these have sway4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,,the ,,vanity ,,of ,,fortune',s ,,gifts ,summary ,,ch4 ,i4 ,philosophy reproves ,boethius for the foolishness of his complaints against ,fortune4 ,her very nature is caprice4--,,ch4 ,,ii4 ,philosophy in ,fortune's name replies to ,boethius' reproaches1 and proves that the gifts of ,fortune are hers to give and to take away4--,,ch4 ,,iii4 ,boethius falls back upon his present sense of misery4 ,philosophy reminds him of the brilliancy of his former fortunes4--,,ch4 ,,iv4 ,boethius objects that the memory of past happiness is the bitterest portion of the lot of the unhappy4 ,philosophy shows that much is still left for which he may be thankful4 ,none enjoy perfect satisfaction with their lot4 ,but happiness depends not on anything which ,fortune can give4 ,it is to be sought within4--,,ch4 ,v4 ,all the gifts of ,fortune are external2 they can never truly be our own4 ,man cannot find his good in worldly possessions4 ,riches bring anxiety and trouble4--,,ch4 ,,vi4 ,high place without virtue is an evil1 not a good4 ,power is an empty name4--,,ch4 ,,vii4 ,fame is a thing of little account when compared with the immensity of the ,universe and the endlessness of ,time4--,,ch4 ,,viii4 ,one service only can ,fortune do1 when she reveals her own nature and distinguishes true friends from false4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,i4 ,thereafter for awhile she remained silent2 and when she had restored my flagging attention by a moderate pause in her discourse1 she thus began3 ',if ,i have thoroughly ascertained the character and causes of thy sickness1 thou art pining with regretful longing for thy former fortune4 ,it is the change1 as thou deemest1 of this fortune that hath so wrought upon thy mind4 ,well do ,i understand that ,siren's manifold wiles1 the fatal charm of the friendship she pretends for her victims1 so long as she is scheming to entrap them--how she unexpectedly abandons them and leaves them overwhelmed with insupportable grief4 ,bethink thee of her nature1 character1 and deserts1 and thou wilt soon acknowledge that in her thou hast neither possessed1 nor hast thou lost1 aught of any worth4 ,methinks ,i need not spend much pains in bringing this to thy mind1 since1 even when she was still with thee1 even while she was caressing thee1 thou usedst to assail her in manly terms1 to rebuke her1 with maxims drawn from my holy treasure-house4 ,but all sudden changes of circumstances bring inevitably a certain commotion of spirit4 ,thus it hath come to pass that thou also for awhile hast been parted from thy mind's tranquillity4 ,but it is time for thee to take and drain a draught1 soft and pleasant to the taste1 which1 as it penetrates within1 may prepare the way for stronger potions4 ,wherefore ,i call to my aid the sweet persuasiveness of ,rhetoric1 who then only walketh in the right way when she forsakes not my instructions1 and ,music1 my handmaid1 ,i bid to join with her singing1 now in lighter1 now in graver strain4 ',what is it1 then1 poor mortal1 that hath cast thee into lamentation and mourning8 ,some strange1 unwonted sight1 methinks1 have thine eyes seen4 ,thou deemest ,fortune to have changed towards thee2 thou mistakest4 ,such ever were her ways1 ever such her nature4 ,rather in her very mutability hath she preserved towards thee her true constancy4 ,such was she when she loaded thee with caresses1 when she deluded thee with the allurements of a false happiness4 ,thou hast found out how changeful is the face of the blind goddess4 ,she who still veils herself from others hath fully discovered to thee her whole character4 ,if thou likest her1 take her as she is1 and do not complain4 ,if thou abhorrest her perfidy1 turn from her in disdain1 renounce her1 for baneful are her delusions4 ,the very thing which is now the cause of thy great grief ought to have brought thee tranquillity4 ,thou hast been forsaken by one of whom no one can be sure that she will not forsake him4 ,or dost thou indeed set value on a happiness that is certain to depart8 ,again ,i ask1 ,is ,fortune's presence dear to thee if she cannot be trusted to stay1 and though she will bring sorrow when she is gone8 ,why1 if she cannot be kept at pleasure1 and if her flight overwhelms with calamity1 what is this fleeting visitant but a token of coming trouble8 ,truly it is not enough to look only at what lies before the eyes2 wisdom gauges the issues of things1 and this same mutability1 with its two aspects1 makes the threats of ,fortune void of terror1 and her caresses little to be desired4 ,finally1 thou oughtest to bear with whatever takes place within the boundaries of ,fortune's demesne1 when thou hast placed thy head beneath her yoke4 ,but if thou wishest to impose a law of staying and departing on her whom thou hast of thine own accord chosen for thy mistress1 art thou not acting wrongfully1 art thou not embittering by impatience a lot which thou canst not alter8 ,didst thou commit thy sails to the winds1 thou wouldst voyage not whither thy intention was to go1 but whither the winds drave thee2 didst thou entrust thy seed to the fields1 thou wouldst set off the fruitful years against the barren4 ,thou hast resigned thyself to the sway of ,fortune2 thou must submit to thy mistress's caprices4 ,what6 art thou verily striving to stay the swing of the revolving wheel8 ,oh1 stupidest of mortals1 if it takes to standing still1 it ceases to be the wheel of ,fortune4' ,,song ,i4 ,,fortune',s ,,malice4 ,mad ,fortune sweeps along in wanton pride1 ,uncertain as ,euripus' surging tide2 ,now tramples mighty kings beneath her feet2 ,now sets the conquered in the victor's seat4 ,she heedeth not the wail of hapless woe1 ,but mocks the griefs that from her mischief flow4 ,such is her sport2 so proveth she her power2 ,and great the marvel1 when in one brief hour ,she shows her darling lifted high in bliss1 ,then headlong plunged in misery's abyss4 ,,ii4 ',now ,i would fain also reason with thee a little in ,fortune's own words4 ,do thou observe whether her contentions be just4 ,man1 she might say1 why dost thou pursue me with thy daily complainings8 ,what wrong have ,i done thee8 ,what goods of thine have ,i taken from thee8 ,choose an thou wilt a judge1 and let us dispute before him concerning the rightful ownership of wealth and rank4 ,if thou succeedest in showing that any one of these things is the true property of mortal man1 ,i freely grant those things to be thine which thou claimest4 ,when nature brought thee forth out of thy mother's womb1 ,i took thee1 naked and destitute as thou wast1 ,i cherished thee with my substance1 and1 in the partiality of my favour for thee1 ,i brought thee up somewhat too indulgently1 and this it is which now makes thee rebellious against me4 ,i surrounded thee with a royal abundance of all those things that are in my power4 ,now it is my pleasure to draw back my hand4 ,thou hast reason to thank me for the use of what was not thine own2 thou hast no right to complain1 as if thou hadst lost what was wholly thine4 ,why1 then1 dost bemoan thyself8 ,i have done thee no violence4 ,wealth1 honour1 and all such things are placed under my control4 ,my handmaidens know their mistress2 with me they come1 and at my going they depart4 ,i might boldly affirm that if those things the loss of which thou lamentest had been thine1 thou couldst never have lost them4 ,am ,i alone to be forbidden to do what ,i will with my own8 ,unrebuked1 the skies now reveal the brightness of day1 now shroud the daylight in the darkness of night2 the year may now engarland the face of the earth with flowers and fruits1 now disfigure it with storms and cold4 ,the sea is permitted to invite with smooth and tranquil surface to-day1 to-morrow to roughen with wave and storm4 ,shall man's insatiate greed bind me to a constancy foreign to my character8 ,this is my art1 this the game ,i never cease to play4 ,i turn the wheel that spins4 ,i delight to see the high come down and the low ascend4 ,mount up1 if thou wilt1 but only on condition that thou wilt not think it a hardship to come down when the rules of my game require it4 ,wert thou ignorant of my character8 ,didst not know how ,croesus1 ,king of the ,lydians1 erstwhile the dreaded rival of ,cyrus1 was afterwards pitiably consigned to the flame of the pyre1 and only saved by a shower sent from heaven8 ,has it 'scaped thee how ,paullus paid a meed of pious tears to the misfortunes of ,king ,perseus1 his prisoner8 ,what else do tragedies make such woeful outcry over save the overthrow of kingdoms by the indiscriminate strokes of ,fortune8 ,didst thou not learn in thy childhood how there stand at the threshold of ,zeus 'two jars1' 'the one full of blessings1 the other of calamities'8 ,how if thou hast drawn over-liberally from the good jar8 ,what if not even now have ,i departed wholly from thee8 ,what if this very mutability of mine is a just ground for hoping better things8 ,but listen now1 and cease to let thy heart consume away with fretfulness1 nor expect to live on thine own terms in a realm that is common to all4' ,,song ,,ii4 ,,man',s ,,covetousness4 ,what though ,plenty pour her gifts ,with a lavish hand1 ,numberless as are the stars1 ,countless as the sand1 ,will the race of man1 content1 ,cease to murmur and lament8 ,nay1 though ,god1 all-bounteous1 give ,gold at man's desire-- ,honours1 rank1 and fame--content ,not a whit is nigher2 ,but an all-devouring greed ,yawns with ever-widening need4 ,then what bounds can e'er restrain ,this wild lust of having1 ,when with each new bounty fed ,grows the frantic craving8 ,he is never rich whose fear ,sees grim ,want forever near4 ,,iii4 ',if ,fortune should plead thus against thee1 assuredly thou wouldst not have one word to offer in reply2 or1 if thou canst find any justification of thy complainings1 thou must show what it is4 ,i will give thee space to speak4' ,then said ,i3 ',verily1 thy pleas are plausible--yea1 steeped in the honeyed sweetness of music and rhetoric4 ,but their charm lasts only while they are sounding in the ear2 the sense of his misfortunes lies deeper in the heart of the wretched4 ,so1 when the sound ceases to vibrate upon the air1 the heart's indwelling sorrow is felt with renewed bitterness4' ,then said she3 ',it is indeed as thou sayest1 for we have not yet come to the curing of thy sickness2 as yet these are but lenitives conducing to the treatment of a malady hitherto obstinate4 ,the remedies which go deep ,i will apply in due season4 ,nevertheless1 to deprecate thy determination to be thought wretched1 ,i ask thee1 ,hast thou forgotten the extent and bounds of thy felicity8 ,i say nothing of how1 when orphaned and desolate1 thou wast taken into the care of illustrious men2 how thou wast chosen for alliance with the highest in the state--and even before thou wert bound to their house by marriage1 wert already dear to their love--which is the most precious of all ties4 ,did not all pronounce thee most happy in the virtues of thy wife1 the splendid honours of her father1 and the blessing of male issue8 ,i pass over--for ,i care not to speak of blessings in which others also have shared--the distinctions often denied to age which thou enjoyedst in thy youth4 ,i choose rather to come to the unparalleled culmination of thy good fortune4 ,if the fruition of any earthly success has weight in the scale of happiness1 can the memory of that splendour be swept away by any rising flood of troubles8 ,that day when thou didst see thy two sons ride forth from home joint consuls1 followed by a train of senators1 and welcomed by the good-will of the people2 when these two sat in curule chairs in the ,senate-house1 and thou by thy panegyric on the king didst earn the fame of eloquence and ability2 when in the ,circus1 seated between the two consuls1 thou didst glut the multitude thronging around with the triumphal largesses for which they looked--methinks thou didst cozen ,fortune while she caressed thee1 and made thee her darling4 ,thou didst bear off a boon which she had never before granted to any private person4 ,art thou1 then1 minded to cast up a reckoning with ,fortune8 ,now for the first time she has turned a jealous glance upon thee4 ,if thou compare the extent and bounds of thy blessings and misfortunes1 thou canst not deny that thou art still fortunate4 ,or if thou esteem not thyself favoured by ,fortune in that thy then seeming prosperity hath departed1 deem not thyself wretched1 since what thou now believest to be calamitous passeth also4 ,what6 art thou but now come suddenly and a stranger to the scene of this life8 ,thinkest thou there is any stability in human affairs1 when man himself vanishes away in the swift course of time8 ,it is true that there is little trust that the gifts of chance will abide2 yet the last day of life is in a manner the death of all remaining ,fortune4 ,what difference1 then1 thinkest thou1 is there1 whether thou leavest her by dying1 or she leave thee by fleeing away8' ,,song ,,iii4 ,,all ,,passes4 ,when1 in rosy chariot drawn1 ,phoebus 'gins to light the dawn1 ,by his flaming beams assailed1 ,every glimmering star is paled4 ,when the grove1 by ,zephyrs fed1 ,with rose-blossom blushes red2-- ,doth rude ,auster breathe thereon1 ,bare it stands1 its glory gone4 ,smooth and tranquil lies the deep ,while the winds are hushed in sleep4 ,soon1 when angry tempests lash1 ,wild and high the billows dash4 ,thus if ,nature's changing face ,holds not still a moment's space1 ,fleeting deem man's fortunes2 deem ,bliss as transient as a dream4 ,one law only standeth fast3 ,things created may not last4 ,,iv4 ,then said ,i3 ',true are thine admonishings1 thou nurse of all excellence2 nor can ,i deny the wonder of my fortune's swift career4 ,yet it is this which chafes me the more cruelly in the recalling4 ,for truly in adverse fortune the worst sting of misery is to have been happy4' ',well1' said she1 'if thou art paying the penalty of a mistaken belief1 thou canst not rightly impute the fault to circumstances4 ,if it is the felicity which ,fortune gives that moves thee--mere name though it be--come reckon up with me how rich thou art in the number and weightiness of thy blessings4 ,then if1 by the blessing of ,providence1 thou hast still preserved unto thee safe and inviolate that which1 howsoever thou mightest reckon thy fortune1 thou wouldst have thought thy most precious possession1 what right hast thou to talk of ill-fortune whilst keeping all ,fortune's better gifts8 ,yet ,symmachus1 thy wife's father--a man whose splendid character does honour to the human race--is safe and unharmed2 and while he bewails thy wrongs1 this rare nature1 in whom wisdom and virtue are so nobly blended1 is himself out of danger--a boon thou wouldst have been quick to purchase at the price of life itself4 ,thy wife yet lives1 with her gentle disposition1 her peerless modesty and virtue--this the epitome of all her graces1 that she is the true daughter of her sire--she lives1 ,i say1 and for thy sake only preserves the breath of life1 though she loathes it1 and pines away in grief and tears for thy absence1 wherein1 if in naught else1 ,i would allow some marring of thy felicity4 ,what shall ,i say of thy sons and their consular dignity--how in them1 so far as may be in youths of their age1 the example of their father's and grandfather's character shines out8 ,since1 then1 the chief care of mortal man is to preserve his life1 how happy art thou1 couldst thou but recognise thy blessings1 who possessest even now what no one doubts to be dearer than life6 ,wherefore1 now dry thy tears4 ,fortune's hate hath not involved all thy dear ones2 the stress of the storm that has assailed thee is not beyond measure intolerable1 since there are anchors still holding firm which suffer thee not to lack either consolation in the present or hope for the future4' ',i pray that they still may hold4 ,for while they still remain1 however things may go1 ,i shall ride out the storm4 ,yet thou seest how much is shorn of the splendour of my fortunes4' ',we are gaining a little ground1' said she1 'if there is something in thy lot wherewith thou art not yet altogether discontented4 ,but ,i cannot stomach thy daintiness when thou complainest with such violence of grief and anxiety because thy happiness falls short of completeness4 ,why1 who enjoys such settled felicity as not to have some quarrel with the circumstances of his lot8 ,a troublous matter are the conditions of human bliss2 either they are never realized in full1 or never stay permanently4 ,one has abundant riches1 but is shamed by his ignoble birth4 ,another is conspicuous for his nobility1 but through the embarrassments of poverty would prefer to be obscure4 ,a third1 richly endowed with both1 laments the loneliness of an unwedded life4 ,another1 though happily married1 is doomed to childlessness1 and nurses his wealth for a stranger to inherit4 ,yet another1 blest with children1 mournfully bewails the misdeeds of son or daughter4 ,wherefore1 it is not easy for anyone to be at perfect peace with the circumstances of his lot4 ,there lurks in each several portion something which they who experience it not know nothing of1 but which makes the sufferer wince4 ,besides1 the more favoured a man is by ,fortune1 the more fastidiously sensitive is he2 and1 unless all things answer to his whim1 he is overwhelmed by the most trifling misfortunes1 because utterly unschooled in adversity4 ,so petty are the trifles which rob the most fortunate of perfect happiness6 ,how many are there1 dost thou imagine1 who would think themselves nigh heaven1 if but a small portion from the wreck of thy fortune should fall to them8 ,this very place which thou callest exile is to them that dwell therein their native land4 ,so true is it that nothing is wretched1 but thinking makes it so1 and conversely every lot is happy if borne with equanimity4 ,who is so blest by ,fortune as not to wish to change his state1 if once he gives rein to a rebellious spirit8 ,with how many bitternesses is the sweetness of human felicity blent6 ,and even if that sweetness seem to him to bring delight in the enjoying1 yet he cannot keep it from departing when it will4 ,how manifestly wretched1 then1 is the bliss of earthly fortune1 which lasts not for ever with those whose temper is equable1 and can give no perfect satisfaction to the anxious-minded6 ',why1 then1 ye children of mortality1 seek ye from without that happiness whose seat is only within us8 ,error and ignorance bewilder you4 ,i will show thee1 in brief1 the hinge on which perfect happiness turns4 ,is there anything more precious to thee than thyself8 ,nothing1 thou wilt say4 ,if1 then1 thou art master of thyself1 thou wilt possess that which thou wilt never be willing to lose1 and which ,fortune cannot take from thee4 ,and that thou mayst see that happiness cannot possibly consist in these things which are the sport of chance1 reflect that1 if happiness is the highest good of a creature living in accordance with reason1 and if a thing which can in any wise be reft away is not the highest good1 since that which cannot be taken away is better than it1 it is plain that ,fortune cannot aspire to bestow happiness by reason of its instability4 ,and1 besides1 a man borne along by this transitory felicity must either know or not know its unstability4 ,if he knows not1 how poor is a happiness which depends on the blindness of ignorance6 ,if he knows it1 he needs must fear to lose a happiness whose loss he believes to be possible4 ,wherefore1 a never-ceasing fear suffers him not to be happy4 ,or does he count the possibility of this loss a trifling matter8 ,insignificant1 then1 must be the good whose loss can be borne so equably4 ,and1 further1 ,i know thee to be one settled in the belief that the souls of men certainly die not with them1 and convinced thereof by numerous proofs2 it is clear also that the felicity which ,fortune bestows is brought to an end with the death of the body3 therefore1 it cannot be doubted but that1 if happiness is conferred in this way1 the whole human race sinks into misery when death brings the close of all4 ,but if we know that many have sought the joy of happiness not through death only1 but also through pain and suffering1 how can life make men happy by its presence when it makes them not wretched by its loss8' ,,song ,,iv4 ,,the ,,golden ,,mean4 ,who founded firm and sure ,would ever live secure1 ,in spite of storm and blast ,immovable and fast2 ,whoso would fain deride ,the ocean's threatening tide2-- ,his dwelling should not seek ,on sands or mountain-peak4 ,upon the mountain's height ,the storm-winds wreak their spite3 ,the shifting sands disdain ,their burden to sustain4 ,do thou these perils flee1 ,fair though the prospect be1 ,and fix thy resting-place ,on some low rock's sure base4 ,then1 though the tempests roar1 ,seas thunder on the shore1 ,thou in thy stronghold blest ,and undisturbed shalt rest2 ,live all thy days serene1 ,and mock the heavens' spleen4 ,v4 ',but since my reasonings begin to work a soothing effect within thy mind1 methinks ,i may resort to remedies somewhat stronger4 ,come1 suppose1 now1 the gifts of ,fortune were not fleeting and transitory1 what is there in them capable of ever becoming truly thine1 or which does not lose value when looked at steadily and fairly weighed in the balance8 ,are riches1 ,i pray thee1 precious either through thy nature or in their own8 ,what are they but mere gold and heaps of money8 ,yet these fine things show their quality better in the spending than in the hoarding2 for ,i suppose 'tis plain that greed ,alva's makes men hateful1 while liberality brings fame4 ,but that which is transferred to another cannot remain in one's own possession2 and if that be so1 then money is only precious when it is given away1 and1 by being transferred to others1 ceases to be one's own4 ,again1 if all the money in the world were heaped up in one man's possession1 all others would be made poor4 ,sound fills the ears of many at the same time without being broken into parts1 but your riches cannot pass to many without being lessened in the process4 ,and when this happens1 they must needs impoverish those whom they leave4 ,how poor and cramped a thing1 then1 is riches1 which more than one cannot possess as an unbroken whole1 which falls not to any one man's lot without the impoverishment of everyone else6 ,or is it the glitter of gems that allures the eye8 ,yet1 how rarely excellent soever may be their splendour1 remember the flashing light is in the jewels1 not in the man4 ,indeed1 ,i greatly marvel at men's admiration of them2 for what can rightly seem beautiful to a being endowed with life and reason1 if it lack the movement and structure of life8 ,and although such things do in the end take on them more beauty from their ,maker's care and their own brilliancy1 still they in no wise merit your admiration since their excellence is set at a lower grade than your own4 ',does the beauty of the fields delight you8 ,surely1 yes2 it is a beautiful part of a right beautiful whole4 ,fitly indeed do we at times enjoy the serene calm of the sea1 admire the sky1 the stars1 the moon1 the sun4 ,yet is any of these thy concern8 ,dost thou venture to boast thyself of the beauty of any one of them8 ,art thou decked with spring's flowers8 is it thy fertility that swelleth in the fruits of autumn8 ,why art thou moved with empty transports8 why embracest thou an alien excellence as thine own8 ,never will fortune make thine that which the nature of things has excluded from thy ownership4 ,doubtless the fruits of the earth are given for the sustenance of living creatures4 ,but if thou art content to supply thy wants so far as suffices nature1 there is no need to resort to fortune's bounty4 ,nature is content with few things1 and with a very little of these4 ,if thou art minded to force superfluities upon her when she is satisfied1 that which thou addest will prove either unpleasant or harmful4 ,but1 now1 thou thinkest it fine to shine in raiment of divers colours2 yet--if1 indeed1 there is any pleasure in the sight of such things--it is the texture or the artist's skill which ,i shall admire4 ',or perhaps it is a long train of servants that makes thee happy8 ,why1 if they behave viciously1 they are a ruinous burden to thy house1 and exceeding dangerous to their own master2 while if they are honest1 how canst thou count other men's virtue in the sum of thy possessions8 ,from all which 'tis plainly proved that not one of these things which thou reckonest in the number of thy possessions is really thine4 ,and if there is in them no beauty to be desired1 why shouldst thou either grieve for their loss or find joy in their continued possession8 ,while if they are beautiful in their own nature1 what is that to thee8 ,they would have been not less pleasing in themselves1 though never included among thy possessions4 ,for they derive not their preciousness from being counted in thy riches1 but rather thou hast chosen to count them in thy riches because they seemed to thee precious4 ',then1 what seek ye by all this noisy outcry about fortune8 ,to chase away poverty1 ,i ween1 by means of abundance4 ,and yet ye find the result just contrary4 ,why1 this varied array of precious furniture needs more accessories for its protection2 it is a true saying that they want most who possess most1 and1 conversely1 they want very little who measure their abundance by nature's requirements1 not by the superfluity of vain display4 ,have ye no good of your own implanted within you1 that ye seek your good in things external and separate8 ,is the nature of things so reversed that a creature divine by right of reason can in no other way be splendid in his own eyes save by the possession of lifeless chattels8 ,yet1 while other things are content with their own1 ye who in your intellect are ,god-like seek from the lowest of things adornment for a nature of supreme excellence1 and perceive not how great a wrong ye do your ,maker4 ,his will was that mankind should excel all things on earth4 ,ye thrust down your worth beneath the lowest of things4 ,for if that in which each thing finds its good is plainly more precious than that whose good it is1 by your own estimation ye put yourselves below the vilest of things1 when ye deem these vile things to be your good3 nor does this fall out undeservedly4 ,indeed1 man is so constituted that he then only excels other things when he knows himself2 but he is brought lower than the beasts if he lose this self-knowledge4 ,for that other creatures should be ignorant of themselves is natural2 in man it shows as a defect4 ,how extravagant1 then1 is this error of yours1 in thinking that anything can be embellished by adornments not its own4 ,it cannot be4 ,for if such accessories add any lustre1 it is the accessories that get the praise1 while that which they veil and cover remains in its pristine ugliness4 ,and again ,i say1 ,that is no good1 which injures its possessor4 ,is this untrue8 ,no1 quite true1 thou sayest4 ,and yet riches have often hurt those that possessed them1 since the worst of men1 who are all the more covetous by reason of their wickedness1 think none but themselves worthy to possess all the gold and gems the world contains4 ,so thou1 who now dreadest pike and sword1 mightest have trolled a carol in the robber's face1 hadst thou entered the road of life with empty pockets4 ,oh1 wondrous blessedness of perishable wealth1 whose acquisition robs thee of security6' ,,song ,v4 ,,the ,,former ,,age4 ,too blest the former age1 their life ,who in the fields contented led1 ,and still1 by luxury unspoiled1 ,on frugal acorns sparely fed4 ,no skill was theirs the luscious grape ,with honey's sweetness to confuse2 ,nor ,china's soft and sheeny silks ,t' empurple with brave ,tyrian hues4 ,the grass their wholesome couch1 their drink ,the stream1 their roof the pine's tall shade2 ,not theirs to cleave the deep1 nor seek ,in strange far lands the spoils of trade4 ,the trump of war was heard not yet1 ,nor soiled the fields by bloodshed's stain2 ,for why should war's fierce madness arm ,when strife brought wound1 but brought not gain8 ,ah6 would our hearts might still return ,to following in those ancient ways4 ,alas6 the greed of getting glows ,more fierce than ,etna's fiery blaze4 ,woe1 woe for him1 whoe'er it was1 ,who first gold's hidden store revealed1 ,and--perilous treasure-trove--dug out ,the gems that fain would be concealed6 ,,vi4 ',what now shall ,i say of rank and power1 whereby1 because ye know not true power and dignity1 ye hope to reach the sky8 ,yet1 when rank and power have fallen to the worst of men1 did ever an ,etna1 belching forth flame and fiery deluge1 work such mischief8 ,verily1 as ,i think1 thou dost remember how thine ancestors sought to abolish the consular power1 which had been the foundation of their liberties1 on account of the overweening pride of the consuls1 and how for that self-same pride they had already abolished the kingly title6 ,and if1 as happens but rarely1 these prerogatives are conferred on virtuous men1 it is only the virtue of those who exercise them that pleases4 ,so it appears that honour cometh not to virtue from rank1 but to rank from virtue4 ,look1 too1 at the nature of that power which ye find so attractive and glorious6 ,do ye never consider1 ye creatures of earth1 what ye are1 and over whom ye exercise your fancied lordship8 ,suppose1 now1 that in the mouse tribe there should rise up one claiming rights and powers for himself above the rest1 would ye not laugh consumedly8 ,yet if thou lookest to his body alone1 what creature canst thou find more feeble than man1 who oftentimes is killed by the bite of a fly1 or by some insect creeping into the inner passage of his system6 ,yet what rights can one exercise over another1 save only as regards the body1 and that which is lower than the body--,i mean fortune8 ,what6 wilt thou bind with thy mandates the free spirit8 ,canst thou force from its due tranquillity the mind that is firmly composed by reason8 ,a tyrant thought to drive a man of free birth to reveal his accomplices in a conspiracy1 but the prisoner bit off his tongue and threw it into the furious tyrant's face2 thus1 the tortures which the tyrant thought the instrument of his cruelty the sage made an opportunity for heroism4 ,moreover1 what is there that one man can do to another which he himself may not have to undergo in his turn8 ,we are told that ,busiris1 who used to kill his guests1 was himself slain by his guest1 ,hercules4 ,regulus had thrown into bonds many of the ,carthaginians whom he had taken in war2 soon after he himself submitted his hands to the chains of the vanquished4 ,then1 thinkest thou that man hath any power who cannot prevent another's being able to do to him what he himself can do to others8 ',besides1 if there were any element of natural and proper good in rank and power1 they would never come to the utterly bad1 since opposites are not wont to be associated4 ,nature brooks not the union of contraries4 ,so1 seeing there is no doubt that wicked wretches are oftentimes set in high places1 it is also clear that things which suffer association with the worst of men cannot be good in their own nature4 ,indeed1 this judgment may with some reason be passed concerning all the gifts of fortune which fall so plentifully to all the most wicked4 ,this ought also to be considered here1 ,i think3 ,no one doubts a man to be brave in whom he has observed a brave spirit residing4 ,it is plain that one who is endowed with speed is swift-footed4 ,so also music makes men musical1 the healing art physicians1 rhetoric public speakers4 ,for each of these has naturally its own proper working2 there is no confusion with the effects of contrary things--nay1 even of itself it rejects what is incompatible4 ,and yet wealth cannot extinguish insatiable greed1 nor has power ever made him master of himself whom vicious lusts kept bound in indissoluble fetters2 dignity conferred on the wicked not only fails to make them worthy1 but contrarily reveals and displays their unworthiness4 ,why does it so happen8 ,because ye take pleasure in calling by false names things whose nature is quite incongruous thereto--by names which are easily proved false by the very effects of the things themselves2 even so it is2 these riches1 that power1 this dignity1 are none of them rightly so called4 ,finally1 we may draw the same conclusion concerning the whole sphere of ,fortune1 within which there is plainly nothing to be truly desired1 nothing of intrinsic excellence2 for she neither always joins herself to the good1 nor does she make good men of those to whom she is united4' ,,song ,,vi4 ,,nero',s ,,infamy4 ,we know what mischief dire he wrought-- ,rome fired1 the ,fathers slain-- ,whose hand with brother's slaughter wet ,a mother's blood did stain4 ,no pitying tear his cheek bedewed1 ,as on the corse he gazed2 ,that mother's beauty1 once so fair1 ,a critic's voice appraised4 ,yet far and wide1 from ,east to ,west1 ,his sway the nations own2 ,and scorching ,south and icy ,north ,obey his will alone4 ,did1 then1 high power a curb impose ,on ,nero's phrenzied will8 ,ah1 woe when to the evil heart ,is joined the sword to kill6 ,,vii4 ,then said ,i3 ',thou knowest thyself that ambition for worldly success hath but little swayed me4 ,yet ,i have desired opportunity for action1 lest virtue1 in default of exercise1 should languish away4' ,then she3 ',this is that last infirmity which is able to allure minds which1 though of noble quality1 have not yet been moulded to any exquisite refinement by the perfecting of the virtues--,i mean1 the love of glory--and fame for high services rendered to the commonweal4 ,and yet consider with me how poor and unsubstantial a thing this glory is6 ,the whole of this earth's globe1 as thou hast learnt from the demonstration of astronomy1 compared with the expanse of heaven1 is found no bigger than a point2 that is to say1 if measured by the vastness of heaven's sphere1 it is held to occupy absolutely no space at all4 ,now1 of this so insignificant portion of the universe1 it is about a fourth part1 as ,ptolemy's proofs have taught us1 which is inhabited by living creatures known to us4 ,if from this fourth part you take away in thought all that is usurped by seas and marshes1 or lies a vast waste of waterless desert1 barely is an exceeding narrow area left for human habitation4 ,you1 then1 who are shut in and prisoned in this merest fraction of a point's space1 do ye take thought for the blazoning of your fame1 for the spreading abroad of your renown8 ,why1 what amplitude or magnificence has glory when confined to such narrow and petty limits8 ',besides1 the straitened bounds of this scant dwelling-place are inhabited by many nations differing widely in speech1 in usages1 in mode of life2 to many of these1 from the difficulty of travel1 from diversities of speech1 from want of commercial intercourse1 the fame not only of individual men1 but even of cities1 is unable to reach4 ,why1 in ,cicero's days1 as he himself somewhere points out1 the fame of the ,roman ,republic had not yet crossed the ,caucasus1 and yet by that time her name had grown formidable to the ,parthians and other nations of those parts4 ,seest thou1 then1 how narrow1 how confined1 is the glory ye take pains to spread abroad and extend6 ,can the fame of a single ,roman penetrate where the glory of the ,roman name fails to pass8 ,moreover1 the customs and institutions of different races agree not together1 so that what is deemed praise worthy in one country is thought punishable in another4 ,wherefore1 if any love the applause of fame1 it shall not profit him to publish his name among many peoples4 ,then1 each must be content to have the range of his glory limited to his own people2 the splendid immortality of fame must be confined within the bounds of a single race4 ',once more1 how many of high renown in their own times have been lost in oblivion for want of a record6 ,indeed1 of what avail are written records even1 which1 with their authors1 are overtaken by the dimness of age after a somewhat longer time8 ,but ye1 when ye think on future fame1 fancy it an immortality that ye are begetting for yourselves4 ,why1 if thou scannest the infinite spaces of eternity1 what room hast thou left for rejoicing in the durability of thy name8 ,verily1 if a single moment's space be compared with ten thousand years1 it has a certain relative duration1 however little1 since each period is definite4 ,but this same number of years--ay1 and a number many times as great--cannot even be compared with endless duration2 for1 indeed1 finite periods may in a sort be compared one with another1 but a finite and an infinite never4 ,so it comes to pass that fame1 though it extend to ever so wide a space of years1 if it be compared to never-lessening eternity1 seems not short-lived merely1 but altogether nothing4 ,but as for you1 ye know not how to act aright1 unless it be to court the popular breeze1 and win the empty applause of the multitude--nay1 ye abandon the superlative worth of conscience and virtue1 and ask a recompense from the poor words of others4 ,let me tell thee how wittily one did mock the shallowness of this sort of arrogance4 ,a certain man assailed one who had put on the name of philosopher as a cloak to pride and vain-glory1 not for the practice of real virtue1 and added3 ,now shall ,i know if thou art a philosopher if thou bearest reproaches calmly and patiently4 ,the other for awhile affected to be patient1 and1 having endured to be abused1 cried out derisively3 ,now1 do you see that ,i am a philosopher8 ,the other1 with biting sarcasm1 retorted3 ,i should have hadst thou held thy peace4 ,moreover1 what concern have choice spirits--for it is of such men we speak1 men who seek glory by virtue--what concern1 ,i say1 have these with fame after the dissolution of the body in death's last hour8 ,for if men die wholly--which our reasonings forbid us to believe--there is no such thing as glory at all1 since he to whom the glory is said to belong is altogether non-existent4 ,but if the mind1 conscious of its own rectitude1 is released from its earthly prison1 and seeks heaven in free flight1 doth it not despise all earthly things when it rejoices in its deliverance from earthly bonds1 and enters upon the joys of heaven8' ,,song ,,vii4 ,,glory ,,may ,,not ,,last4 ,oh1 let him1 who pants for glory's guerdon1 ,deeming glory all in all1 ,look and see how wide the heaven expandeth1 ,earth's enclosing bounds how small6 ,shame it is1 if your proud-swelling glory ,may not fill this narrow room6 ,why1 then1 strive so vainly1 oh1 ye proud ones6 ,to escape your mortal doom8 ,though your name1 to distant regions bruited1 ,o'er the earth be widely spread1 ,though full many a lofty-sounding title ,on your house its lustre shed1 ,death at all this pomp and glory spurneth ,when his hour draweth nigh1 ,shrouds alike th' exalted and the humble1 ,levels lowest and most high4 ,where are now the bones of stanch ,fabricius8 ,brutus1 ,cato--where are they8 ,lingering fame1 with a few graven letters1 ,doth their empty name display4 ,but to know the great dead is not given ,from a gilded name alone2 ,nay1 ye all alike must lie forgotten1 ',tis not you that fame makes known4 ,fondly do ye deem life's little hour ,lengthened by fame's mortal breath2 ,there but waits you--when this1 too1 is taken-- ,at the last a second death4 ,,viii4 ',but that thou mayst not think that ,i wage implacable warfare against ,fortune1 ,i own there is a time when the deceitful goddess serves men well--,i mean when she reveals herself1 uncovers her face1 and confesses her true character4 ,perhaps thou dost not yet grasp my meaning4 ,strange is the thing ,i am trying to express1 and for this cause ,i can scarce find words to make clear my thought4 ,for truly ,i believe that ,ill ,fortune is of more use to men than ,good ,fortune4 ,for ,good ,fortune1 when she wears the guise of happiness1 and most seems to caress1 is always lying2 ,ill ,fortune is always truthful1 since1 in changing1 she shows her inconstancy4 ,the one deceives1 the other teaches2 the one enchains the minds of those who enjoy her favour by the semblance of delusive good1 the other delivers them by the knowledge of the frail nature of happiness4 ,accordingly1 thou mayst see the one fickle1 shifting as the breeze1 and ever self-deceived2 the other sober-minded1 alert1 and wary1 by reason of the very discipline of adversity4 ,finally1 ,good ,fortune1 by her allurements1 draws men far from the true good2 ,ill ,fortune ofttimes draws men back to true good with grappling-irons4 ,again1 should it be esteemed a trifling boon1 thinkest thou1 that this cruel1 this odious ,fortune hath discovered to thee the hearts of thy faithful friends--that other hid from thee alike the faces of the true friends and of the false1 but in departing she hath taken away her friends1 and left thee thine8 ,what price wouldst thou not have given for this service in the fulness of thy prosperity when thou seemedst to thyself fortunate8 ,cease1 then1 to seek the wealth thou hast lost1 since in true friends thou hast found the most precious of all riches4' ,,song ,,viii4 ,,love ,,is ,,lord ,,of ,,all4 ,why are ,nature's changes bound ,to a fixed and ordered round8 ,what to leagud peace hath bent ,every warring element8 ,wherefore doth the rosy morn ,rise on ,phoebus' car upborne8 ,why should ,phoebe rule the night1 ,led by ,hesper's guiding light8 ,what the power that doth restrain ,in his place the restless main1 ,that within fixed bounds he keeps1 ,nor o'er earth in deluge sweeps8 ,love it is that holds the chains1 ,love o'er sea and earth that reigns2 ,love--whom else but sovereign ,love8-- ,love1 high lord in heaven above6 ,yet should he his care remit1 ,all that now so close is knit ,in sweet love and holy peace1 ,would no more from conflict cease1 ,but with strife's rude shock and jar ,all the world's fair fabric mar4 ,tribes and nations ,love unites ,by just treaty's sacred rites2 ,wedlock's bonds he sanctifies ,by affection's softest ties4 ,love appointeth1 as is due1 ,faithful laws to comrades true-- ,love1 all-sovereign ,love6--oh1 then1 ,ye are blest1 ye sons of men1 ,if the love that rules the sky ,in your hearts is throned on high6 ,,book ,,iii4 ,,true ,,happiness ,,and ,,false4 ,,summary ,,ch4 ,i4 ,boethius beseeches ,philosophy to continue4 ,she promises to lead him to true happiness4--,,ch4 ,,ii4 ,happiness is the one end which all created beings seek4 ,they aim variously at 7a7 wealth1 or 7b7 rank1 or 7c7 sovereignty1 or 7d7 glory1 or 7e7 pleasure1 because they think thereby to attain either 7a7 contentment1 7b7 reverence1 7c7 power1 7d7 renown1 or 7e7 gladness of heart1 in one or other of which they severally imagine happiness to consist4--,,ch4 ,,iii4 ,philosophy proceeds to consider whether happiness can really be secured in any of these ways1 7a7 ,so far from bringing contentment1 riches only add to men's wants4--,,ch4 ,,iv4 7b7 ,high position cannot of itself win respect4 ,titles command no reverence in distant and barbarous lands4 ,they even fall into contempt through lapse of time4--,,ch4 ,v4 7c7 ,sovereignty cannot even bestow safety4 ,history tells of the downfall of kings and their ministers4 ,tyrants go in fear of their lives4 --,,ch4 ,,vi4 7d7 ,fame conferred on the unworthy is but disgrace4 ,the splendour of noble birth is not a man's own1 but his ancestors'4--,,ch4 ,,vii4 7e7 ,pleasure begins in the restlessness of desire1 and ends in repentance4 ,even the pure pleasures of home may turn to gall and bitterness4--,,ch4 ,,viii4 ,all fail1 then1 to give what they promise4 ,there is1 moreover1 some accompanying evil involved in each of these aims4 ,beauty and bodily strength are likewise of little worth4 ,in strength man is surpassed by the brutes2 beauty is but outward show4--,,ch4 ,,ix4 ,the source of men's error in following these phantoms of good is that they break up and separate that which is in its nature one and indivisible4 ,contentment1 power1 reverence1 renown1 and joy are essentially bound up one with the other1 and1 if they are to be attained at all1 must be attained together4 ,true happiness1 if it can be found1 will include them all4 ,but it cannot be found among the perishable things hitherto considered4--,,ch4 ,x4 ,such a happiness necessarily exists4 ,its seat is in ,god4 ,nay1 ,god is very happiness1 and in a manner1 therefore1 the happy man partakes also of the ,divine nature4 ,all other ends are relative to this good1 since they are all pursued only for the sake of good2 it is good which is the sole ultimate end4 ,and since the sole end is also happiness1 it is plain that this good and happiness are in essence the same4--,,ch4 ,,xi4 ,unity is another aspect of goodness4 ,now1 all things subsist so long only as they preserve the unity of their being2 when they lose this unity1 they perish4 ,but the bent of nature forces all things 7plants and inanimate things1 as well as animals7 to strive to continue in life4 ,therefore1 all things desire unity1 for unity is essential to life4 ,but unity and goodness were shown to be the same4 ,therefore1 good is proved to be the end towards which the whole universe tends4,e--,,ch4 ,,xii4 ,boethius acknowledges that he is but recollecting truths he once knew4 ,philosophy goes on to show that it is goodness also by which the whole world is governed4,f ,boethius professes compunction for his former folly4 ,but the paradox of evil is introduced1 and he is once more perplexed4 ,,footnotes3 ,e ,this solves the second of the points left in doubt at the end of bk4 i41 ch4 vi4 ,f ,this solves the third4 ,no distinct account is given of the first1 but an answer may be gathered from the general argument of bks4 ii41 iii41 and iv4 ,,book ,,iii4 ,i4 ,she ceased1 but ,i stood fixed by the sweetness of the song in wonderment and eager expectation1 my ears still strained to listen4 ,and then after a little ,i said3 ',thou sovereign solace of the stricken soul1 what refreshment hast thou brought me1 no less by the sweetness of thy singing than by the weightiness of thy discourse6 ,verily1 ,i think not that ,i shall hereafter be unequal to the blows of ,fortune4 ,wherefore1 ,i no longer dread the remedies which thou saidst were something too severe for my strength2 nay1 rather1 ,i am eager to hear of them and call for them with all vehemence4' ,then said she3 ',i marked thee fastening upon my words silently and intently1 and ,i expected1 or--to speak more truly--,i myself brought about in thee1 this state of mind4 ,what now remains is of such sort that to the taste indeed it is biting1 but when received within it turns to sweetness4 ,but whereas thou dost profess thyself desirous of hearing1 with what ardour wouldst thou not burn didst thou but perceive whither it is my task to lead thee6' ',whither8' said ,i4 ',to true felicity1' said she1 'which even now thy spirit sees in dreams1 but cannot behold in very truth1 while thine eyes are engrossed with semblances4' ,then said ,i3 ',i beseech thee1 do thou show to me her true shape without a moment's loss4' ',gladly will ,i1 for thy sake1' said she4 ',but first ,i will try to sketch in words1 and describe a cause which is more familiar to thee1 that1 when thou hast viewed this carefully1 thou mayst turn thy eyes the other way1 and recognise the beauty of true happiness4' ,,song ,i4 ,,the ,,thorns ,,of ,,error4 ,who fain would sow the fallow field1 ,and see the growing corn1 ,must first remove the useless weeds1 ,the bramble and the thorn4 ,after ill savour1 honey's taste ,is to the mouth more sweet2 ,after the storm1 the twinkling stars ,the eyes more cheerly greet4 ,when night hath past1 the bright dawn comes ,in car of rosy hue2 ,so drive the false bliss from thy mind1 ,and thou shall see the true4 ,,ii4 ,for a little space she remained in a fixed gaze1 withdrawn1 as it were1 into the august chamber of her mind2 then she thus began3 ',all mortal creatures in those anxious aims which find employment in so many varied pursuits1 though they take many paths1 yet strive to reach one goal--the goal of happiness4 ,now1 the good is that which1 when a man hath got1 he can lack nothing further4 ,this it is which is the supreme good of all1 containing within itself all particular good2 so that if anything is still wanting thereto1 this cannot be the supreme good1 since something would be left outside which might be desired4 ',tis clear1 then1 that happiness is a state perfected by the assembling together of all good things4 ,to this state1 as we have said1 all men try to attain1 but by different paths4 ,for the desire of the true good is naturally implanted in the minds of men2 only error leads them aside out of the way in pursuit of the false4 ,some1 deeming it the highest good to want for nothing1 spare no pains to attain affluence2 others1 judging the good to be that to which respect is most worthily paid1 strive to win the reverence of their fellow-citizens by the attainment of official dignity4 ,some there are who fix the chief good in supreme power2 these either wish themselves to enjoy sovereignty1 or try to attach themselves to those who have it4 ,those1 again1 who think renown to be something of supreme excellence are in haste to spread abroad the glory of their name either through the arts of war or of peace4 ,a great many measure the attainment of good by joy and gladness of heart2 these think it the height of happiness to give themselves over to pleasure4 ,others there are1 again1 who interchange the ends and means one with the other in their aims2 for instance1 some want riches for the sake of pleasure and power1 some covet power either for the sake of money or in order to bring renown to their name4 ,so it is on these ends1 then1 that the aim of human acts and wishes is centred1 and on others like to these--for instance1 noble birth and popularity1 which seem to compass a certain renown2 wife and children1 which are sought for the sweetness of their possession2 while as for friendship1 the most sacred kind indeed is counted in the category of virtue1 not of fortune2 but other kinds are entered upon for the sake of power or of enjoyment4 ,and as for bodily excellences1 it is obvious that they are to be ranged with the above4 ,for strength and stature surely manifest power2 beauty and fleetness of foot bring celebrity2 health brings pleasure4 ,it is plain1 then1 that the only object sought for in all these ways is happiness4 ,for that which each seeks in preference to all else1 that is in his judgment the supreme good4 ,and we have defined the supreme good to be happiness4 ,therefore1 that state which each wishes in preference to all others is in his judgment happy4 ',thou hast1 then1 set before thine eyes something like a scheme of human happiness--wealth1 rank1 power1 glory1 pleasure4 ,now ,epicurus1 from a sole regard to these considerations1 with some consistency concluded the highest good to be pleasure1 because all the other objects seem to bring some delight to the soul4 ,but to return to human pursuits and aims3 man's mind seeks to recover its proper good1 in spite of the mistiness of its recollection1 but1 like a drunken man1 knows not by what path to return home4 ,think you they are wrong who strive to escape want8 ,nay1 truly there is nothing which can so well complete happiness as a state abounding in all good things1 needing nothing from outside1 but wholly self-sufficing4 ,do they fall into error who deem that which is best to be also best deserving to receive the homage of reverence8 ,not at all4 ,that cannot possibly be vile and contemptible1 to attain which the endeavours of nearly all mankind are directed4 ,then1 is power not to be reckoned in the category of good8 ,why1 can that which is plainly more efficacious than anything else be esteemed a thing feeble and void of strength8 ,or is renown to be thought of no account8 ,nay1 it cannot be ignored that the highest renown is constantly associated with the highest excellence4 ,and what need is there to say that happiness is not haunted by care and gloom1 nor exposed to trouble and vexation1 since that is a condition we ask of the very least of things1 from the possession and enjoyment of which we expect delight8 ,so1 then1 these are the blessings men wish to win2 they want riches1 rank1 sovereignty1 glory1 pleasure1 because they believe that by these means they will secure independence1 reverence1 power1 renown1 and joy of heart4 ,therefore1 it is the good which men seek by such divers courses2 and herein is easily shown the might of ,nature's power1 since1 although opinions are so various and discordant1 yet they agree in cherishing good as the end4' ,,song ,,ii4 ,,the ,,bent ,,of ,,nature4 ,how the might of ,nature sways ,all the world in ordered ways1 ,how resistless laws control ,each least portion of the whole-- ,fain would ,i in sounding verse ,on my pliant strings rehearse4 ,lo1 the lion captive ta'en ,meekly wears his gilded chain2 ,yet though he by hand be fed1 ,though a master's whip he dread1 ,if but once the taste of gore ,whet his cruel lips once more1 ,straight his slumbering fierceness wakes1 ,with one roar his bonds he breaks1 ,and first wreaks his vengeful force ,on his trainer's mangled corse4 ,and the woodland songster1 pent ,in forlorn imprisonment1 ,though a mistress' lavish care ,store of honeyed sweets prepare2 ,yet1 if in his narrow cage1 ,as he hops from bar to bar1 ,he should spy the woods afar1 ,cool with sheltering foliage1 ,all these dainties he will spurn1 ,to the woods his heart will turn2 ,only for the woods he longs1 ,pipes the woods in all his songs4 ,to rude force the sapling bends1 ,while the hand its pressure lends2 ,if the hand its pressure slack1 ,straight the supple wood springs back4 ,phoebus in the western main ,sinks2 but swift his car again ,by a secret path is borne ,to the wonted gates of morn4 ,thus are all things seen to yearn ,in due time for due return2 ,and no order fixed may stay1 ,save which in th' appointed way ,joins the end to the beginning ,in a steady cycle spinning4 ,,iii4 ',ye1 too1 creatures of earth1 have some glimmering of your origin1 however faint1 and though in a vision dim and clouded1 yet in some wise1 notwithstanding1 ye discern the true end of happiness1 and so the aim of nature leads you thither--to that true good--while error in many forms leads you astray therefrom4 ,for reflect whether men are able to win happiness by those means through which they think to reach the proposed end4 ,truly1 if either wealth1 rank1 or any of the rest1 bring with them anything of such sort as seems to have nothing wanting to it that is good1 we1 too1 acknowledge that some are made happy by the acquisition of these things4 ,but if they are not able to fulfil their promises1 and1 moreover1 lack many good things1 is not the happiness men seek in them clearly discovered to be a false show8 ,therefore do ,i first ask thee thyself1 who but lately wert living in affluence1 amid all that abundance of wealth1 was thy mind never troubled in consequence of some wrong done to thee8' ',nay1' said ,i1 ',i cannot ever remember a time when my mind was so completely at peace as not to feel the pang of some uneasiness4' ',was it not because either something was absent which thou wouldst not have absent1 or present which thou wouldst have away8' ',yes1' said ,i4 ',then1 thou didst want the presence of the one1 the absence of the other8' ',admitted4' ',but a man lacks that of which he is in want8' ',he does4' ',and he who lacks something is not in all points self-sufficing8' ',no2 certainly not1' said ,i4 ',so wert thou1 then1 in the plenitude of thy wealth1 supporting this insufficiency8' ',i must have been4' ',wealth1 then1 cannot make its possessor independent and free from all want1 yet this was what it seemed to promise4 ,moreover1 ,i think this also well deserves to be considered--that there is nothing in the special nature of money to hinder its being taken away from those who possess it against their will4' ',i admit it4' ',why1 of course1 when every day the stronger wrests it from the weaker without his consent4 ,else1 whence come lawsuits1 except in seeking to recover moneys which have been taken away against their owner's will by force or fraud8' ',true1' said ,i4 ',then1 everyone will need some extraneous means of protection to keep his money safe4' ',who can venture to deny it8' ',yet he would not1 unless he possessed the money which it is possible to lose4' ',no2 he certainly would not4' ',then1 we have worked round to an opposite conclusion3 the wealth which was thought to make a man independent rather puts him in need of further protection4 ,how in the world1 then1 can want be driven away by riches8 ,cannot the rich feel hunger8 ,cannot they thirst8 ,are not the limbs of the wealthy sensitive to the winter's cold8 ,but1 thou wilt say1 the rich have the wherewithal to sate their hunger1 the means to get rid of thirst and cold4 ,true enough2 want can thus be soothed by riches1 wholly removed it cannot be4 ,for if this ever-gaping1 ever-craving want is glutted by wealth1 it needs must be that the want itself which can be so glutted still remains4 ,i do not speak of how very little suffices for nature1 and how for avarice nothing is enough4 ,wherefore1 if wealth cannot get rid of want1 and makes new wants of its own1 how can ye believe that it bestows independence8' ,,song ,,iii4 ,,the ,,insatiableness ,,of ,,avarice4 ,though the covetous grown wealthy ,see his piles of gold rise high2 ,though he gather store of treasure ,that can never satisfy2 ,though with pearls his gorget blazes1 ,rarest that the ocean yields2 ,though a hundred head of oxen ,travail in his ample fields2 ,ne'er shall carking care forsake him ,while he draws this vital breath1 ,and his riches go not with him1 ,when his eyes are closed in death4 ,,iv4 ',well1 but official dignity clothes him to whom it comes with honour and reverence6 ,have1 then1 offices of state such power as to plant virtue in the minds of their possessors1 and drive out vice8 ,nay1 they are rather wont to signalize iniquity than to chase it away1 and hence arises our indignation that honours so often fall to the most iniquitous of men4 ,accordingly1 ,catullus calls ,nonius an ulcer-spot1 though sitting in the curule chair4 ,dost not see what infamy high position brings upon the bad8 ,surely their unworthiness will be less conspicuous if their rank does not draw upon them the public notice6 ,in thy own case1 wouldst thou ever have been induced by all these perils to think of sharing office with ,decoratus1 since thou hast discerned in him the spirit of a rascally parasite and informer8 ,no2 we cannot deem men worthy of reverence on account of their office1 whom we deem unworthy of the office itself4 ,but didst thou see a man endued with wisdom1 couldst thou suppose him not worthy of reverence1 nor of that wisdom with which he was endued8' ',no2 certainly not4' ',there is in ,virtue a dignity of her own which she forthwith passes over to those to whom she is united4 ,and since public honours cannot do this1 it is clear that they do not possess the true beauty of dignity4 ,and here this well deserves to be noticed--that if a man is the more scorned in proportion as he is despised by a greater number1 high position not only fails to win reverence for the wicked1 but even loads them the more with contempt by drawing more attention to them4 ,but not without retribution2 for the wicked pay back a return in kind to the dignities they put on by the pollution of their touch4 ,perhaps1 too1 another consideration may teach thee to confess that true reverence cannot come through these counterfeit dignities4 ,it is this3 ,if one who had been many times consul chanced to visit barbaric lands1 would his office win him the reverence of the barbarians8 ,and yet if reverence were the natural effect of dignities1 they would not forego their proper function in any part of the world1 even as fire never anywhere fails to give forth heat4 ,but since this effect is not due to their own efficacy1 but is attached to them by the mistaken opinion of mankind1 they disappear straightway when they are set before those who do not esteem them dignities4 ,thus the case stands with foreign peoples4 ,but does their repute last for ever1 even in the land of their origin8 ,why1 the prefecture1 which was once a great power1 is now an empty name--a burden merely on the senator's fortune2 the commissioner of the public corn supply was once a personage--now what is more contemptible than this office8 ,for1 as we said just now1 that which hath no true comeliness of its own now receives1 now loses1 lustre at the caprice of those who have to do with it4 ,so1 then1 if dignities cannot win men reverence1 if they are actually sullied by the contamination of the wicked1 if they lose their splendour through time's changes1 if they come into contempt merely for lack of public estimation1 what precious beauty have they in themselves1 much less to give to others8' ,,song ,,iv4 ,,disgrace ,,of ,,honours ,,conferred ,,by ,a ,,tyrant4 ,though royal purple soothes his pride1 ,and snowy pearls his neck adorn1 ,nero in all his riot lives ,the mark of universal scorn4 ,yet he on reverend heads conferred ,th' inglorious honours of the state4 ,shall we1 then1 deem them truly blessed ,whom such preferment hath made great8 ,v4 ',well1 then1 does sovereignty and the intimacy of kings prove able to confer power8 ,why1 surely does not the happiness of kings endure for ever8 ,and yet antiquity is full of examples1 and these days also1 of kings whose happiness has turned into calamity4 ,how glorious a power1 which is not even found effectual for its own preservation6 ,but if happiness has its source in sovereign power1 is not happiness diminished1 and misery inflicted in its stead1 in so far as that power falls short of completeness8 ,yet1 however widely human sovereignty be extended1 there must still be more peoples left1 over whom each several king holds no sway4 ,now1 at whatever point the power on which happiness depends ceases1 here powerlessness steals in and makes wretchedness2 so1 by this way of reckoning1 there must needs be a balance of wretchedness in the lot of the king4 ,the tyrant who had made trial of the perils of his condition figured the fears that haunt a throne under the image of a sword hanging over a man's head4,g ,what sort of power1 then1 is this which cannot drive away the gnawings of anxiety1 or shun the stings of terror8 ,fain would they themselves have lived secure1 but they cannot2 then they boast about their power6 ,dost thou count him to possess power whom thou seest to wish what he cannot bring to pass8 ,dost thou count him to possess power who encompasses himself with a body-guard1 who fears those he terrifies more than they fear him1 who1 to keep up the semblance of power1 is himself at the mercy of his slaves8 ,need ,i say anything of the friends of kings1 when ,i show royal dominion itself so utterly and miserably weak--why ofttimes the royal power in its plenitude brings them low1 ofttimes involves them in its fall8 ,nero drove his friend and preceptor1 ,seneca1 to the choice of the manner of his death4 ,antoninus exposed ,papinianus1 who was long powerful at court1 to the swords of the soldiery4 ,yet each of these was willing to renounce his power4 ,seneca tried to surrender his wealth also to ,nero1 and go into retirement2 but neither achieved his purpose4 ,when they tottered1 their very greatness dragged them down4 ,what manner of thing1 then1 is this power which keeps men in fear while they possess it--which when thou art fain to keep1 thou art not safe1 and when thou desirest to lay it aside thou canst not rid thyself of8 ,are friends any protection who have been attached by fortune1 not by virtue8 ,nay2 him whom good fortune has made a friend1 ill fortune will make an enemy4 ,and what plague is more effectual to do hurt than a foe of one's own household8' ,,footnotes3 ,g ,the sword of ,damocles4 ,,song ,v4 ,,self-,,mastery4 ,who on power sets his aim1 ,first must his own spirit tame2 ,he must shun his neck to thrust ',neath th' unholy yoke of lust4 ,for1 though ,india's far-off land ,bow before his wide command1 ,utmost ,thule homage pay-- ,if he cannot drive away ,haunting care and black distress1 ,in his power1 he's powerless4 ,,vi4 ',again1 how misleading1 how base1 a thing ofttimes is glory6 ,well does the tragic poet exclaim3 ',oh1 fond ,repute1 how many a time and oft ,hast them raised high in pride the base-born churl6 ,for many have won a great name through the mistaken beliefs of the multitude--and what can be imagined more shameful than that8 ,nay1 they who are praised falsely must needs themselves blush at their own praises6 ,and even when praise is won by merit1 still1 how does it add to the good conscience of the wise man who measures his good not by popular repute1 but by the truth of inner conviction8 ,and if at all it does seem a fair thing to get this same renown spread abroad1 it follows that any failure so to spread it is held foul4 ,but if1 as ,i set forth but now1 there must needs be many tribes and peoples whom the fame of any single man cannot reach1 it follows that he whom thou esteemest glorious seems all inglorious in a neighbouring quarter of the globe4 ,as to popular favour1 ,i do not think it even worthy of mention in this place1 since it never cometh of judgment1 and never lasteth steadily4 ',then1 again1 who does not see how empty1 how foolish1 is the fame of noble birth8 ,why1 if the nobility is based on renown1 the renown is another's6 ,for1 truly1 nobility seems to be a sort of reputation coming from the merits of ancestors4 ,but if it is the praise which brings renown1 of necessity it is they who are praised that are famous4 ,wherefore1 the fame of another clothes thee not with splendour if thou hast none of thine own4 ,so1 if there is any excellence in nobility of birth1 methinks it is this alone--that it would seem to impose upon the nobly born the obligation not to degenerate from the virtue of their ancestors4' ,,song ,,vi4 ,,true ,,nobility4 ,all men are of one kindred stock1 though scattered far and wide2 ,for one is ,father of us all--one doth for all provide4 ,he gave the sun his golden beams1 the moon her silver horn2 ,he set mankind upon the earth1 as stars the heavens adorn4 ,he shut a soul--a heaven-born soul--within the body's frame2 ,the noble origin he gave each mortal wight may claim4 ,why boast ye1 then1 so loud of race and high ancestral line8 ,if ye behold your being's source1 and ,god's supreme design1 ,none is degenerate1 none base1 unless by taint of sin ,and cherished vice he foully stain his heavenly origin4 ,,vii4 ',then1 what shall ,i say of the pleasures of the body8 ,the lust thereof is full of uneasiness2 the sating1 of repentance4 ,what sicknesses1 what intolerable pains1 are they wont to bring on the bodies of those who enjoy them--the fruits of iniquity1 as it were6 ,now1 what sweetness the stimulus of pleasure may have ,i do not know4 ,but that the issues of pleasure are painful everyone may understand who chooses to recall the memory of his own fleshly lusts4 ,nay1 if these can make happiness1 there is no reason why the beasts also should not be happy1 since all their efforts are eagerly set upon satisfying the bodily wants4 ,i know1 indeed1 that the sweetness of wife and children should be right comely1 yet only too true to nature is what was said of one--that he found in his sons his tormentors4 ,and how galling such a contingency would be1 ,i must needs put thee in mind1 since thou hast never in any wise suffered such experiences1 nor art thou now under any uneasiness4 ,in such a case1 ,i agree with my servant ,euripides1 who said that a man without children was fortunate in his misfortune4',h ,,footnotes3 ,h ,paley translates the lines in ,euripides' ',andromache'3 ',they the childless are indeed spared from much pain and sorrow1 but their supposed happiness is after all but wretchedness4' ,euripides' meaning is therefore really just the reverse of that which ,boethius makes it4 ,see ,euripides1 ',andromache1' ,il4 #dah-dbj4 ,,song ,,vii4 ,,pleasure',s ,,sting4 ,this is the way of ,pleasure3 ,she stings them that despoil her2 ,and1 like the wingd toiler ,who's lost her honeyed treasure1 ,she flies1 but leaves her smart ,deep-rankling in the heart4 ,,viii4 ',it is beyond doubt1 then1 that these paths do not lead to happiness2 they cannot guide anyone to the promised goal4 ,now1 ,i will very briefly show what serious evils are involved in following them4 ,just consider4 ,is it thy endeavour to heap up money8 ,why1 thou must wrest it from its present possessor6 ,art thou minded to put on the splendour of official dignity8 ,thou must beg from those who have the giving of it2 thou who covetest to outvie others in honour must lower thyself to the humble posture of petition4 ,dost thou long for power8 ,thou must face perils1 for thou wilt be at the mercy of thy subjects' plots4 ,is glory thy aim8 ,thou art lured on through all manner of hardships1 and there is an end to thy peace of mind4 ,art fain to lead a life of pleasure8 ,yet who does not scorn and contemn one who is the slave of the weakest and vilest of things--the body8 ,again1 on how slight and perishable a possession do they rely who set before themselves bodily excellences6 ,can ye ever surpass the elephant in bulk or the bull in strength8 ,can ye excel the tiger in swiftness8 ,look upon the infinitude1 the solidity1 the swift motion1 of the heavens1 and for once cease to admire things mean and worthless4 ,and yet the heavens are not so much to be admired on this account as for the reason which guides them4 ,then1 how transient is the lustre of beauty6 how soon gone6--more fleeting than the fading bloom of spring flowers4 ,and yet if1 as ,aristotle says1 men should see with the eyes of ,lynceus1 so that their sight might pierce through obstructions1 would not that body of ,alcibiades1 so gloriously fair in outward seeming1 appear altogether loathsome when all its inward parts lay open to the view8 ,therefore1 it is not thy own nature that makes thee seem beautiful1 but the weakness of the eyes that see thee4 ,yet prize as unduly as ye will that body's excellences2 so long as ye know that this that ye admire1 whatever its worth1 can be dissolved away by the feeble flame of a three days' fever4 ,from all which considerations we may conclude as a whole1 that these things which cannot make good the advantages they promise1 which are never made perfect by the assemblage of all good things--these neither lead as by-ways to happiness1 nor themselves make men completely happy4' ,,song ,,viii4 ,,human ,,folly4 ,alas6 how wide astray ,doth ,ignorance these wretched mortals lead ,from ,truth's own way6 ,for not on leafy stems ,do ye within the green wood look for gold1 ,nor strip the vine for gems2 ,your nets ye do not spread ,upon the hill-tops1 that the groaning board ,with fish be furnishd2 ,if ye are fain to chase ,the bounding goat1 ye sweep not in vain search ,the ocean's ruffled face4 ,the sea's far depths they know1 ,each hidden nook1 wherein the waves o'erwash ,the pearl as white as snow2 ,where lurks the ,tyrian shell1 ,where fish and prickly urchins do abound1 ,all this they know full well4 ,but not to know or care ,where hidden lies the good all hearts desire-- ,this blindness they can bear2 ,with gaze on earth low-bent1 ,they seek for that which reacheth far beyond ,the starry firmament4 ,what curse shall ,i call down ,on hearts so dull8 ,may they the race still run ,for wealth and high renown6 ,and when with much ado ,the false good they have grasped--ah1 then too late6-- ,may they discern the true6 ,,ix4 ',this much may well suffice to set forth the form of false happiness2 if this is now clear to thine eyes1 the next step is to show what true happiness is4' ',indeed1' said ,i1 ',i see clearly enough that neither is independence to be found in wealth1 nor power in sovereignty1 nor reverence in dignities1 nor fame in glory1 nor true joy in pleasures4' ',hast thou discerned also the causes why this is so8' ',i seem to have some inkling1 but ,i should like to learn more at large from thee4' ',why1 truly the reason is hard at hand4 ,that which is simple and indivisible by nature human error separates1 and transforms from the true and perfect to the false and imperfect4 ,dost thou imagine that which lacketh nothing can want power8' ',certainly not4' ',right2 for if there is any feebleness of strength in anything1 in this there must necessarily be need of external protection4' ',that is so4' ',accordingly1 the nature of independence and power is one and the same4' ',it seems so4' ',well1 but dost think that anything of such a nature as this can be looked upon with contempt1 or is it rather of all things most worthy of veneration8' ',nay2 there can be no doubt as to that4' ',let us1 then1 add reverence to independence and power1 and conclude these three to be one4' ',we must if we will acknowledge the truth4' ',thinkest thou1 then1 this combination of qualities to be obscure and without distinction1 or rather famous in all renown8 ,just consider3 can that want renown which has been agreed to be lacking in nothing1 to be supreme in power1 and right worthy of honour1 for the reason that it cannot bestow this upon itself1 and so comes to appear somewhat poor in esteem8' ',i cannot but acknowledge that1 being what it is1 this union of qualities is also right famous4' ',it follows1 then1 that we must admit that renown is not different from the other three4' ',it does1' said ,i4 ',that1 then1 which needs nothing outside itself1 which can accomplish all things in its own strength1 which enjoys fame and compels reverence1 must not this evidently be also fully crowned with joy8' ',in sooth1 ,i cannot conceive1' said ,i1 'how any sadness can find entrance into such a state2 wherefore ,i must needs acknowledge it full of joy--at least1 if our former conclusions are to hold4' ',then1 for the same reasons1 this also is necessary--that independence1 power1 renown1 reverence1 and sweetness of delight1 are different only in name1 but in substance differ no wise one from the other4' ',it is1' said ,i4 ',this1 then1 which is one1 and simple by nature1 human perversity separates1 and1 in trying to win a part of that which has no parts1 fails to attain not only that portion 7since there are no portions71 but also the whole1 to which it does not dream of aspiring4' ',how so8' said ,i4 ',he who1 to escape want1 seeks riches1 gives himself no concern about power2 he prefers a mean and low estate1 and also denies himself many pleasures dear to nature to avoid losing the money which he has gained4 ,but at this rate he does not even attain to independence--a weakling void of strength1 vexed by distresses1 mean and despised1 and buried in obscurity4 ,he1 again1 who thirsts alone for power squanders his wealth1 despises pleasure1 and thinks fame and rank alike worthless without power4 ,but thou seest in how many ways his state also is defective4 ,sometimes it happens that he lacks necessaries1 that he is gnawed by anxieties1 and1 since he cannot rid himself of these inconveniences1 even ceases to have that power which was his whole end and aim4 ,in like manner may we cast up the reckoning in case of rank1 of glory1 or of pleasure4 ,for since each one of these severally is identical with the rest1 whosoever seeks any one of them without the others does not even lay hold of that one which he makes his aim4' ',well1' said ,i1 'what then8' ',suppose anyone desire to obtain them together1 he does indeed wish for happiness as a whole2 but will he find it in these things which1 as we have proved1 are unable to bestow what they promise8' ',nay2 by no means1' said ,i4 ',then1 happiness must certainly not be sought in these things which severally are believed to afford some one of the blessings most to be desired4' ',they must not1 ,i admit4 ,no conclusion could be more true4' ',so1 then1 the form and the causes of false happiness are set before thine eyes4 ,now turn thy gaze to the other side2 there thou wilt straightway see the true happiness ,i promised4' ',yea1 indeed1 'tis plain to the blind4' said ,i4 ',thou didst point it out even now in seeking to unfold the causes of the false4 ,for1 unless ,i am mistaken1 that is true and perfect happiness which crowns one with the union of independence1 power1 reverence1 renown1 and joy4 ,and to prove to thee with how deep an insight ,i have listened--since all these are the same--that which can truly bestow one of them ,i know to be without doubt full and complete happiness4' ',happy art thou1 my scholar1 in this thy conviction2 only one thing shouldst thou add4' ',what is that8' said ,i4 ',is there aught1 thinkest thou1 amid these mortal and perishable things which can produce a state such as this8' ',nay1 surely not2 and this thou hast so amply demonstrated that no word more is needed4' ',well1 then1 these things seem to give to mortals shadows of the true good1 or some kind of imperfect good2 but the true and perfect good they cannot bestow4' ',even so1' said ,i4 ',since1 then1 thou hast learnt what that true happiness is1 and what men falsely call happiness1 it now remains that thou shouldst learn from what source to seek this4' ',yes2 to this ,i have long been eagerly looking forward4' ',well1 since1 as ,plato maintains in the ,timus1 we ought even in the most trivial matters to implore the ,divine protection1 what thinkest thou should we now do in order to deserve to find the seat of that highest good8' ',we must invoke the ,father of all things1' said ,i2 'for without this no enterprise sets out from a right beginning4' ',thou sayest well1' said she2 and forthwith lifted up her voice and sang3 ,,song ,,ix4,i ,,invocation4 ,maker of earth and sky1 from age to age ,who rul'st the world by reason2 at whose word ,time issues from ,eternity's abyss3 ,to all that moves the source of movement1 fixed ,thyself and moveless4 ,thee no cause impelled ,extrinsic this proportioned frame to shape ,from shapeless matter2 but1 deep-set within ,thy inmost being1 the form of perfect good1 ,from envy free2 and ,thou didst mould the whole ,to that supernal pattern4 ,beauteous ,the world in ,thee thus imaged1 being ,thyself ,most beautiful4 ,so ,thou the work didst fashion ,in that fair likeness1 bidding it put on ,perfection through the exquisite perfectness ,of every part's contrivance4 ,thou dost bind ,the elements in balanced harmony1 ,so that the hot and cold1 the moist and dry1 ,contend not2 nor the pure fire leaping up ,escape1 or weight of waters whelm the earth4 ,thou joinest and diffusest through the whole1 ,linking accordantly its several parts1 ,a soul of threefold nature1 moving all4 ,this1 cleft in twain1 and in two circles gathered1 ,speeds in a path that on itself returns1 ,encompassing mind's limits1 and conforms ,the heavens to her true semblance4 ,lesser souls ,and lesser lives by a like ordinance ,thou sendest forth1 each to its starry car ,affixing1 and dost strew them far and wide ,o'er earth and heaven4 ,these by a law benign ,thou biddest turn again1 and render back ,to thee their fires4 ,oh1 grant1 almighty ,father1 ,grant us on reason's wing to soar aloft ,to heaven's exalted height2 grant us to see ,the fount of good2 grant us1 the true light found1 ,to fix our steadfast eyes in vision clear ,on ,thee4 ,disperse the heavy mists of earth1 ,and shine in ,thine own splendour4 ,for ,thou art ,the true serenity and perfect rest ,of every pious soul--to see ,thy face1 ,the end and the beginning--,one the guide1 ,the traveller1 the pathway1 and the goal4 ,,footnotes3 ,i ,the substance of this poem is taken from ,plato's ',timus1' #bi-db4 ,see ,jowett1 vol4 iii41 pp4 #ddh-dfb 7third edition74 ,x4 ',since now thou hast seen what is the form of the imperfect good1 and what the form of the perfect also1 methinks ,i should next show in what manner this perfection of felicity is built up4 ,and here ,i conceive it proper to inquire1 first1 whether any excellence1 such as thou hast lately defined1 can exist in the nature of things1 lest we be deceived by an empty fiction of thought to which no true reality answers4 ,but it cannot be denied that such does exist1 and is1 as it were1 the source of all things good4 ,for everything which is called imperfect is spoken of as imperfect by reason of the privation of some perfection2 so it comes to pass that1 whenever imperfection is found in any particular1 there must necessarily be a perfection in respect of that particular also4 ,for were there no such perfection1 it is utterly inconceivable how that so-called imperfection should come into existence4 ,nature does not make a beginning with things mutilated and imperfect2 she starts with what is whole and perfect1 and falls away later to these feeble and inferior productions4 ,so if there is1 as we showed before1 a happiness of a frail and imperfect kind1 it cannot be doubted but there is also a happiness substantial and perfect4' ',most true is thy conclusion1 and most sure1' said ,i4 ',next to consider where the dwelling-place of this happiness may be4 ,the common belief of all mankind agrees that ,god1 the supreme of all things1 is good4 ,for since nothing can be imagined better than ,god1 how can we doubt ,him to be good than whom there is nothing better8 ,now1 reason shows ,god to be good in such wise as to prove that in ,him is perfect good4 ,for were it not so1 ,he would not be supreme of all things2 for there would be something else more excellent1 possessed of perfect good1 which would seem to have the advantage in priority and dignity1 since it has clearly appeared that all perfect things are prior to those less complete4 ,wherefore1 lest we fall into an infinite regression1 we must acknowledge the supreme ,god to be full of supreme and perfect good4 ,but we have determined that true happiness is the perfect good2 therefore true happiness must dwell in the supreme ,deity4' ',i accept thy reasonings1' said ,i2 'they cannot in any wise be disputed4' ',but1 come1 see how strictly and incontrovertibly thou mayst prove this our assertion that the supreme ,godhead hath fullest possession of the highest good4' ',in what way1 pray8' said ,i4 ',do not rashly suppose that ,he who is the ,father of all things hath received that highest good of which ,he is said to be possessed either from some external source1 or hath it as a natural endowment in such sort that thou mightest consider the essence of the happiness possessed1 and of the ,god who possesses it1 distinct and different4 ,for if thou deemest it received from without1 thou mayst esteem that which gives more excellent than that which has received4 ,but ,him we most worthily acknowledge to be the most supremely excellent of all things4 ,if1 however1 it is in ,him by nature1 yet is logically distinct1 the thought is inconceivable1 since we are speaking of ,god1 who is supreme of all things4 ,who was there to join these distinct essences8 ,finally1 when one thing is different from another1 the things so conceived as distinct cannot be identical4 ,therefore that which of its own nature is distinct from the highest good is not itself the highest good--an impious thought of ,him than whom1 'tis plain1 nothing can be more excellent4 ,for universally nothing can be better in nature than the source from which it has come2 therefore on most true grounds of reason would ,i conclude that which is the source of all things to be in its own essence the highest good4' ',and most justly1' said ,i4 ',but the highest good has been admitted to be happiness4' ',yes4' ',then1' said she1 'it is necessary to acknowledge that ,god is very happiness4' ',yes1' said ,i2 ',i cannot gainsay my former admissions1 and ,i see clearly that this is a necessary inference therefrom4' ',reflect1 also1' said she1 'whether the same conclusion is not further confirmed by considering that there cannot be two supreme goods distinct one from the other4 ,for the goods which are different clearly cannot be severally each what the other is3 wherefore neither of the two can be perfect1 since to either the other is wanting2 but since it is not perfect1 it cannot manifestly be the supreme good4 ,by no means1 then1 can goods which are supreme be different one from the other4 ,but we have concluded that both happiness and ,god are the supreme good2 wherefore that which is highest ,divinity must also itself necessarily be supreme happiness4' ',no conclusion1' said ,i1 'could be truer to fact1 nor more soundly reasoned out1 nor more worthy of ,god4' ',then1 further1' said she1 'just as geometricians are wont to draw inferences from their demonstrations to which they give the name deductions1 so will ,i add here a sort of corollary4 ,for since men become happy by the acquisition of happiness1 while happiness is very ,godship1 it is manifest that they become happy by the acquisition of ,godship4 ,but as by the acquisition of justice men become just1 and wise by the acquisition of wisdom1 so by parity of reasoning by acquiring ,godship they must of necessity become gods4 ,so every man who is happy is a god2 and though in nature ,god is ,one only1 yet there is nothing to hinder that very many should be gods by participation in that nature4' ',a fair conclusion1 and a precious1' said ,i1 'deduction or corollary1 by whichever name thou wilt call it4' ',and yet1' said she1 'not one whit fairer than this which reason persuades us to add4' ',why1 what8' said ,i4 ',why1 seeing happiness has many particulars included under it1 should all these be regarded as forming one body of happiness1 as it were1 made up of various parts1 or is there some one of them which forms the full essence of happiness1 while all the rest are relative to this8' ',i would thou wouldst unfold the whole matter to me at large4' ',we judge happiness to be good1 do we not8' ',yea1 the supreme good4' ',and this superlative applies to all2 for this same happiness is adjudged to be the completest independence1 the highest power1 reverence1 renown1 and pleasure4' ',what then8' ',are all these goods--independence1 power1 and the rest--to be deemed members of happiness1 as it were1 or are they all relative to good as to their summit and crown8' ',i understand the problem1 but ,i desire to hear how thou wouldst solve it4' ',well1 then1 listen to the determination of the matter4 ,were all these members composing happiness1 they would differ severally one from the other4 ,for this is the nature of parts--that by their difference they compose one body4 ,all these1 however1 have been proved to be the same2 therefore they cannot possibly be members1 otherwise happiness will seem to be built up out of one member1 which cannot be4' ',there can be no doubt as to that1' said ,i2 'but ,i am impatient to hear what remains4' ',why1 it is manifest that all the others are relative to the good4 ,for the very reason why independence is sought is that it is judged good1 and so power also1 because it is believed to be good4 ,the same1 too1 may be supposed of reverence1 of renown1 and of pleasant delight4 ,good1 then1 is the sum and source of all desirable things4 ,that which has not in itself any good1 either in reality or in semblance1 can in no wise be desired4 ,contrariwise1 even things which by nature are not good are desired as if they were truly good1 if they seem to be so4 ,whereby it comes to pass that goodness is rightly believed to be the sum and hinge and cause of all things desirable4 ,now1 that for the sake of which anything is desired itself seems to be most wished for4 ,for instance1 if anyone wishes to ride for the sake of health1 he does not so much wish for the exercise of riding as the benefit of his health4 ,since1 then1 all things are sought for the sake of the good1 it is not these so much as good itself that is sought by all4 ,but that on account of which all other things are wished for was1 we agreed1 happiness2 wherefore thus also it appears that it is happiness alone which is sought4 ,from all which it is transparently clear that the essence of absolute good and of happiness is one and the same4' ',i cannot see how anyone can dissent from these conclusions4' ',but we have also proved that ,god and true happiness are one and the same4' ',yes1' said ,i4 ',then we can safely conclude1 also1 that ,god's essence is seated in absolute good1 and nowhere else4' ,,song ,x4 ,,the ,,true ,,light4 ,hither come1 all ye whose minds ,lust with rosy fetters binds-- ,lust to bondage hard compelling ,th' earthy souls that are his dwelling-- ,here shall be your labour's close2 ,here your haven of repose4 ,come1 to your one refuge press2 ,wide it stands to all distress6 ,not the glint of yellow gold ,down bright ,hermus' current rolled2 ,not the ,tagus' precious sands1 ,nor in far-off scorching lands ,all the radiant gems that hide ,under ,indus' storied tide-- ,emerald green and glistering white-- ,can illume our feeble sight2 ,but they rather leave the mind ,in its native darkness blind4 ,for the fairest beams they shed ,in earth's lowest depths were fed2 ,but the splendour that supplies ,strength and vigour to the skies1 ,and the universe controls1 ,shunneth dark and ruined souls4 ,he who once hath seen this light ,will not call the sunbeam bright4 ,,xi4 ',i quite agree1' said ,i1 'truly all thy reasonings hold admirably together4' ,then said she3 ',what value wouldst thou put upon the boon shouldst thou come to the knowledge of the absolute good8' ',oh1 an infinite1' said ,i1 'if only ,i were so blest as to learn to know ,god also who is the good4' ',yet this will ,i make clear to thee on truest grounds of reason1 if only our recent conclusions stand fast4' ',they will4' ',have we not shown that those things which most men desire are not true and perfect good precisely for this cause--that they differ severally one from another1 and1 seeing that one is wanting to another1 they cannot bestow full and absolute good2 but that they become the true good when they are gathered1 as it were1 into one form and agency1 so that that which is independence is likewise power1 reverence1 renown1 and pleasant delight1 and unless they are all one and the same1 they have no claim to be counted among things desirable8' ',yes2 this was clearly proved1 and cannot in any wise be doubted4' ',now1 when things are far from being good while they are different1 but become good as soon as they are one1 is it not true that these become good by acquiring unity8' ',it seems so1' said ,i4 ',but dost not thou allow that all which is good is good by participation in goodness8' ',it is4' ',then1 thou must on similar grounds admit that unity and goodness are the same2 for when the effects of things in their natural working differ not1 their essence is one and the same4' ',there is no denying it4' ',now1 dost thou know1' said she1 'that all which is abides and subsists so long as it continues one1 but so soon as it ceases to be one it perishes and falls to pieces8' ',in what way8' ',why1 take animals1 for example4 ,when soul and body come together1 and continue in one1 this is1 we say1 a living creature2 but when this unity is broken by the separation of these two1 the creature dies1 and is clearly no longer living4 ,the body also1 while it remains in one form by the joining together of its members1 presents a human appearance2 but if the separation and dispersal of the parts break up the body's unity1 it ceases to be what it was4 ,and if we extend our survey to all other things1 without doubt it will manifestly appear that each several thing subsists while it is one1 but when it ceases to be one perishes4' ',yes2 when ,i consider further1 ,i see it to be even as thou sayest4' ',well1 is there aught1' said she1 'which1 in so far as it acts conformably to nature1 abandons the wish for life1 and desires to come to death and corruption8' ',looking to living creatures1 which have some faults of choice1 ,i find none that1 without external compulsion1 forego the will to live1 and of their own accord hasten to destruction4 ,for every creature diligently pursues the end of self-preservation1 and shuns death and destruction6 ,as to herbs and trees1 and inanimate things generally1 ,i am altogether in doubt what to think4' ',and yet there is no possibility of question about this either1 since thou seest how herbs and trees grow in places suitable for them1 where1 as far as their nature admits1 they cannot quickly wither and die4 ,some spring up in the plains1 others in the mountains2 some grow in marshes1 others cling to rocks2 and others1 again1 find a fertile soil in the barren sands2 and if you try to transplant these elsewhere1 they wither away4 ,nature gives to each the soil that suits it1 and uses her diligence to prevent any of them dying1 so long as it is possible for them to continue alive4 ,why do they all draw their nourishment from roots as from a mouth dipped into the earth1 and distribute the strong bark over the pith8 ,why are all the softer parts like the pith deeply encased within1 while the external parts have the strong texture of wood1 and outside of all is the bark to resist the weather's inclemency1 like a champion stout in endurance8 ,again1 how great is nature's diligence to secure universal propagation by multiplying seed6 ,who does not know all these to be contrivances1 not only for the present maintenance of a species1 but for its lasting continuance1 generation after generation1 for ever8 ,and do not also the things believed inanimate on like grounds of reason seek each what is proper to itself8 ,why do the flames shoot lightly upward1 while the earth presses downward with its weight1 if it is not that these motions and situations are suitable to their respective natures8 ,moreover1 each several thing is preserved by that which is agreeable to its nature1 even as it is destroyed by things inimical4 ,things solid like stones resist disintegration by the close adhesion of their parts4 ,things fluid like air and water yield easily to what divides them1 but swiftly flow back and mingle with those parts from which they have been severed1 while fire1 again1 refuses to be cut at all4 ,and we are not now treating of the voluntary motions of an intelligent soul1 but of the drift of nature4 ,even so is it that we digest our food without thinking about it1 and draw our breath unconsciously in sleep2 nay1 even in living creatures the love of life cometh not of conscious will1 but from the principles of nature4 ,for oftentimes in the stress of circumstances will chooses the death which nature shrinks from2 and contrarily1 in spite of natural appetite1 will restrains that work of reproduction by which alone the persistence of perishable creatures is maintained4 ,so entirely does this love of self come from drift of nature1 not from animal impulse4 ,providence has furnished things with this most cogent reason for continuance3 they must desire life1 so long as it is naturally possible for them to continue living4 ,wherefore in no way mayst thou doubt but that things naturally aim at continuance of existence1 and shun destruction4' ',i confess1' said ,i1 'that what ,i lately thought uncertain1 ,i now perceive to be indubitably clear4' ',now1 that which seeks to subsist and continue desires to be one2 for if its oneness be gone1 its very existence cannot continue4' ',true1' said ,i4 ',all things1 then1 desire to be one4' ',i agree4' ',but we have proved that one is the very same thing as good4' ',we have4' ',all things1 then1 seek the good2 indeed1 you may express the fact by defining good as that which all desire4' ',nothing could be more truly thought out4 ,either there is no single end to which all things are relative1 or else the end to which all things universally hasten must be the highest good of all4' ,then she3 ',exceedingly do ,i rejoice1 dear pupil2 thine eye is now fixed on the very central mark of truth4 ,moreover1 herein is revealed that of which thou didst erstwhile profess thyself ignorant4' ',what is that8' said ,i4 ',the end and aim of the whole universe4 ,surely it is that which is desired of all2 and1 since we have concluded the good to be such1 we ought to acknowledge the end and aim of the whole universe to be the good4' ,,song ,,xi4 ,,reminiscence4,j ,who truth pursues1 who from false ways ,his heedful steps would keep1 ,by inward light must search within ,in meditation deep2 ,all outward bent he must repress ,his soul's true treasure to possess4 ,then all that error's mists obscured ,shall shine more clear than light1 ,this fleshly frame's oblivious weight ,hath quenched not reason quite2 ,the germs of truth still lie within1 ,whence we by learning all may win4 ,else how could ye the answer due ,untaught to questions give1 ,were't not that deep within the soul ,truth's secret sparks do live8 ,if ,plato's teaching erreth not1 ,we learn but that we have forgot4 ,,footnotes3 ,j ,the doctrine of ,reminiscence--i4e41 that all learning is really recollection--is set forth at length by ,plato in the ',meno1' #ha-hf1 and the ',phdo1' #gb-gf4 ,see ,jowett1 vol4 ii41 pp4 #dj-dg and #bac-bah4 ,,xii4 ,then said ,i3 ',with all my heart ,i agree with ,plato2 indeed1 this is now the second time that these things have been brought back to my mind--first ,i lost them through the clogging contact of the body2 then after through the stress of heavy grief4' ,then she continued3 ',if thou wilt reflect upon thy former admissions1 it will not be long before thou dost also recollect that of which erstwhile thou didst confess thyself ignorant4' ',what is that8' said ,i4 ',the principles of the world's government1' said she4 ',yes2 ,i remember my confession1 and1 although ,i now anticipate what thou intendest1 ,i have a desire to hear the argument plainly set forth4' ',awhile ago thou deemedst it beyond all doubt that ,god doth govern the world4' ',i do not think it doubtful now1 nor shall ,i ever2 and by what reasons ,i am brought to this assurance ,i will briefly set forth4 ,this world could never have taken shape as a single system out of parts so diverse and opposite were it not that there is ,one who joins together these so diverse things4 ,and when it had once come together1 the very diversity of natures would have dissevered it and torn it asunder in universal discord were there not ,one who keeps together what ,he has joined4 ,nor would the order of nature proceed so regularly1 nor could its course exhibit motions so fixed in respect of position1 time1 range1 efficacy1 and character1 unless there were ,one who1 ,himself abiding1 disposed these various vicissitudes of change4 ,this power1 whatsoever it be1 whereby they remain as they were created1 and are kept in motion1 ,i call by the name which all recognise--,god4' ,then said she3 ',seeing that such is thy belief1 it will cost me little trouble1 ,i think1 to enable thee to win happiness1 and return in safety to thy own country4 ,but let us give our attention to the task that we have set before ourselves4 ,have we not counted independence in the category of happiness1 and agreed that ,god is absolute happiness8' ',truly1 we have4' ',then1 ,he will need no external assistance for the ruling of the world4 ,otherwise1 if ,he stands in need of aught1 ,he will not possess complete independence4' ',that is necessarily so1' said ,i4 ',then1 by ,his own power alone ,he disposes all things4' ',it cannot be denied4' ',now1 ,god was proved to be absolute good4' ',yes2 ,i remember4' ',then1 ,he disposes all things by the agency of good1 if it be true that ,he rules all things by ,his own power whom we have agreed to be good2 and ,he is1 as it were1 the rudder and helm by which the world's mechanism is kept steady and in order4' ',heartily do ,i agree2 and1 indeed1 ,i anticipated what thou wouldst say1 though it may be in feeble surmise only4' ',i well believe it1' said she2 'for1 as ,i think1 thou now bringest to the search eyes quicker in discerning truth2 but what ,i shall say next is no less plain and easy to see4' ',what is it8' said ,i4 ',why1' said she1 'since ,god is rightly believed to govern all things with the rudder of goodness1 and since all things do likewise1 as ,i have taught1 haste towards good by the very aim of nature1 can it be doubted that ,his governance is willingly accepted1 and that all submit themselves to the sway of the ,disposer as conformed and attempered to ,his rule8' ',necessarily so1' said ,i2 'no rule would seem happy if it were a yoke imposed on reluctant wills1 and not the safe-keeping of obedient subjects4' ',there is nothing1 then1 which1 while it follows nature1 endeavours to resist good4' ',no2 nothing4' ',but if anything should1 will it have the least success against ,him whom we rightly agreed to be supreme ,lord of happiness8' ',it would be utterly impotent4' ',there is nothing1 then1 which has either the will or the power to oppose this supreme good4' ',no2 ,i think not4' ',so1 then1' said she1 'it is the supreme good which rules in strength1 and graciously disposes all things4' ,then said ,i3 ',how delighted am ,i at thy reasonings1 and the conclusion to which thou hast brought them1 but most of all at these very words which thou usest6 ,i am now at last ashamed of the folly that so sorely vexed me4' ',thou hast heard the story of the giants assailing heaven2 but a beneficent strength disposed of them also1 as they deserved4 ,but shall we submit our arguments to the shock of mutual collision8--it may be from the impact some fair spark of truth may be struck out4' ',if it be thy good pleasure1' said ,i4 ',no one can doubt that ,god is all-powerful4' ',no one at all can question it who thinks consistently4' ',now1 there is nothing which ,one who is all-powerful cannot do4' ',nothing4' ',but can ,god do evil1 then8' ',nay2 by no means4' ',then1 evil is nothing1' said she1 'since ,he to whom nothing is impossible is unable to do evil4' ',art thou mocking me1' said ,i1 'weaving a labyrinth of tangled arguments1 now seeming to begin where thou didst end1 and now to end where thou didst begin1 or dost thou build up some wondrous circle of ,divine simplicity8 ,for1 truly1 a little before thou didst begin with happiness1 and say it was the supreme good1 and didst declare it to be seated in the supreme ,godhead4 ,god ,himself1 too1 thou didst affirm to be supreme good and all-complete happiness2 and from this thou didst go on to add1 as by the way1 the proof that no one would be happy unless he were likewise ,god4 ,again1 thou didst say that the very form of good was the essence both of ,god and of happiness1 and didst teach that the absolute ,one was the absolute good which was sought by universal nature4 ,thou didst maintain1 also1 that ,god rules the universe by the governance of goodness1 that all things obey ,him willingly1 and that evil has no existence in nature4 ,and all this thou didst unfold without the help of assumptions from without1 but by inherent and proper proofs1 drawing credence one from the other4' ,then answered she3 ',far is it from me to mock thee2 nay1 by the blessing of ,god1 whom we lately addressed in prayer1 we have achieved the most important of all objects4 ,for such is the form of the ,divine essence1 that neither can it pass into things external1 nor take up anything external into itself2 but1 as ,parmenides says of it1 ',in body like to a sphere on all sides perfectly rounded1 it rolls the restless orb of the universe1 keeping itself motionless the while4 ,and if ,i have also employed reasonings not drawn from without1 but lying within the compass of our subject1 there is no cause for thee to marvel1 since thou hast learnt on ,plato's authority that words ought to be akin to the matter of which they treat4' ,,song ,,xii4 ,,orpheus ,,and ,,eurydice4 ,blest he whose feet have stood ,beside the fount of good2 ,blest he whose will could break ,earth's chains for wisdom's sake6 ,the ,thracian bard1 'tis said1 ,mourned his dear consort dead2 ,to hear the plaintive strain ,the woods moved in his train1 ,and the stream ceased to flow1 ,held by so soft a woe2 ,the deer without dismay ,beside the lion lay2 ,the hound1 by song subdued1 ,no more the hare pursued1 ,but the pang unassuaged ,in his own bosom raged4 ,the music that could calm ,all else brought him no balm4 ,chiding the powers immortal1 ,he came unto ,hell's portal2 ,there breathed all tender things ,upon his sounding strings1 ,each rhapsody high-wrought ,his goddess-mother taught-- ,all he from grief could borrow ,and love redoubling sorrow1 ,till1 as the echoes waken1 ,all ,tnarus is shaken2 ,whilst he to ruth persuades ,the monarch of the shades ,with dulcet prayer4 ,spell-bound1 ,the triple-headed hound ,at sounds so strangely sweet ,falls crouching at his feet4 ,the dread ,avengers1 too1 ,that guilty minds pursue ,with ever-haunting fears1 ,are all dissolved in tears4 ,ixion1 on his wheel1 ,a respite brief doth feel2 ,for1 lo6 the wheel stands still4 ,and1 while those sad notes thrill1 ,thirst-maddened ,tantalus ,listens1 oblivious ,of the stream's mockery ,and his long agony4 ,the vulture1 too1 doth spare ,some little while to tear ,at ,tityus' rent side1 ,sated and pacified4 ,at length the shadowy king1 ,his sorrows pitying1 ',he hath prevaild6' cried2 ',we give him back his bride6 ,to him she shall belong1 ,as guerdon of his song4 ,one sole condition yet ,upon the boon is set3 ,let him not turn his eyes ,to view his hard-won prize1 ,till they securely pass ,the gates of ,hell4' ,alas6 ,what law can lovers move8 ,a higher law is love6 ,for ,orpheus--woe is me6-- ,on his ,eurydice-- ,day's threshold all but won-- ,looked1 lost1 and was undone6 ,ye who the light pursue1 ,this story is for you1 ,who seek to find a way ,unto the clearer day4 ,if on the darkness past ,one backward look ye cast1 ,your weak and wandering eyes ,have lost the matchless prize4 ,,book ,,iv4 ,,good ,,and ,,ill ,,fortune4 ,,summary4 ,,ch4 ,i4 ,the mystery of the seeming moral confusion4 ,philosophy engages to make this plain1 and to fulfil her former promise to the full4--,,ch4 ,,ii4 ,accordingly1 7a7 she first expounds the paradox that the good alone have power1 the bad are altogether powerless4--,,ch4 ,,iii4 7b7 ,the righteous never lack their reward1 nor the wicked their punishment4--,,ch4 ,,iv4 7c7 ,the wicked are more unhappy when they accomplish their desires than when they fail to attain them4 7d7 ,evil-doers are more fortunate when they expiate their crimes by suffering punishment than when they escape unpunished4 7e7 ,the wrong-doer is more wretched than he who suffers injury4--,,ch4 ,v4 ,boethius still cannot understand why the distribution of happiness and misery to the righteous and the wicked seems the result of chance4 ,philosophy replies that this only seems so because we do not understand the principles of ,god's moral governance4--,,ch4 ,,vi4 ,the distinction of ,fate and ,providence4 ,the apparent moral confusion is due to our ignorance of the secret counsels of ,god's providence4 ,if we possessed the key1 we should see how all things are guided to good4--,,ch4 ,,vii4 ,thus all fortune is good fortune2 for it either rewards1 disciplines1 amends1 or punishes1 and so is either useful or just4 ,,book ,,iv4 ,i4 ,softly and sweetly ,philosophy sang these verses to the end without losing aught of the dignity of her expression or the seriousness of her tones2 then1 forasmuch as ,i was as yet unable to forget my deeply-seated sorrow1 just as she was about to say something further1 ,i broke in and cried3 ',o thou guide into the way of true light1 all that thy voice hath uttered from the beginning even unto now has manifestly seemed to me at once divine contemplated in itself1 and by the force of thy arguments placed beyond the possibility of overthrow4 ,moreover1 these truths have not been altogether unfamiliar to me heretofore1 though because of indignation at my wrongs they have for a time been forgotten4 ,but1 lo6 herein is the very chiefest cause of my grief--that1 while there exists a good ruler of the universe1 it is possible that evil should be at all1 still more that it should go unpunished4 ,surely thou must see how deservedly this of itself provokes astonishment4 ,but a yet greater marvel follows3 ,while wickedness reigns and flourishes1 virtue not only lacks its reward1 but is even thrust down and trampled under the feet of the wicked1 and suffers punishment in the place of crime4 ,that this should happen under the rule of a ,god who knows all things and can do all things1 but wills only the good1 cannot be sufficiently wondered at nor sufficiently lamented4' ,then said she3 ',it would indeed be infinitely astounding1 and of all monstrous things most horrible1 if1 as thou esteemest1 in the well-ordered home of so great a householder1 the base vessels should be held in honour1 the precious left to neglect4 ,but it is not so4 ,for if we hold unshaken those conclusions which we lately reached1 thou shall learn that1 by the will of ,him of whose realm we are speaking1 the good are always strong1 the bad always weak and impotent2 that vices never go unpunished1 nor virtues unrewarded2 that good fortune ever befalls the good1 and ill fortune the bad1 and much more of the sort1 which shall hush thy murmurings1 and stablish thee in the strong assurance of conviction4 ,and since by my late instructions thou hast seen the form of happiness1 hast learnt1 too1 the seat where it is to be found1 all due preliminaries being discharged1 ,i will now show thee the road which will lead thee home4 ,wings1 also1 will ,i fasten to thy mind wherewith thou mayst soar aloft1 that so1 all disturbing doubts removed1 thou mayst return safe to thy country1 under my guidance1 in the path ,i will show thee1 and by the means which ,i furnish4' ,,song ,i4 ,,the ,,soul',s ,,flight4 ,wings are mine2 above the pole ,far aloft ,i soar4 ,clothed with these1 my nimble soul ,scorns earth's hated shore1 ,cleaves the skies upon the wind1 ,sees the clouds left far behind4 ,soon the glowing point she nears1 ,where the heavens rotate1 ,follows through the starry spheres ,phoebus' course1 or straight ,takes for comrade 'mid the stars ,saturn cold or glittering ,mars2 ,thus each circling orb explores ,through ,night's stole that peers2 ,then1 when all are numbered1 soars ,far beyond the spheres1 ,mounting heaven's supremest height ,to the very ,fount of light4 ,there the ,sovereign of the world ,his calm sway maintains2 ,as the globe is onward whirled ,guides the chariot reins1 ,and in splendour glittering ,reigns the universal ,king4 ,hither if thy wandering feet ,find at last a way1 ,here thy long-lost home thou'lt greet3 ',dear lost land1' thou'lt say1 ',though from thee ,i've wandered wide1 ,hence ,i came1 here will abide4' ,yet if ever thou art fain ,visitant to be ,of earth's gloomy night again1 ,surely thou wilt see ,tyrants whom the nations fear ,dwell in hapless exile here4 ,,ii4 ,then said ,i3 ',verily1 wondrous great are thy promises2 yet ,i do not doubt but thou canst make them good3 only keep me not in suspense after raising such hopes4' ',learn1 then1 first1' said she1 'how that power ever waits upon the good1 while the bad are left wholly destitute of strength4,k ,of these truths the one proves the other2 for since good and evil are contraries1 if it is made plain that good is power1 the feebleness of evil is clearly seen1 and1 conversely1 if the frail nature of evil is made manifest1 the strength of good is thereby known4 ,however1 to win ampler credence for my conclusion1 ,i will pursue both paths1 and draw confirmation for my statements first in one way and then in the other4 ',the carrying out of any human action depends upon two things--to wit1 will and power2 if either be wanting1 nothing can be accomplished4 ,for if the will be lacking1 no attempt at all is made to do what is not willed2 whereas if there be no power1 the will is all in vain4 ,and so1 if thou seest any man wishing to attain some end1 yet utterly failing to attain it1 thou canst not doubt that he lacked the power of getting what he wished for4' ',why1 certainly not2 there is no denying it4' ',canst thou1 then1 doubt that he whom thou seest to have accomplished what he willed had also the power to accomplish it8' ',of course not4' ',then1 in respect of what he can accomplish a man is to be reckoned strong1 in respect of what he cannot accomplish weak8' ',granted1' said ,i4 ',then1 dost thou remember that1 by our former reasonings1 it was concluded that the whole aim of man's will1 though the means of pursuit vary1 is set intently upon happiness8' ',i do remember that this1 too1 was proved4' ',dost thou also call to mind how happiness is absolute good1 and therefore that1 when happiness is sought1 it is good which is in all cases the object of desire8' ',nay1 ,i do not so much call to mind as keep it fixed in my memory4' ',then1 all men1 good and bad alike1 with one indistinguishable purpose strive to reach good8' ',yes1 that follows4' ',but it is certain that by the attainment of good men become good8' ',it is4' ',then1 do the good attain their object8' ',it seems so4' ',but if the bad were to attain the good which is their object1 they could not be bad8' ',no4' ',then1 since both seek good1 but while the one sort attain it1 the other attain it not1 is there any doubt that the good are endued with power1 while they who are bad are weak8' ',if any doubt it1 he is incapable of reflecting on the nature of things1 or the consequences involved in reasoning4' ',again1 supposing there are two things to which the same function is prescribed in the course of nature1 and one of these successfully accomplishes the function by natural action1 the other is altogether incapable of that natural action1 instead of which1 in a way other than is agreeable to its nature1 it--,i will not say fulfils its function1 but feigns to fulfil it3 which of these two would in thy view be the stronger8' ',i guess thy meaning1 but ,i pray thee let me hear thee more at large4' ',walking is man's natural motion1 is it not8' ',certainly4' ',thou dost not doubt1 ,i suppose1 that it is natural for the feet to discharge this function8' ',no2 surely ,i do not4' ',now1 if one man who is able to use his feet walks1 and another to whom the natural use of his feet is wanting tries to walk on his hands1 which of the two wouldst thou rightly esteem the stronger8' ',go on1' said ,i2 'no one can question but that he who has the natural capacity has more strength than he who has it not4' ',now1 the supreme good is set up as the end alike for the bad and for the good2 but the good seek it through the natural action of the virtues1 whereas the bad try to attain this same good through all manner of concupiscence1 which is not the natural way of attaining good4 ,or dost thou think otherwise8' ',nay2 rather1 one further consequence is clear to me3 for from my admissions it must needs follow that the good have power1 and the bad are impotent4' ',thou anticipatest rightly1 and that as physicians reckon is a sign that nature is set working1 and is throwing off the disease4 ,but1 since ,i see thee so ready at understanding1 ,i will heap proof on proof4 ,look how manifest is the extremity of vicious men's weakness2 they cannot even reach that goal to which the aim of nature leads and almost constrains them4 ,what if they were left without this mighty1 this well-nigh irresistible help of nature's guidance6 ,consider also how momentous is the powerlessness which incapacitates the wicked4 ,not light or trivial,l are the prizes which they contend for1 but which they cannot win or hold2 nay1 their failure concerns the very sum and crown of things4 ,poor wretches6 they fail to compass even that for which they toil day and night4 ,herein also the strength of the good conspicuously appears4 ,for just as thou wouldst judge him to be the strongest walker whose legs could carry him to a point beyond which no further advance was possible1 so must thou needs account him strong in power who so attains the end of his desires that nothing further to be desired lies beyond4 ,whence follows the obvious conclusion that they who are wicked are seen likewise to be wholly destitute of strength4 ,for why do they forsake virtue and follow vice8 ,is it from ignorance of what is good8 ,well1 what is more weak and feeble than the blindness of ignorance8 ,do they know what they ought to follow1 but lust drives them aside out of the way8 ,if it be so1 they are still frail by reason of their incontinence1 for they cannot fight against vice4 ,or do they knowingly and wilfully forsake the good and turn aside to vice8 ,why1 at this rate1 they not only cease to have power1 but cease to be at all4 ,for they who forsake the common end of all things that are1 they likewise also cease to be at all4 ,now1 to some it may seem strange that we should assert that the bad1 who form the greater part of mankind1 do not exist4 ,but the fact is so4 ,i do not1 indeed1 deny that they who are bad are bad1 but that they are in an unqualified and absolute sense ,i deny4 ,just as we call a corpse a dead man1 but cannot call it simply man1 so ,i would allow the vicious to be bad1 but that they are in an absolute sense ,i cannot allow4 ,that only is which maintains its place and keeps its nature2 whatever falls away from this forsakes the existence which is essential to its nature4 ,but1 thou wilt say1 the bad have an ability4 ,nor do ,i wish to deny it2 only this ability of theirs comes not from strength1 but from impotence4 ,for their ability is to do evil1 which would have had no efficacy at all if they could have continued in the performance of good4 ,so this ability of theirs proves them still more plainly to have no power4 ,for if1 as we concluded just now1 evil is nothing1 'tis clear that the wicked can effect nothing1 since they are only able to do evil4' '',tis evident4' ',and that thou mayst understand what is the precise force of this power1 we determined1 did we not1 awhile back1 that nothing has more power than supreme good8' ',we did1' said ,i4 ',but that same highest good cannot do evil8' ',certainly not4' ',is there anyone1 then1 who thinks that men are able to do all things8' ',none but a madman4' ',yet they are able to do evil8' ',ay2 would they could not6' ',since1 then1 he who can do only good is omnipotent1 while they who can do evil also are not omnipotent1 it is manifest that they who can do evil have less power4 ,there is this also3 we have shown that all power is to be reckoned among things desirable1 and that all desirable things are referred to good as to a kind of consummation of their nature4 ,but the ability to commit crime cannot be referred to the good2 therefore it is not a thing to be desired4 ,and yet all power is desirable2 it is clear1 then1 that ability to do evil is not power4 ,from all which considerations appeareth the power of the good1 and the indubitable weakness of the bad1 and it is clear that ,plato's judgment was true2 the wise alone are able to do what they would1 while the wicked follow their own hearts' lust1 but can not accomplish what they would4 ,for they go on in their wilfulness fancying they will attain what they wish for in the paths of delight2 but they are very far from its attainment1 since shameful deeds lead not to happiness4' ,,footnotes3 ,k ,the paradoxes in this chapter and chapter iv4 are taken from ,plato's ',gorgias4' ,see ,jowett1 vol4 ii41 pp4 #cdh-cff1 and also pp4 #djj1 #dja 7',gorgias1' #dff-dgi1 and #ejh1 #eji74 ,l ',no trivial game is here2 the strife ,is waged for ,turnus' own dear life4' ,conington4 ,see ,virgil1 neid1' xii4 #gfd1 #gde3 cf4 ',iliad1' xxii4 #aei-afb4 ,,song ,,ii4 ,,the ,,bondage ,,of ,,passion4 ,when high-enthroned the monarch sits1 resplendent in the pride ,of purple robes1 while flashing steel guards him on every side2 ,when baleful terrors on his brow with frowning menace lower1 ,and ,passion shakes his labouring breast--how dreadful seems his power6 ,but if the vesture of his state from such a one thou tear1 ,thou'lt see what load of secret bonds this lord of earth doth wear4 ,lust's poison rankles2 o'er his mind rage sweeps in tempest rude2 ,sorrow his spirit vexes sore1 and empty hopes delude4 ,then thou'lt confess3 one hapless wretch1 whom many lords oppress1 ,does never what he would1 but lives in thraldom's helplessness4 ,,iii4 ',thou seest1 then1 in what foulness unrighteous deeds are sunk1 with what splendour righteousness shines4 ,whereby it is manifest that goodness never lacks its reward1 nor crime its punishment4 ,for1 verily1 in all manner of transactions that for the sake of which the particular action is done may justly be accounted the reward of that action1 even as the wreath for the sake of which the race is run is the reward offered for running4 ,now1 we have shown happiness to be that very good for the sake of which all things are done4 ,absolute good1 then1 is offered as the common prize1 as it were1 of all human actions4 ,but1 truly1 this is a reward from which it is impossible to separate the good man1 for one who is without good cannot properly be called good at all2 wherefore righteous dealing never misses its reward4 ,rage the wicked1 then1 never so violently1 the crown shall not fall from the head of the wise1 nor wither4 ,verily1 other men's unrighteousness cannot pluck from righteous souls their proper glory4 ,were the reward in which the soul of the righteous delighteth received from without1 then might it be taken away by him who gave it1 or some other2 but since it is conferred by his own righteousness1 then only will he lose his prize when he has ceased to be righteous4 ,lastly1 since every prize is desired because it is believed to be good1 who can account him who possesses good to be without reward8 ,and what a prize1 the fairest and grandest of all6 ,for remember the corollary which ,i chiefly insisted on a little while back1 and reason thus3 ,since absolute good is happiness1 'tis clear that all the good must be happy for the very reason that they are good4 ,but it was agreed that those who are happy are gods4 ,so1 then1 the prize of the good is one which no time may impair1 no man's power lessen1 no man's unrighteousness tarnish2 'tis very ,godship4 ,and this being so1 the wise man cannot doubt that punishment is inseparable from the bad4 ,for since good and bad1 and likewise reward and punishment1 are contraries1 it necessarily follows that1 corresponding to all that we see accrue as reward of the good1 there is some penalty attached as punishment of evil4 ,as1 then1 righteousness itself is the reward of the righteous1 so wickedness itself is the punishment of the unrighteous4 ,now1 no one who is visited with punishment doubts that he is visited with evil4 ,accordingly1 if they were but willing to weigh their own case1 could they think themselves free from punishment whom wickedness1 worst of all evils1 has not only touched1 but deeply tainted8 ',see1 also1 from the opposite standpoint--the standpoint of the good--what a penalty attends upon the wicked4 ,thou didst learn a little since that whatever is is one1 and that unity itself is good4 ,accordingly1 by this way of reckoning1 whatever falls away from goodness ceases to be2 whence it comes to pass that the bad cease to be what they were1 while only the outward aspect is still left to show they have been men4 ,wherefore1 by their perversion to badness1 they have lost their true human nature4 ,further1 since righteousness alone can raise men above the level of humanity1 it must needs be that unrighteousness degrades below man's level those whom it has cast out of man's estate4 ,it results1 then1 that thou canst not consider him human whom thou seest transformed by vice4 ,the violent despoiler of other men's goods1 enflamed with covetousness1 surely resembles a wolf4 ,a bold and restless spirit1 ever wrangling in law-courts1 is like some yelping cur4 ,the secret schemer1 taking pleasure in fraud and stealth1 is own brother to the fox4 ,the passionate man1 phrenzied with rage1 we might believe to be animated with the soul of a lion4 ,the coward and runaway1 afraid where no fear is1 may be likened to the timid deer4 ,he who is sunk in ignorance and stupidity lives like a dull ass4 ,he who is light and inconstant1 never holding long to one thing1 is for all the world like a bird4 ,he who wallows in foul and unclean lusts is sunk in the pleasures of a filthy hog4 ,so it comes to pass that he who by forsaking righteousness ceases to be a man cannot pass into a ,godlike condition1 but actually turns into a brute beast4' ,,song ,,iii4 ,,circe',s ,,cup4 ,th' ,ithacan discreet1 ,and all his storm-tossed fleet1 ,far o'er the ocean wave ,the winds of heaven drave-- ,drave to the mystic isle1 ,where dwelleth in her guile ,that fair and faithless one1 ,the daughter of the ,sun4 ,there for the stranger crew ,with cunning spells she knew ,to mix th' enchanted cup4 ,for whoso drinks it up1 ,must suffer hideous change ,to monstrous shapes and strange4 ,one like a boar appears2 ,this his huge form uprears1 ,mighty in bulk and limb-- ,an ,afric lion--grim ,with claw and fang4 ,confessed ,a wolf1 this1 sore distressed ,when he would weep1 doth howl2 ,and1 strangely tame1 these prowl ,the ,indian tiger's mates4 ,and though in such sore straits1 ,the pity of the god ,who bears the mystic rod ,had power the chieftain brave ,from her fell arts to save2 ,his comrades1 unrestrained1 ,the fatal goblet drained4 ,all now with low-bent head1 ,like swine1 on acorns fed2 ,man's speech and form were reft1 ,no human feature left2 ,but steadfast still1 the mind1 ,unaltered1 unresigned1 ,the monstrous change bewailed4 ,how little1 then1 availed ,the potencies of ill6 ,these herbs1 this baneful skill1 ,may change each outward part1 ,but cannot touch the heart4 ,in its true home1 deep-set1 ,man's spirit liveth yet4 ,those poisons are more fell1 ,more potent to expel ,man from his high estate1 ,which subtly penetrate1 ,and leave the body whole1 ,but deep infect the soul4 ,,iv4 ,then said ,i3 ',this is very true4 ,i see that the vicious1 though they keep the outward form of man1 are rightly said to be changed into beasts in respect of their spiritual nature2 but1 inasmuch as their cruel and polluted minds vent their rage in the destruction of the good1 ,i would this license were not permitted to them4' ',nor is it1' said she1 'as shall be shown in the fitting place4 ,yet if that license which thou believest to be permitted to them were taken away1 the punishment of the wicked would be in great part remitted4 ,for verily1 incredible as it may seem to some1 it needs must be that the bad are more unfortunate when they have accomplished their desires than if they are unable to get them fulfilled4 ,if it is wretched to will evil1 to have been able to accomplish evil is more wretched2 for without the power the wretched will would fail of effect4 ,accordingly1 those whom thou seest to will1 to be able to accomplish1 and to accomplish crime1 must needs be the victims of a threefold wretchedness1 since each one of these states has its own measure of wretchedness4' ',yes1' said ,i2 'yet ,i earnestly wish they might speedily be quit of this misfortune by losing the ability to accomplish crime4' ',they will lose it1' said she1 'sooner than perchance thou wishest1 or they themselves think likely2 since1 verily1 within the narrow bounds of our brief life there is nothing so late in coming that anyone1 least of all an immortal spirit1 should deem it long to wait for4 ,their great expectations1 the lofty fabric of their crimes1 is oft overthrown by a sudden and unlooked-for ending1 and this but sets a limit to their misery4 ,for if wickedness makes men wretched1 he is necessarily more wretched who is wicked for a longer time2 and were it not that death1 at all events1 puts an end to the evil doings of the wicked1 ,i should account them wretched to the last degree4 ,indeed1 if we have formed true conclusions about the ill fortune of wickedness1 that wretchedness is plainly infinite which is doomed to be eternal4' ,then said ,i3 ',a wonderful inference1 and difficult to grant2 but ,i see that it agrees entirely with our previous conclusions4' ',thou art right1' said she2 'but if anyone finds it hard to admit the conclusion1 he ought in fairness either to prove some falsity in the premises1 or to show that the combination of propositions does not adequately enforce the necessity of the conclusion2 otherwise1 if the premises be granted1 nothing whatever can be said against the inference of the conclusion4 ,and here is another statement which seems not less wonderful1 but on the premises assumed is equally necessary4' ',what is that8' ',the wicked are happier in undergoing punishment than if no penalty of justice chasten them4 ,and ,i am not now meaning what might occur to anyone--that bad character is amended by retribution1 and is brought into the right path by the terror of punishment1 or that it serves as an example to warn others to avoid transgression2 but ,i believe that in another way the wicked are more unfortunate when they go unpunished1 even though no account be taken of amendment1 and no regard be paid to example4' ',why1 what other way is there beside these8' said ,i4 ,then said she3 ',have we not agreed that the good are happy1 and the evil wretched8' ',yes1' said ,i4 ',now1 if1' said she1 'to one in affliction there be given along with his misery some good thing1 is he not happier than one whose misery is misery pure and simple without admixture of any good8' ',it would seem so4' ',but if to one thus wretched1 one destitute of all good1 some further evil be added besides those which make him wretched1 is he not to be judged far more unhappy than he whose ill fortune is alleviated by some share of good8' ',it could scarcely be otherwise4' ',surely1 then1 the wicked1 when they are punished1 have a good thing added to them--to wit1 the punishment which by the law of justice is good2 and likewise1 when they escape punishment1 a new evil attaches to them in that very freedom from punishment which thou hast rightly acknowledged to be an evil in the case of the unrighteous4' ',i cannot deny it4' ',then1 the wicked are far more unhappy when indulged with an unjust freedom from punishment than when punished by a just retribution4 ,now1 it is manifest that it is just for the wicked to be punished1 and for them to escape unpunished is unjust4' ',why1 who would venture to deny it8' ',this1 too1 no one can possibly deny--that all which is just is good1 and1 conversely1 all which is unjust is bad4' ,then ,i answered3 ',these inferences do indeed follow from what we lately concluded2 but tell me1' said ,i1 'dost thou take no account of the punishment of the soul after the death of the body8' ',nay1 truly1' said she1 'great are these penalties1 some of them inflicted1 ,i imagine1 in the severity of retribution1 others in the mercy of purification4 ,but it is not my present purpose to speak of these4 ,so far1 my aim hath been to make thee recognise that the power of the bad which shocked thee so exceedingly is no power2 to make thee see that those of whose freedom from punishment thou didst complain are never without the proper penalties of their unrighteousness2 to teach thee that the license which thou prayedst might soon come to an end is not long-enduring2 that it would be more unhappy if it lasted longer1 most unhappy of all if it lasted for ever2 thereafter that the unrighteous are more wretched if unjustly let go without punishment than if punished by a just retribution--from which point of view it follows that the wicked are afflicted with more severe penalties just when they are supposed to escape punishment4' ,then said ,i3 ',while ,i follow thy reasonings1 ,i am deeply impressed with their truth2 but if ,i turn to the common convictions of men1 ,i find few who will even listen to such arguments1 let alone admit them to be credible4' ',true1' said she2 'they cannot lift eyes accustomed to darkness to the light of clear truth1 and are like those birds whose vision night illumines and day blinds2 for while they regard1 not the order of the universe1 but their own dispositions of mind1 they think the license to commit crime1 and the escape from punishment1 to be fortunate4 ,but mark the ordinance of eternal law4 ,hast thou fashioned thy soul to the likeness of the better1 thou hast no need of a judge to award the prize--by thine own act hast thou raised thyself in the scale of excellence2 hast thou perverted thy affections to baser things1 look not for punishment from one without thee--thine own act hath degraded thee1 and thrust thee down4 ,even so1 if alternately thou turn thy gaze upon the vile earth and upon the heavens1 though all without thee stand still1 by the mere laws of sight thou seemest now sunk in the mire1 now soaring among the stars4 ,but the common herd regards not these things4 ,what1 then8 ,shall we go over to those whom we have shown to be like brute beasts8 ,why1 suppose1 now1 one who had quite lost his sight should likewise forget that he had ever possessed the faculty of vision1 and should imagine that nothing was wanting in him to human perfection1 should we deem those who saw as well as ever blind8 ,why1 they will not even assent to this1 either--that they who do wrong are more wretched than those who suffer wrong1 though the proof of this rests on grounds of reason no less strong4' ',let me hear these same reasons1' said ,i4 ',wouldst thou deny that every wicked man deserves punishment8' ',i would not1 certainly4' ',and that those who are wicked are unhappy is clear in manifold ways8' ',yes1' ,i replied4 ',thou dost not doubt1 then1 that those who deserve punishment are wretched8' ',agreed1' said ,i4 ',so1 then1 if thou wert sitting in judgment1 on whom wouldst thou decree the infliction of punishment--on him who had done the wrong1 or on him who had suffered it8' ',without doubt1 ,i would compensate the sufferer at the cost of the doer of the wrong4' ',then1 the injurer would seem more wretched than the injured8' ',yes2 it follows4 ,and so for this and other reasons resting on the same ground1 inasmuch as baseness of its own nature makes men wretched1 it is plain that a wrong involves the misery of the doer1 not of the sufferer4' ',and yet1' says she1 'the practice of the law-courts is just the opposite3 advocates try to arouse the commiseration of the judges for those who have endured some grievous and cruel wrong2 whereas pity is rather due to the criminal1 who ought to be brought to the judgment-seat by his accusers in a spirit not of anger1 but of compassion and kindness1 as a sick man to the physician1 to have the ulcer of his fault cut away by punishment4 ,whereby the business of the advocate would either wholly come to a standstill1 or1 did men prefer to make it serviceable to mankind1 would be restricted to the practice of accusation4 ,the wicked themselves also1 if through some chink or cranny they were permitted to behold the virtue they have forsaken1 and were to see that by the pains of punishment they would rid themselves of the uncleanness of their vices1 and win in exchange the recompense of righteousness1 they would no longer think these sufferings pains2 they would refuse the help of advocates1 and would commit themselves wholly into the hands of their accusers and judges4 ,whence it comes to pass that for the wise no place is left for hatred2 only the most foolish would hate the good1 and to hate the bad is unreasonable4 ,for if vicious propensity is1 as it were1 a disease of the soul like bodily sickness1 even as we account the sick in body by no means deserving of hate1 but rather of pity1 so1 and much more1 should they be pitied whose minds are assailed by wickedness1 which is more frightful than any sickness4' ,,song ,,iv4 ,,the ,,unreasonableness ,,of ,,hatred4 ,why all this furious strife8 ,oh1 why ,with rash and wilful hand provoke death's destined day8 ,if death ye seek--lo6 ,death is nigh1 ,not of their master's will those coursers swift delay6 ,the wild beasts vent on man their rage1 ,yet 'gainst their brothers' lives men point the murderous steel2 ,unjust and cruel wars they wage1 ,and haste with flying darts the death to meet or deal4 ,no right nor reason can they show2 ',tis but because their lands and laws are not the same4 ,wouldst thou give each his due2 then know ,thy love the good must have1 the bad thy pity claim4 ,v4 ,on this ,i said3 ',i see how there is a happiness and misery founded on the actual deserts of the righteous and the wicked4 ,nevertheless1 ,i wonder in myself whether there is not some good and evil in fortune as the vulgar understand it4 ,surely1 no sensible man would rather be exiled1 poor and disgraced1 than dwell prosperously in his own country1 powerful1 wealthy1 and high in honour4 ,indeed1 the work of wisdom is more clear and manifest in its operation when the happiness of rulers is somehow passed on to the people around them1 especially considering that the prison1 the law1 and the other pains of legal punishment are properly due only to mischievous citizens on whose account they were originally instituted4 ,accordingly1 ,i do exceedingly marvel why all this is completely reversed--why the good are harassed with the penalties due to crime1 and the bad carry off the rewards of virtue2 and ,i long to hear from thee what reason may be found for so unjust a state of disorder4 ,for assuredly ,i should wonder less if ,i could believe that all things are the confused result of chance4 ,but now my belief in ,god's governance doth add amazement to amazement4 ,for1 seeing that ,he sometimes assigns fair fortune to the good and harsh fortune to the bad1 and then again deals harshly with the good1 and grants to the bad their hearts' desire1 how does this differ from chance1 unless some reason is discovered for it all8' ',nay2 it is not wonderful1' said she1 'if all should be thought random and confused when the principle of order is not known4 ,and though thou knowest not the causes on which this great system depends1 yet forasmuch as a good ruler governs the world1 doubt not for thy part that all is rightly done4' ,,song ,v4 ,,wonder ,,and ,,ignorance4 ,who knoweth not how near the pole ,bootes' course doth go1 ,must marvel by what heavenly law ,he moves his ,wain so slow2 ,why late he plunges 'neath the main1 ,and swiftly lights his beams again4 ,when the full-orbd moon grows pale ,in the mid course of night1 ,and suddenly the stars shine forth ,that languished in her light1 ,th' astonied nations stand at gaze1 ,and beat the air in wild amaze4,m ,none marvels why upon the shore ,the storm-lashed breakers beat1 ,nor why the frost-bound glaciers melt ,at summer's fervent heat2 ,for here the cause seems plain and clear1 ,only what's dark and hid we fear4 ,weak-minded folly magnifies ,all that is rare and strange1 ,and the dull herd's o'erwhelmed with awe ,at unexpected change4 ,but wonder leaves enlightened minds1 ,when ignorance no longer blinds4 ,,footnotes3 ,m ,to frighten away the monster swallowing the moon4 ,the superstition was once common4 ,see ,tylor's ',primitive ,culture1' pp4 #bif-cjb4 ,,vi4 ',true1' said ,i2 'but1 since it is thy office to unfold the hidden cause of things1 and explain principles veiled in darkness1 inform me1 ,i pray thee1 of thine own conclusions in this matter1 since the marvel of it is what more than aught else disturbs my mind4' ,a smile played one moment upon her lips as she replied3 ',thou callest me to the greatest of all subjects of inquiry1 a task for which the most exhaustive treatment barely suffices4 ,such is its nature that1 as fast as one doubt is cut away1 innumerable others spring up like ,hydra's heads1 nor could we set any limit to their renewal did we not apply the mind's living fire to suppress them4 ,for there come within its scope the questions of the essential simplicity of providence1 of the order of fate1 of unforeseen chance1 of the ,divine knowledge and predestination1 and of the freedom of the will4 ,how heavy is the weight of all this thou canst judge for thyself4 ,but1 inasmuch as to know these things also is part of the treatment of thy malady1 we will try to give them some consideration1 despite the restrictions of the narrow limits of our time4 ,moreover1 thou must for a time dispense with the pleasures of music and song1 if so be that thou findest any delight therein1 whilst ,i weave together the connected train of reasons in proper order4' ',as thou wilt1' said ,i4 ,then1 as if making a new beginning1 she thus discoursed3 ',the coming into being of all things1 the whole course of development in things that change1 every sort of thing that moves in any wise1 receives its due cause1 order1 and form from the steadfastness of the ,divine mind4 ,this mind1 calm in the citadel of its own essential simplicity1 has decreed that the method of its rule shall be manifold4 ,viewed in the very purity of the ,divine intelligence1 this method is called providence2 but viewed in regard to those things which it moves and disposes1 it is what the ancients called fate4 ,that these two are different will easily be clear to anyone who passes in review their respective efficacies4 ,providence is the ,divine reason itself1 seated in the ,supreme ,being1 which disposes all things2 fate is the disposition inherent in all things which move1 through which providence joins all things in their proper order4 ,providence embraces all things1 however different1 however infinite2 fate sets in motion separately individual things1 and assigns to them severally their position1 form1 and time4 ',so the unfolding of this temporal order unified into the foreview of the ,divine mind is providence1 while the same unity broken up and unfolded in time is fate4 ,and although these are different1 yet is there a dependence between them2 for the order of destiny issues from the essential simplicity of providence4 ,for as the artificer1 forming in his mind beforehand the idea of the thing to be made1 carries out his design1 and develops from moment to moment what he had before seen in a single instant as a whole1 so ,god in ,his providence ordains all things as parts of a single unchanging whole1 but carries out these very ordinances by fate in a time of manifold unity4 ,so whether fate is accomplished by ,divine spirits as the ministers of providence1 or by a soul1 or by the service of all nature--whether by the celestial motion of the stars1 by the efficacy of angels1 or by the many-sided cunning of demons--whether by all or by some of these the destined series is woven1 this1 at least1 is manifest3 that providence is the fixed and simple form of destined events1 fate their shifting series in order of time1 as by the disposal of the ,divine simplicity they are to take place4 ,whereby it is that all things which are under fate are subjected also to providence1 on which fate itself is dependent2 whereas certain things which are set under providence are above the chain of fate--viz41 those things which by their nearness to the primal ,divinity are steadfastly fixed1 and lie outside the order of fate's movements4 ,for as the innermost of several circles revolving round the same centre approaches the simplicity of the midmost point1 and is1 as it were1 a pivot round which the exterior circles turn1 while the outermost1 whirled in ampler orbit1 takes in a wider and wider sweep of space in proportion to its departure from the indivisible unity of the centre--while1 further1 whatever joins and allies itself to the centre is narrowed to a like simplicity1 and no longer expands vaguely into space--even so whatsoever departs widely from primal mind is involved more deeply in the meshes of fate1 and things are free from fate in proportion as they seek to come nearer to that central pivot2 while if aught cleaves close to supreme mind in its absolute fixity1 this1 too1 being free from movement1 rises above fate's necessity4 ,therefore1 as is reasoning to pure intelligence1 as that which is generated to that which is1 time to eternity1 a circle to its centre1 so is the shifting series of fate to the steadfastness and simplicity of providence4 ',it is this causal series which moves heaven and the stars1 attempers the elements to mutual accord1 and again in turn transforms them into new combinations2 this which renews the series of all things that are born and die through like successions of germ and birth2 it is its operation which binds the destinies of men by an indissoluble nexus of causality1 and1 since it issues in the beginning from unalterable providence1 these destinies also must of necessity be immutable4 ,accordingly1 the world is ruled for the best if this unity abiding in the ,divine mind puts forth an inflexible order of causes4 ,and this order1 by its intrinsic immutability1 restricts things mutable which otherwise would ebb and flow at random4 ,and so it happens that1 although to you1 who are not altogether capable of understanding this order1 all things seem confused and disordered1 nevertheless there is everywhere an appointed limit which guides all things to good4 ,verily1 nothing can be done for the sake of evil even by the wicked themselves2 for1 as we abundantly proved1 they seek good1 but are drawn out of the way by perverse error2 far less can this order which sets out from the supreme centre of good turn aside anywhither from the way in which it began4 ',yet what confusion1 thou wilt say1 can be more unrighteous than that prosperity and adversity should indifferently befall the good1 what they like and what they loathe come alternately to the bad6 ,yes2 but have men in real life such soundness of mind that their judgments of righteousness and wickedness must necessarily correspond with facts8 ,why1 on this very point their verdicts conflict1 and those whom some deem worthy of reward1 others deem worthy of punishment4 ,yet granted there were one who could rightly distinguish the good and bad1 yet would he be able to look into the soul's inmost constitution1 as it were1 if we may borrow an expression used of the body8 ,the marvel here is not unlike that which astonishes one who does not know why in health sweet things suit some constitutions1 and bitter others1 or why some sick men are best alleviated by mild remedies1 others by severe4 ,but the physician who distinguishes the precise conditions and characteristics of health and sickness does not marvel4 ,now1 the health of the soul is nothing but righteousness1 and vice is its sickness4 ,god1 the guide and physician of the mind1 it is who preserves the good and banishes the bad4 ,and ,he looks forth from the lofty watch-tower of ,his providence1 perceives what is suited to each1 and assigns what ,he knows to be suitable4 ',this1 then1 is what that extraordinary mystery of the order of destiny comes to--that something is done by one who knows1 whereat the ignorant are astonished4 ,but let us consider a few instances whereby appears what is the competency of human reason to fathom the ,divine unsearchableness4 ,here is one whom thou deemest the perfection of justice and scrupulous integrity2 to all-knowing ,providence it seems far otherwise4 ,we all know our ,lucan's admonition that it was the winning cause that found favour with the gods1 the beaten cause with ,cato4 ,so1 shouldst thou see anything in this world happening differently from thy expectation1 doubt not but events are rightly ordered2 it is in thy judgment that there is perverse confusion4 ',grant1 however1 there be somewhere found one of so happy a character that ,god and man alike agree in their judgments about him2 yet is he somewhat infirm in strength of mind4 ,it may be1 if he fall into adversity1 he will cease to practise that innocency which has failed to secure his fortune4 ,therefore1 ,god's wise dispensation spares him whom adversity might make worse1 will not let him suffer who is ill fitted for endurance4 ,another there is perfect in all virtue1 so holy and nigh to ,god that providence judges it unlawful that aught untoward should befall him2 nay1 doth not even permit him to be afflicted with bodily disease4 ,as one more excellent than ,i,n hath said3 ',the very body of the holy saint ,is built of purest ether4 ,often it happens that the governance is given to the good that a restraint may be put upon superfluity of wickedness4 ,to others providence assigns some mixed lot suited to their spiritual nature2 some it will plague lest they grow rank through long prosperity2 others it will suffer to be vexed with sore afflictions to confirm their virtues by the exercise and practice of patience4 ,some fear overmuch what they have strength to bear2 others despise overmuch that to which their strength is unequal4 ,all these it brings to the test of their true self through misfortune4 ,some also have bought a name revered to future ages at the price of a glorious death2 some by invincible constancy under their sufferings have afforded an example to others that virtue cannot be overcome by calamity--all which things1 without doubt1 come to pass rightly and in due order1 and to the benefit of those to whom they are seen to happen4 ',as to the other side of the marvel1 that the bad now meet with affliction1 now get their hearts' desire1 this1 too1 springs from the same causes4 ,as to the afflictions1 of course no one marvels1 because all hold the wicked to be ill deserving4 ,the truth is1 their punishments both frighten others from crime1 and amend those on whom they are inflicted2 while their prosperity is a powerful sermon to the good1 what judgments they ought to pass on good fortune of this kind1 which often attends the wicked so assiduously4 ',there is another object which may1 ,i believe1 be attained in such cases3 there is one1 perhaps1 whose nature is so reckless and violent that poverty would drive him more desperately into crime4 ,his disorder providence relieves by allowing him to amass money4 ,such a one1 in the uneasiness of a conscience stained with guilt1 while he contrasts his character with his fortune1 perchance grows alarmed lest he should come to mourn the loss of that whose possession is so pleasant to him4 ,he will1 then1 reform his ways1 and through the fear of losing his fortune he forsakes his iniquity4 ,some1 through a prosperity unworthily borne1 have been hurled headlong to ruin2 to some the power of the sword has been committed1 to the end that the good may be tried by discipline1 and the bad punished4 ,for while there can be no peace between the righteous and the wicked1 neither can the wicked agree among themselves4 ,how should they1 when each is at variance with himself1 because his vices rend his conscience1 and ofttimes they do things which1 when they are done1 they judge ought not to have been done4 ,hence it is that this supreme providence brings to pass this notable marvel--that the bad make the bad good4 ,for some1 when they see the injustice which they themselves suffer at the hands of evil-doers1 are inflamed with detestation of the offenders1 and1 in the endeavour to be unlike those whom they hate1 return to the ways of virtue4 ,it is the ,divine power alone to which things evil are also good1 in that1 by putting them to suitable use1 it bringeth them in the end to some good issue4 ,for order in some way or other embraceth all things1 so that even that which has departed from the appointed laws of the order1 nevertheless falleth within an order1 though another order1 that nothing in the realm of providence may be left to haphazard4 ,but ',hard were the task1 as a god1 to recount all1 nothing omitting4 ,nor1 truly1 is it lawful for man to compass in thought all the mechanism of the ,divine work1 or set it forth in speech4 ,let us be content to have apprehended this only--that ,god1 the creator of universal nature1 likewise disposeth all things1 and guides them to good2 and while ,he studies to preserve in likeness to ,himself all that ,he has created1 ,he banishes all evil from the borders of ,his commonweal through the links of fatal necessity4 ,whereby it comes to pass that1 if thou look to disposing providence1 thou wilt nowhere find the evils which are believed so to abound on earth4 ',but ,i see thou hast long been burdened with the weight of the subject1 and fatigued with the prolixity of the argument1 and now lookest for some refreshment of sweet poesy4 ,listen1 then1 and may the draught so restore thee that thou wilt bend thy mind more resolutely to what remains4' ,,footnotes3 ,n ,parmenides4 ,boethius seems to forget for the moment that ,philosophy is speaking4 ,,song ,,vi4 ,,the ,,universal ,,aim4 ,wouldst thou with unclouded mind ,view the laws by ,god designed1 ,lift thy steadfast gaze on high ,to the starry canopy2 ,see in rightful league of love ,all the constellations move4 ,fiery ,sol1 in full career1 ,ne'er obstructs cold ,phoebe's sphere2 ,when the ,bear1 at heaven's height1 ,wheels his coursers' rapid flight1 ,though he sees the starry train ,sinking in the western main1 ,he repines not1 nor desires ,in the flood to quench his fires4 ,in true sequence1 as decreed1 ,daily morn and eve succeed2 ,vesper brings the shades of night1 ,lucifer the morning light4 ,love1 in alternation due1 ,still the cycle doth renew1 ,and discordant strife is driven ,from the starry realm of heaven4 ,thus1 in wondrous amity1 ,warring elements agree2 ,hot and cold1 and moist and dry1 ,lay their ancient quarrel by2 ,high the flickering flame ascends1 ,downward earth for ever tends4 ,so the year in spring's mild hours ,loads the air with scent of flowers2 ,summer paints the golden grain2 ,then1 when autumn comes again1 ,bright with fruit the orchards glow2 ,winter brings the rain and snow4 ,thus the seasons' fixed progression1 ,tempered in a due succession1 ,nourishes and brings to birth ,all that lives and breathes on earth4 ,then1 soon run life's little day1 ,all it brought it takes away4 ,but ,one sits and guides the reins1 ,he who made and all sustains2 ,king and ,lord and ,fountain-head1 ,judge most holy1 ,law most dread2 ,now impels and now keeps back1 ,holds each waverer in the track4 ,else1 were once the power withheld ,that the circling spheres compelled ,in their orbits to revolve1 ,this world's order would dissolve1 ,and th' harmonious whole would all ,in one hideous ruin fall4 ,but through this connected frame ,runs one universal aim2 ,towards the ,good do all things tend1 ,many paths1 but one the end4 ,for naught lasts1 unless it turns ,backward in its course1 and yearns ,to that ,source to flow again ,whence its being first was ta'en4 ,,vii4 ',dost thou1 then1 see the consequence of all that we have said8' ',nay2 what consequence8' ',that absolutely every fortune is good fortune4' ',and how can that be8' said ,i4 ',attend1' said she4 ',since every fortune1 welcome and unwelcome alike1 has for its object the reward or trial of the good1 and the punishing or amending of the bad1 every fortune must be good1 since it is either just or useful4' ',the reasoning is exceeding true1' said ,i1 'the conclusion1 so long as ,i reflect upon the providence and fate of which thou hast taught me1 based on a strong foundation4 ,yet1 with thy leave1 we will count it among those which just now thou didst set down as paradoxical4' ',and why so8' said she4 ',because ordinary speech is apt to assert1 and that frequently1 that some men's fortune is bad4' ',shall we1 then1 for awhile approach more nearly to the language of the vulgar1 that we may not seem to have departed too far from the usages of men8' ',at thy good pleasure1' said ,i4 ',that which advantageth thou callest good1 dost thou not8' ',certainly4' ',and that which either tries or amends advantageth8' ',granted4' ',is good1 then8' ',of course4' ',well1 this is their case who have attained virtue and wage war with adversity1 or turn from vice and lay hold on the path of virtue4' ',i cannot deny it4' ',what of the good fortune which is given as reward of the good--do the vulgar adjudge it bad8' ',anything but that2 they deem it to be the best1 as indeed it is4' ',what1 then1 of that which remains1 which1 though it is harsh1 puts the restraint of just punishment on the bad--does popular opinion deem it good8' ',nay2 of all that can be imagined1 it is accounted the most miserable4' ',observe1 then1 if1 in following popular opinion1 we have not ended in a conclusion quite paradoxical4' ',how so8' said ,i4 ',why1 it results from our admissions that of all who have attained1 or are advancing in1 or are aiming at virtue1 the fortune is in every case good1 while for those who remain in their wickedness fortune is always utterly bad4' ',it is true1' said ,i2 'yet no one dare acknowledge it4' ',wherefore1' said she1 'the wise man ought not to take it ill1 if ever he is involved in one of fortune's conflicts1 any more than it becomes a brave soldier to be offended when at any time the trumpet sounds for battle4 ,the time of trial is the express opportunity for the one to win glory1 for the other to perfect his wisdom4 ,hence1 indeed1 virtue gets its name1 because1 relying on its own efficacy1 it yieldeth not to adversity4 ,and ye who have taken your stand on virtue's steep ascent1 it is not for you to be dissolved in delights or enfeebled by pleasure2 ye close in conflict--yea1 in conflict most sharp--with all fortune's vicissitudes1 lest ye suffer foul fortune to overwhelm or fair fortune to corrupt you4 ,hold the mean with all your strength4 ,whatever falls short of this1 or goes beyond1 is fraught with scorn of happiness1 and misses the reward of toil4 ,it rests with you to make your fortune what you will4 ,verily1 every harsh-seeming fortune1 unless it either disciplines or amends1 is punishment4' ,,song ,,vii4 ,,the ,,hero',s ,,path4 ,ten years a tedious warfare raged1 ,ere ,ilium's smoking ruins paid ,for wedlock stained and faith betrayed1 ,and great ,atrides' wrath assuaged4 ,but when heaven's anger asked a life1 ,and baffling winds his course withstood1 ,the king put off his fatherhood1 ,and slew his child with priestly knife4 ,when by the cavern's glimmering light ,his comrades dear ,odysseus saw ,in the huge ,cyclops' hideous maw ,engulfed1 he wept the piteous sight4 ,but blinded soon1 and wild with pain-- ,in bitter tears and sore annoy-- ,for that foul feast's unholy joy ,grim ,polyphemus paid again4 ,his labours for ,alcides win ,a name of glory far and wide2 ,he tamed the ,centaur's haughty pride1 ,and from the lion reft his skin4 ,the foul birds with sure darts he slew2 ,the golden fruit he stole--in vain ,the dragon's watch2 with triple chain ,from hell's depths ,cerberus he drew4 ,with their fierce lord's own flesh he fed ,the wild steeds2 ,hydra overcame ,with fire4 ',neath his own waves in shame ,maimed ,achelous hid his head4 ,huge ,cacus for his crimes was slain2 ,on ,libya's sands ,antus hurled2 ,the shoulders that upheld the world ,the great boar's dribbled spume did stain4 ,last toil of all--his might sustained ,the ball of heaven1 nor did he bend ,beneath2 this toil1 his labour's end1 ,the prize of heaven's high glory gained4 ,brave hearts1 press on6 ,lo1 heavenward lead ,these bright examples6 ,from the fight ,turn not your backs in coward flight2 ,earth's conflict won1 the stars your meed6 ,,book ,v4 ,,free ,,will ,,and ,,god',s ,,foreknowledge4 ,,summary4 ,,ch4 ,i4 ,boethius asks if there is really any such thing as chance4 ,philosophy answers1 in conformity with ,aristotle's definition 7,phys41 ,,ii4 iv471 that chance is merely relative to human purpose1 and that what seems fortuitous really depends on a more subtle form of causation4--,,ch4 ,,ii4 ,has man1 then1 any freedom1 if the reign of law is thus absolute8 ,freedom of choice1 replies ,philosophy1 is a necessary attribute of reason4 ,man has a measure of freedom1 though a less perfect freedom than divine natures4--,,ch4 ,,iii4 ,but how can man's freedom be reconciled with ,god's absolute foreknowledge8 ,if ,god's foreknowledge be certain1 it seems to exclude the possibility of man's free will4 ,but if man has no freedom of choice1 it follows that rewards and punishments are unjust as well as useless2 that merit and demerit are mere names2 that ,god is the cause of men's wickednesses2 that prayer is meaningless4--,,ch4 ,,iv4 ,the explanation is that man's reasoning faculties are not adequate to the apprehension of the ways of ,god's foreknowledge4 ,if we could know1 as ,he knows1 all that is most perplexing in this problem would be made plain4 ,for knowledge depends not on the nature of the thing known1 but on the faculty of the knower4--,,ch4 ,v4 ,now1 where our senses conflict with our reason1 we defer the judgment of the lower faculty to the judgment of the higher4 ,our present perplexity arises from our viewing ,god's foreknowledge from the standpoint of human reason4 ,we must try and rise to the higher standpoint of ,god's immediate intuition4--,,ch4 ,,vi4 ,to understand this higher form of cognition1 we must consider ,god's nature4 ,god is eternal4 ,eternity is more than mere everlasting duration4 ,accordingly1 ,his knowledge surveys past and future in the timelessness of an eternal present4 ,his foreseeing is seeing4 ,yet this foreseeing does not in itself impose necessity1 any more than our seeing things happen makes their happening necessary4 ,we may1 however1 if we please1 distinguish two necessities--one absolute1 the other conditional on knowledge4 ,in this conditional sense alone do the things which ,god foresees necessarily come to pass4 ,but this kind of necessity affects not the nature of things4 ,it leaves the reality of free will unimpaired1 and the evils feared do not ensue4 ,our responsibility is great1 since all that we do is done in the sight of all-seeing ,providence4 ,,book ,v4 ,i4 ,she ceased1 and was about to pass on in her discourse to the exposition of other matters1 when ,i break in and say3 ',excellent is thine exhortation1 and such as well beseemeth thy high authority2 but ,i am even now experiencing one of the many difficulties which1 as thou saidst but now1 beset the question of providence4 ,i want to know whether thou deemest that there is any such thing as chance at all1 and1 if so1 what it is4' ,then she made answer3 ',i am anxious to fulfil my promise completely1 and open to thee a way of return to thy native land4 ,as for these matters1 though very useful to know1 they are yet a little removed from the path of our design1 and ,i fear lest digressions should fatigue thee1 and thou shouldst find thyself unequal to completing the direct journey to our goal4' ',have no fear for that1' said ,i4 ',it is rest to me to learn1 where learning brings delight so exquisite1 especially when thy argument has been built up on all sides with undoubted conviction1 and no place is left for uncertainty in what follows4' ,she made answer3 ',i will accede to thy request2' and forthwith she thus began3 ',if chance be defined as a result produced by random movement without any link of causal connection1 ,i roundly affirm that there is no such thing as chance at all1 and consider the word to be altogether without meaning1 except as a symbol of the thing designated4 ,what place can be left for random action1 when ,god constraineth all things to order8 ,for ex nihilo nihil is sound doctrine which none of the ancients gainsaid1 although they used it of material substance1 not of the efficient principle2 this they laid down as a kind of basis for all their reasonings concerning nature4 ,now1 if a thing arise without causes1 it will appear to have arisen from nothing4 ,but if this cannot be1 neither is it possible for there to be chance in accordance with the definition just given4' ',well1' said ,i1 'is there1 then1 nothing which can properly be called chance or accident1 or is there something to which these names are appropriate1 though its nature is dark to the vulgar8' ',our good ,aristotle1' says she1 'has defined it concisely in his ,physics1 and closely in accordance with the truth4' ',how1 pray8' said ,i4 ',thus1' says she3 ',whenever something is done for the sake of a particular end1 and for certain reasons some other result than that designed ensues1 this is called chance2 for instance1 if a man is digging the earth for tillage1 and finds a mass of buried gold4 ,now1 such a find is regarded as accidental2 yet it is not ex nihilo1 for it has its proper causes1 the unforeseen and unexpected concurrence of which has brought the chance about4 ,for had not the cultivator been digging1 had not the man who hid the money buried it in that precise spot1 the gold would not have been found4 ,these1 then1 are the reasons why the find is a chance one1 in that it results from causes which met together and concurred1 not from any intention on the part of the discoverer4 ,since neither he who buried the gold nor he who worked in the field intended that the money should be found1 but1 as ,i said1 it happened by coincidence that one dug where the other buried the treasure4 ,we may1 then1 define chance as being an unexpected result flowing from a concurrence of causes where the several factors had some definite end4 ,but the meeting and concurrence of these causes arises from that inevitable chain of order which1 flowing from the fountain-head of ,providence1 disposes all things in their due time and place4' ,,song ,i4 ,,chance4 ,in the rugged ,persian highlands1 ,where the masters of the bow ,skill to feign a flight1 and1 fleeing1 ,hurl their darts and pierce the foe2 ,there the ,tigris and ,euphrates ,at one source,o their waters blend1 ,soon to draw apart1 and plainward ,each its separate way to wend4 ,when once more their waters mingle ,in a channel deep and wide1 ,all the flotsam comes together ,that is borne upon the tide3 ,ships1 and trunks of trees1 uprooted ,in the torrent's wild career1 ,meet1 as 'mid the swirling waters ,chance their random way may steer4 ,yet the shelving of the channel ,and the flowing water's force ,guides each movement1 and determines ,every floating fragment's course4 ,thus1 where'er the drift of hazard ,seems most unrestrained to flow1 ,chance herself is reined and bitted1 ,and the curb of law doth know4 ,,footnotes3 ,o ,this is not1 of course1 literally true1 though the ,tigris and ,euphrates rise in the same mountain district4 ,,ii4 ',i am following needfully1' said ,i1 'and ,i agree that it is as thou sayest4 ,but in this series of linked causes is there any freedom left to our will1 or does the chain of fate bind also the very motions of our souls8' ',there is freedom1' said she2 'nor1 indeed1 can any creature be rational1 unless he be endowed with free will4 ,for that which hath the natural use of reason has the faculty of discriminative judgment1 and of itself distinguishes what is to be shunned or desired4 ,now1 everyone seeks what he judges desirable1 and avoids what he thinks should be shunned4 ,wherefore1 beings endowed with reason possess also the faculty of free choice and refusal4 ,but ,i suppose this faculty not equal alike in all4 ,the higher ,divine essences possess a clear-sighted judgment1 an uncorrupt will1 and an effective power of accomplishing their wishes4 ,human souls must needs be comparatively free while they abide in the contemplation of the ,divine mind1 less free when they pass into bodily form1 and still less1 again1 when they are enwrapped in earthly members4 ,but when they are given over to vices1 and fall from the possession of their proper reason1 then indeed their condition is utter slavery4 ,for when they let their gaze fall from the light of highest truth to the lower world where darkness reigns1 soon ignorance blinds their vision2 they are disturbed by baneful affections1 by yielding and assenting to which they help to promote the slavery in which they are involved1 and are in a manner led captive by reason of their very liberty4 ,yet ,he who seeth all things from eternity beholdeth these things with the eyes of ,his providence1 and assigneth to each what is predestined for it by its merits3 ',all things surveying1 all things overhearing4' ,,song ,,ii4 ,,the ,,true ,,sun4 ,homer with mellifluous tongue ,phoebus' glorious light hath sung1 ,hymning high his praise2 ,yet his feeble rays ,ocean's hollows may not brighten1 ,nor earth's central gloom enlighten4 ,but the might of ,him1 who skilled ,this great universe to build1 ,is not thus confined2 ,not earth's solid rind1 ,nor night's blackest canopy1 ,baffle ,his all-seeing eye4 ,all that is1 hath been1 shall be1 ,in one glance's compass1 ,he ,limitless descries2 ,and1 save ,his1 no eyes ,all the world survey--no1 none6 ,him1 then1 truly name the ,sun4 ,,iii4 ,then said ,i3 ',but now ,i am once more perplexed by a problem yet more difficult4' ',and what is that8' said she2 'yet1 in truth1 ,i can guess what it is that troubles you4' ',it seems1' said ,i1 'too much of a paradox and a contradiction that ,god should know all things1 and yet there should be free will4 ,for if ,god foresees everything1 and can in no wise be deceived1 that which providence foresees to be about to happen must necessarily come to pass4 ,wherefore1 if from eternity ,he foreknows not only what men will do1 but also their designs and purposes1 there can be no freedom of the will1 seeing that nothing can be done1 nor can any sort of purpose be entertained1 save such as a ,divine providence1 incapable of being deceived1 has perceived beforehand4 ,for if the issues can be turned aside to some other end than that foreseen by providence1 there will not then be any sure foreknowledge of the future1 but uncertain conjecture instead1 and to think this of ,god ,i deem impiety4 ',moreover1 ,i do not approve the reasoning by which some think to solve this puzzle4 ,for they say that it is not because ,god has foreseen the coming of an event that therefore it is sure to come to pass1 but1 conversely1 because something is about to come to pass1 it cannot be hidden from ,divine providence2 and accordingly the necessity passes to the opposite side1 and it is not that what is foreseen must necessarily come to pass1 but that what is about to come to pass must necessarily be foreseen4 ,but this is just as if the matter in debate were1 which is cause and which effect--whether foreknowledge of the future cause of the necessity1 or the necessity of the future of the foreknowledge4 ,but we need not be at the pains of demonstrating that1 whatsoever be the order of the causal sequence1 the occurrence of things foreseen is necessary1 even though the foreknowledge of future events does not in itself impose upon them the necessity of their occurrence4 ,for example1 if a man be seated1 the supposition of his being seated is necessarily true2 and1 conversely1 if the supposition of his being seated is true1 because he is really seated1 he must necessarily be sitting4 ,so1 in either case1 there is some necessity involved--in this latter case1 the necessity of the fact2 in the former1 of the truth of the statement4 ,but in both cases the sitter is not therefore seated because the opinion is true1 but rather the opinion is true because antecedently he was sitting as a matter of fact4 ,thus1 though the cause of the truth of the opinion comes from the other side1,p yet there is a necessity on both sides alike4 ,we can obviously reason similarly in the case of providence and the future4 ,even if future events are foreseen because they are about to happen1 and do not come to pass because they are foreseen1 still1 all the same1 there is a necessity1 both that they should be foreseen by ,god as about to come to pass1 and that when they are foreseen they should happen1 and this is sufficient for the destruction of free will4 ,however1 it is preposterous to speak of the occurrence of events in time as the cause of eternal foreknowledge4 ,and yet if we believe that ,god foresees future events because they are about to come to pass1 what is it but to think that the occurrence of events is the cause of ,his supreme providence8 ,further1 just as when ,i know that anything is1 that thing necessarily is1 so when ,i know that anything will be1 it will necessarily be4 ,it follows1 then1 that things foreknown come to pass inevitably4 ',lastly1 to think of a thing as being in any way other than what it is1 is not only not knowledge1 but it is false opinion widely different from the truth of knowledge4 ,consequently1 if anything is about to be1 and yet its occurrence is not certain and necessary1 how can anyone foreknow that it will occur8 ,for just as knowledge itself is free from all admixture of falsity1 so any conception drawn from knowledge cannot be other than as it is conceived4 ,for this1 indeed1 is the cause why knowledge is free from falsehood1 because of necessity each thing must correspond exactly with the knowledge which grasps its nature4 ,in what way1 then1 are we to suppose that ,god foreknows these uncertainties as about to come to pass8 ,for if ,he thinks of events which possibly may not happen at all as inevitably destined to come to pass1 ,he is deceived2 and this it is not only impious to believe1 but even so much as to express in words4 ,if1 on the other hand1 ,he sees them in the future as they are in such a sense as to know that they may equally come to pass or not1 what sort of foreknowledge is this which comprehends nothing certain nor fixed8 ,what better is this than the absurd vaticination of ,teiresias8 ',whate'er ,i say ,shall either come to pass--or not4 ,in that case1 too1 in what would ,divine providence surpass human opinion if it holds for uncertain things the occurrence of which is uncertain1 even as men do8 ,but if at that perfectly sure ,fountain-head of all things no shadow of uncertainty can possibly be found1 then the occurrence of those things which ,he has surely foreknown as coming is certain4 ,wherefore there can be no freedom in human actions and designs2 but the ,divine mind1 which foresees all things without possibility of mistake1 ties and binds them down to one only issue4 ,but this admission once made1 what an upset of human affairs manifestly ensues6 ,vainly are rewards and punishments proposed for the good and bad1 since no free and voluntary motion of the will has deserved either one or the other2 nay1 the punishment of the wicked and the reward of the righteous1 which is now esteemed the perfection of justice1 will seem the most flagrant injustice1 since men are determined either way not by their own proper volition1 but by the necessity of what must surely be4 ,and therefore neither virtue nor vice is anything1 but rather good and ill desert are confounded together without distinction4 ,moreover1 seeing that the whole course of events is deduced from providence1 and nothing is left free to human design1 it comes to pass that our vices also are referred to the ,author of all good--a thought than which none more abominable can possibly be conceived4 ,again1 no ground is left for hope or prayer1 since how can we hope for blessings1 or pray for mercy1 when every object of desire depends upon the links of an unalterable chain of causation8 ,gone1 then1 is the one means of intercourse between ,god and man--the communion of hope and prayer--if it be true that we ever earn the inestimable recompense of the ,divine favour at the price of a due humility2 for this is the one way whereby men seem able to hold communion with ,god1 and are joined to that unapproachable light by the very act of supplication1 even before they obtain their petitions4 ,then1 since these things can scarcely be believed to have any efficacy1 if the necessity of future events be admitted1 what means will there be whereby we may be brought near and cleave to ,him who is the supreme ,head of all8 ,wherefore it needs must be that the human race1 even as thou didst erstwhile declare in song1 parted and dissevered from its ,source1 should fall to ruin4' ,,footnotes3 ,p ,i4e41 the necessity of the truth of the statement from the fact4 ,,song ,,iii4 ,,truth',s ,,paradoxes4 ,why does a strange discordance break ,the ordered scheme's fair harmony8 ,hath ,god decreed 'twixt truth and truth ,there may such lasting warfare be1 ,that truths1 each severally plain1 ,we strive to reconcile in vain8 ,or is the discord not in truth1 ,since truth is self consistent ever8 ,but1 close in fleshly wrappings held1 ,the blinded mind of man can never ,discern--so faint her taper shines-- ,the subtle chain that all combines8 ,ah6 then why burns man's restless mind ,truth's hidden portals to unclose8 ,knows he already what he seeks8 ,why toil to seek it1 if he knows8 ,yet1 haply if he knoweth not1 ,why blindly seek he knows not what8,q ,who for a good he knows not sighs8 ,who can an unknown end pursue8 ,how find8 ,how e'en when haply found ,hail that strange form he never knew8 ,or is it that man's inmost soul ,once knew each part and knew the whole8 ,now1 though by fleshly vapours dimmed1 ,not all forgot her visions past2 ,for while the several parts are lost1 ,to the one whole she cleaveth fast2 ,whence he who yearns the truth to find ,is neither sound of sight nor blind4 ,for neither does he know in full1 ,nor is he reft of knowledge quite2 ,but1 holding still to what is left1 ,he gropes in the uncertain light1 ,and by the part that still survives ,to win back all he bravely strives4 ,,footnotes3 ,q ,compare ,plato1 ',meno1' #hj2 ,jowett1 vol4 ii41 pp4 #ci1 #dj4 ,,iv4 ,then said she3 ',this debate about providence is an old one1 and is vigorously discussed by ,cicero in his ,divination2 thou also hast long and earnestly pondered the problem1 yet no one has had diligence and perseverance enough to find a solution4 ,and the reason of this obscurity is that the movement of human reasoning cannot cope with the simplicity of the ,divine foreknowledge2 for if a conception of its nature could in any wise be framed1 no shadow of uncertainty would remain4 ,with a view of making this at last clear and plain1 ,i will begin by considering the arguments by which thou art swayed4 ,first1 ,i inquire into the reasons why thou art dissatisfied with the solution proposed1 which is to the effect that1 seeing the fact of foreknowledge is not thought the cause of the necessity of future events1 foreknowledge is not to be deemed any hindrance to the freedom of the will4 ,now1 surely the sole ground on which thou arguest the necessity of the future is that things which are foreknown cannot fail to come to pass4 ,but if1 as thou wert ready to acknowledge just now1 the fact of foreknowledge imposes no necessity on things future1 what reason is there for supposing the results of voluntary action constrained to a fixed issue8 ,suppose1 for the sake of argument1 and to see what follows1 we assume that there is no foreknowledge4 ,are willed actions1 then1 tied down to any necessity in this case8' ',certainly not4' ',let us assume foreknowledge again1 but without its involving any actual necessity2 the freedom of the will1 ,i imagine1 will remain in complete integrity4 ,but thou wilt say that1 even although the foreknowledge is not the necessity of the future event's occurrence1 yet it is a sign that it will necessarily happen4 ,granted2 but in this case it is plain that1 even if there had been no foreknowledge1 the issues would have been inevitably certain4 ,for a sign only indicates something which is1 does not bring to pass that of which it is the sign4 ,we require to show beforehand that all things1 without exception1 happen of necessity in order that a preconception may be a sign of this necessity4 ,otherwise1 if there is no such universal necessity1 neither can any preconception be a sign of a necessity which exists not4 ,manifestly1 too1 a proof established on firm grounds of reason must be drawn not from signs and loose general arguments1 but from suitable and necessary causes4 ,but how can it be that things foreseen should ever fail to come to pass8 ,why1 this is to suppose us to believe that the events which providence foresees to be coming were not about to happen1 instead of our supposing that1 although they should come to pass1 yet there was no necessity involved in their own nature compelling their occurrence4 ,take an illustration that will help to convey my meaning4 ,there are many things which we see taking place before our eyes--the movements of charioteers1 for instance1 in guiding and turning their cars1 and so on4 ,now1 is any one of these movements compelled by any necessity8' ',no2 certainly not4 ,there would be no efficacy in skill if all motions took place perforce4' ',then1 things which in taking place are free from any necessity as to their being in the present must also1 before they take place1 be about to happen without necessity4 ,wherefore there are things which will come to pass1 the occurrence of which is perfectly free from necessity4 ,at all events1 ,i imagine that no one will deny that things now taking place were about to come to pass before they were actually happening4 ,such things1 however much foreknown1 are in their occurrence free4 ,for even as knowledge of things present imports no necessity into things that are taking place1 so foreknowledge of the future imports none into things that are about to come4 ,but this1 thou wilt say1 is the very point in dispute--whether any foreknowing is possible of things whose occurrence is not necessary4 ,for here there seems to thee a contradiction1 and1 if they are foreseen1 their necessity follows2 whereas if there is no necessity1 they can by no means be foreknown2 and thou thinkest that nothing can be grasped as known unless it is certain1 but if things whose occurrence is uncertain are foreknown as certain1 this is the very mist of opinion1 not the truth of knowledge4 ,for to think of things otherwise than as they are1 thou believest to be incompatible with the soundness of knowledge4 ',now1 the cause of the mistake is this--that men think that all knowledge is cognized purely by the nature and efficacy of the thing known4 ,whereas the case is the very reverse3 all that is known is grasped not conformably to its own efficacy1 but rather conformably to the faculty of the knower4 ,an example will make this clear3 the roundness of a body is recognised in one way by sight1 in another by touch4 ,sight looks upon it from a distance as a whole by a simultaneous reflection of rays2 touch grasps the roundness piecemeal1 by contact and attachment to the surface1 and by actual movement round the periphery itself4 ,man himself1 likewise1 is viewed in one way by ,sense1 in another by ,imagination1 in another way1 again1 by ,thought1 in another by pure ,intelligence4 ,sense judges figure clothed in material substance1 ,imagination figure alone without matter4 ,thought transcends this again1 and by its contemplation of universals considers the type itself which is contained in the individual4 ,the eye of ,intelligence is yet more exalted2 for overpassing the sphere of the universal1 it will behold absolute form itself by the pure force of the mind's vision4 ,wherein the main point to be considered is this3 the higher faculty of comprehension embraces the lower1 while the lower cannot rise to the higher4 ,for ,sense has no efficacy beyond matter1 nor can ,imagination behold universal ideas1 nor ,thought embrace pure form2 but ,intelligence1 looking down1 as it were1 from its higher standpoint in its intuition of form1 discriminates also the several elements which underlie it2 but it comprehends them in the same way as it comprehends that form itself1 which could be cognized by no other than itself4 ,for it cognizes the universal of ,thought1 the figure of ,imagination1 and the matter of ,sense1 without employing ,thought1 ,imagination1 or ,sense1 but surveying all things1 so to speak1 under the aspect of pure form by a single flash of intuition4 ,thought also1 in considering the universal1 embraces images and sense-impressions without resorting to ,imagination or ,sense4 ,for it is ,thought which has thus defined the universal from its conceptual point of view3 ,man is a two-legged animal endowed with reason4 ,this is indeed a universal notion1 yet no one is ignorant that the thing is imaginable and presentable to ,sense1 because ,thought considers it not by ,imagination or ,sense1 but by means of rational conception4 ,imagination1 too1 though its faculty of viewing and forming representations is founded upon the senses1 nevertheless surveys sense-impressions without calling in ,sense1 not in the way of ,sense-perception1 but of ,imagination4 ,see'st thou1 then1 how all things in cognizing use rather their own faculty than the faculty of the things which they cognize8 ,nor is this strange2 for since every judgment is the act of the judge1 it is necessary that each should accomplish its task by its own1 not by another's power4' ,,song ,,iv4 ,a ,,psychological ,,fallacy4,r ,from the ,porch's murky depths ,comes a doctrine sage1 ,that doth liken living mind ,to a written page2 ,since all knowledge comes through ,sense1 ,graven by ,experience4 ',as1' say they1 'the pen its marks ,curiously doth trace ,on the smooth unsullied white ,of the paper's face1 ,so do outer things impress ,images on consciousness4' ,but if verily the mind ,thus all passive lies2 ,if no living power within ,its own force supplies2 ,if it but reflect again1 ,like a glass1 things false and vain-- ,whence the wondrous faculty ,that perceives and knows1 ,that in one fair ordered scheme ,doth the world dispose2 ,grasps each whole that ,sense presents1 ,or breaks into elements8 ,so divides and recombines1 ,and in changeful wise ,now to low descends1 and now ,to the height doth rise2 ,last in inward swift review ,strictly sifts the false and true8 ,of these ample potencies ,fitter cause1 ,i ween1 ,were ,mind's self than marks impressed ,by the outer scene4 ,yet the body through the sense ,stirs the soul's intelligence4 ,when light flashes on the eye1 ,or sound strikes the ear1 ,mind aroused to due response ,makes the message clear2 ,and the dumb external signs ,with the hidden forms combines4 ,,footnotes3 ,r ,a criticism of the doctrine of the mind as a blank sheet of paper on which experience writes1 as held by the ,stoics in anticipation of ,locke4 ,see ,zeller1 ',stoics1 ,epicureans1 and ,sceptics1' ,reichel's translation1 p4 #gf4 ,v4 ',now1 although in the case of bodies endowed with sentiency the qualities of external objects affect the sense-organs1 and the activity of mind is preceded by a bodily affection which calls forth the mind's action upon itself1 and stimulates the forms till that moment lying inactive within1 yet1 ,i say1 if in these bodies endowed with sentiency the mind is not inscribed by mere passive affection1 but of its own efficacy discriminates the impressions furnished to the body1 how much more do intelligences free from all bodily affections employ in their discrimination their own mental activities instead of conforming to external objects8 ,so on these principles various modes of cognition belong to distinct and different substances4 ,for to creatures void of motive power--shell-fish and other such creatures which cling to rocks and grow there--belongs ,sense alone1 void of all other modes of gaining knowledge2 to beasts endowed with movement1 in whom some capacity of seeking and shunning seems to have arisen1 ,imagination also4 ,thought pertains only to the human race1 as ,intelligence to ,divinity alone2 hence it follows that that form of knowledge exceeds the rest which of its own nature cognizes not only its proper object1 but the objects of the other forms of knowledge also4 ,but what if ,sense and ,imagination were to gainsay ,thought1 and declare that universal which ,thought deems itself to behold to be nothing8 ,for the object of ,sense and ,imagination cannot be universal2 so that either the judgment of ,reason is true and there is no sense-object1 or1 since they know full well that many objects are presented to ,sense and ,imagination1 the conception of ,reason1 which looks on that which is perceived by ,sense and particular as if it were a something universal1 is empty of content4 ,suppose1 further1 that ,reason maintains in reply that it does indeed contemplate the object of both ,sense and ,imagination under the form of universality1 while ,sense and ,imagination cannot aspire to the knowledge of the universal1 since their cognizance cannot go beyond bodily figures1 and that in the cognition of reality we ought rather to trust the stronger and more perfect faculty of judgment4 ,in a dispute of this sort1 should not we1 in whom is planted the faculty of reasoning as well as of imagining and perceiving1 espouse the cause of ,reason8 ',in like manner is it that human reason thinks that ,divine ,intelligence cannot see the future except after the fashion in which its own knowledge is obtained4 ,for thy contention is1 if events do not appear to involve certain and necessary issues1 they cannot be foreseen as certainly about to come to pass4 ,there is1 then1 no foreknowledge of such events2 or1 if we can ever bring ourselves to believe that there is1 there can be nothing which does not happen of necessity4 ,if1 however1 we could have some part in the judgment of the ,divine mind1 even as we participate in ,reason1 we should think it perfectly just that human ,reason should submit itself to the ,divine mind1 no less than we judged that ,imagination and ,sense ought to yield to ,reason4 ,wherefore let us soar1 if we can1 to the heights of that ,supreme ,intelligence2 for there ,reason will see what in itself it cannot look upon2 and that is in what way things whose occurrence is not certain may yet be seen in a sure and definite foreknowledge2 and that this foreknowledge is not conjecture1 but rather knowledge in its supreme simplicity1 free of all limits and restrictions4' ,,song ,v4 ,,the ,,upward ,,look4 ,in what divers shapes and fashions do the creatures great and small ,over wide earth's teeming surface skim1 or scud1 or walk1 or crawl6 ,some with elongated body sweep the ground1 and1 as they move1 ,trail perforce with writhing belly in the dust a sinuous groove2 ,some1 on light wing upward soaring1 swiftly do the winds divide1 ,and through heaven's ample spaces in free motion smoothly glide2 ,these earth's solid surface pressing1 with firm paces onward rove1 ,ranging through the verdant meadows1 crouching in the woodland grove4 ,great and wondrous is their variance6 ,yet in all the head low-bent ,dulls the soul and blunts the senses1 though their forms be different4 ,man alone1 erect1 aspiring1 lifts his forehead to the skies1 ,and in upright posture steadfast seems earth's baseness to despise4 ,if with earth not all besotted1 to this parable give ear1 ,thou whose gaze is fixed on heaven1 who thy face on high dost rear3 ,lift thy soul1 too1 heavenward2 haply lest it stain its heavenly worth1 ,and thine eyes alone look upward1 while thy mind cleaves to the earth6 ,,vi4 ',since1 then1 as we lately proved1 everything that is known is cognized not in accordance with its own nature1 but in accordance with the nature of the faculty that comprehends it1 let us now contemplate1 as far as lawful1 the character of the ,divine essence1 that we may be able to understand also the nature of its knowledge4 ',god is eternal2 in this judgment all rational beings agree4 ,let us1 then1 consider what eternity is4 ,for this word carries with it a revelation alike of the ,divine nature and of the ,divine knowledge4 ,now1 eternity is the possession of endless life whole and perfect at a single moment4 ,what this is becomes more clear and manifest from a comparison with things temporal4 ,for whatever lives in time is a present proceeding from the past to the future1 and there is nothing set in time which can embrace the whole space of its life together4 ,to-morrow's state it grasps not yet1 while it has already lost yesterday's2 nay1 even in the life of to-day ye live no longer than one brief transitory moment4 ,whatever1 therefore1 is subject to the condition of time1 although1 as ,aristotle deemed of the world1 it never have either beginning or end1 and its life be stretched to the whole extent of time's infinity1 it yet is not such as rightly to be thought eternal4 ,for it does not include and embrace the whole space of infinite life at once1 but has no present hold on things to come1 not yet accomplished4 ,accordingly1 that which includes and possesses the whole fulness of unending life at once1 from which nothing future is absent1 from which nothing past has escaped1 this is rightly called eternal2 this must of necessity be ever present to itself in full self-possession1 and hold the infinity of movable time in an abiding present4 ,wherefore they deem not rightly who imagine that on ,plato's principles the created world is made co-eternal with the ,creator1 because they are told that he believed the world to have had no beginning in time1,s and to be destined never to come to an end4 ,for it is one thing for existence to be endlessly prolonged1 which was what ,plato ascribed to the world1 another for the whole of an endless life to be embraced in the present1 which is manifestly a property peculiar to the ,divine mind4 ,nor need ,god appear earlier in mere duration of time to created things1 but only prior in the unique simplicity of ,his nature4 ,for the infinite progression of things in time copies this immediate existence in the present of the changeless life1 and when it cannot succeed in equalling it1 declines from movelessness into motion1 and falls away from the simplicity of a perpetual present to the infinite duration of the future and the past2 and since it cannot possess the whole fulness of its life together1 for the very reason that in a manner it never ceases to be1 it seems1 up to a certain point1 to rival that which it cannot complete and express by attaching itself indifferently to any present moment of time1 however swift and brief2 and since this bears some resemblance to that ever-abiding present1 it bestows on everything to which it is assigned the semblance of existence4 ,but since it cannot abide1 it hurries along the infinite path of time1 and the result has been that it continues by ceaseless movement the life the completeness of which it could not embrace while it stood still4 ,so1 if we are minded to give things their right names1 we shall follow ,plato in saying that ,god indeed is eternal1 but the world everlasting4 ',since1 then1 every mode of judgment comprehends its objects conformably to its own nature1 and since ,god abides for ever in an eternal present1 ,his knowledge1 also transcending all movement of time1 dwells in the simplicity of its own changeless present1 and1 embracing the whole infinite sweep of the past and of the future1 contemplates all that falls within its simple cognition as if it were now taking place4 ,and therefore1 if thou wilt carefully consider that immediate presentment whereby it discriminates all things1 thou wilt more rightly deem it not foreknowledge as of something future1 but knowledge of a moment that never passes4 ,for this cause the name chosen to describe it is not prevision1 but providence1 because1 since utterly removed in nature from things mean and trivial1 its outlook embraces all things as from some lofty height4 ,why1 then1 dost thou insist that the things which are surveyed by the ,divine eye are involved in necessity1 whereas clearly men impose no necessity on things which they see8 ,does the act of vision add any necessity to the things which thou seest before thy eyes8' ',assuredly not4' ',and yet1 if we may without unfitness compare ,god's present and man's1 just as ye see certain things in this your temporary present1 so does ,he see all things in ,his eternal present4 ,wherefore this ,divine anticipation changes not the natures and properties of things1 and it beholds things present before it1 just as they will hereafter come to pass in time4 ,nor does it confound things in its judgment1 but in the one mental view distinguishes alike what will come necessarily and what without necessity4 ,for even as ye1 when at one and the same time ye see a man walking on the earth and the sun rising in the sky1 distinguish between the two1 though one glance embraces both1 and judge the former voluntary1 the latter necessary action3 so also the ,divine vision in its universal range of view does in no wise confuse the characters of the things which are present to its regard1 though future in respect of time4 ,whence it follows that when it perceives that something will come into existence1 and yet is perfectly aware that this is unbound by any necessity1 its apprehension is not opinion1 but rather knowledge based on truth4 ,and if to this thou sayest that what ,god sees to be about to come to pass cannot fail to come to pass1 and that what cannot fail to come to pass happens of necessity1 and wilt tie me down to this word necessity1 ,i will acknowledge that thou affirmest a most solid truth1 but one which scarcely anyone can approach to who has not made the ,divine his special study4 ,for my answer would be that the same future event is necessary from the standpoint of ,divine knowledge1 but when considered in its own nature it seems absolutely free and unfettered4 ,so1 then1 there are two necessities--one simple1 as that men are necessarily mortal2 the other conditioned1 as that1 if you know that someone is walking1 he must necessarily be walking4 ,for that which is known cannot indeed be otherwise than as it is known to be1 and yet this fact by no means carries with it that other simple necessity4 ,for the former necessity is not imposed by the thing's own proper nature1 but by the addition of a condition4 ,no necessity compels one who is voluntarily walking to go forward1 although it is necessary for him to go forward at the moment of walking4 ,in the same way1 then1 if ,providence sees anything as present1 that must necessarily be1 though it is bound by no necessity of nature4 ,now1 ,god views as present those coming events which happen of free will4 ,these1 accordingly1 from the standpoint of the ,divine vision are made necessary conditionally on the ,divine cognizance2 viewed1 however1 in themselves1 they desist not from the absolute freedom naturally theirs4 ,accordingly1 without doubt1 all things will come to pass which ,god foreknows as about to happen1 but of these certain proceed of free will2 and though these happen1 yet by the fact of their existence they do not lose their proper nature1 in virtue of which before they happened it was really possible that they might not have come to pass4 ',what difference1 then1 does the denial of necessity make1 since1 through their being conditioned by ,divine knowledge1 they come to pass as if they were in all respects under the compulsion of necessity8 ,this difference1 surely1 which we saw in the case of the instances ,i formerly took1 the sun's rising and the man's walking2 which at the moment of their occurrence could not but be taking place1 and yet one of them before it took place was necessarily obliged to be1 while the other was not so at all4 ,so likewise the things which to ,god are present without doubt exist1 but some of them come from the necessity of things1 others from the power of the agent4 ,quite rightly1 then1 have we said that these things are necessary if viewed from the standpoint of the ,divine knowledge2 but if they are considered in themselves1 they are free from the bonds of necessity1 even as everything which is accessible to sense1 regarded from the standpoint of ,thought1 is universal1 but viewed in its own nature particular4 ,but1 thou wilt say1 if it is in my power to change my purpose1 ,i shall make void providence1 since ,i shall perchance change something which comes within its foreknowledge4 ,my answer is3 ,thou canst indeed turn aside thy purpose2 but since the truth of providence is ever at hand to see that thou canst1 and whether thou dost1 and whither thou turnest thyself1 thou canst not avoid the ,divine foreknowledge1 even as thou canst not escape the sight of a present spectator1 although of thy free will thou turn thyself to various actions4 ,wilt thou1 then1 say3 ,shall the ,divine knowledge be changed at my discretion1 so that1 when ,i will this or that1 providence changes its knowledge correspondingly8 ',surely not4' ',true1 for the ,divine vision anticipates all that is coming1 and transforms and reduces it to the form of its own present knowledge1 and varies not1 as thou deemest1 in its foreknowledge1 alternating to this or that1 but in a single flash it forestalls and includes thy mutations without altering4 ,and this ever-present comprehension and survey of all things ,god has received1 not from the issue of future events1 but from the simplicity of ,his own nature4 ,hereby also is resolved the objection which a little while ago gave thee offence--that our doings in the future were spoken of as if supplying the cause of ,god's knowledge4 ,for this faculty of knowledge1 embracing all things in its immediate cognizance1 has itself fixed the bounds of all things1 yet itself owes nothing to what comes after4 ',and all this being so1 the freedom of man's will stands unshaken1 and laws are not unrighteous1 since their rewards and punishments are held forth to wills unbound by any necessity4 ,god1 who foreknoweth all things1 still looks down from above1 and the ever-present eternity of ,his vision concurs with the future character of all our acts1 and dispenseth to the good rewards1 to the bad punishments4 ,our hopes and prayers also are not fixed on ,god in vain1 and when they are rightly directed cannot fail of effect4 ,therefore1 withstand vice1 practise virtue1 lift up your souls to right hopes1 offer humble prayers to ,heaven4 ,great is the necessity of righteousness laid upon you if ye will not hide it from yourselves1 seeing that all your actions are done before the eyes of a ,judge who seeth all things4' ,,footnotes3 ,s ,plato expressly states the opposite in the ',timus' 7#bh;,b71 though possibly there the account of the beginning of the world in time is to be understood figuratively1 not literally4 ,see ,jowett1 vol4 iii41 pp4 #ddh1 #ddi 7#crd edit474 ,,epilogue4 ,within a short time of writing ',the ,consolation of ,philosophy1' ,boethius died by a cruel death4 ,as to the manner of his death there is some uncertainty4 ,according to one account1 he was cut down by the swords of the soldiers before the very judgment-seat of ,theodoric2 according to another1 a cord was first fastened round his forehead1 and tightened till 'his eyes started'2 he was then killed with a club4 ,elliot ,stock1 ,paternoster ,row1 ,london ,,references ,,to ,,quotations ,,in ,,the ,,text4 ,bk4 ,i41 ch4 iv41 p4 #ag1 l4 #f3 ',iliad1' ,i4 #cfc4 ch4 iv41 p4 #ah1 l4 #g3 ,plato1 ',republic1' ,v4 #dgc1 ,d2 ,jowett1 vol4 iii41 pp4 #agj1 #aga 7#crd edit474 ch4 iv41 p4 #bb1 l4 #f3 ,plato1 ',republic1' ,i4 #cdg1 ,c2 ,jowett1 ,,iii41 p4 #be4 ch4 v41 p4 #cj1 l4 #ai3 ',iliad1' ,,ii41 #bjd1 #bje4 ,bk4 ,,ii41 ch4 ii41 p4 #ej1 l4 #ba3 ',iliad4' ,,xxiv4 #ebg1 #ebh4 ch4 vii41 p4 #gh1 l4 #be3 ,cicero1 ',de ,republic1' ,,vi4 #bj1 in the ',somnium ,scipionis4' ,bk4 ,,iii41 ch4 iv41 p4 #ajf1 l4 #aj3 ,catullus1 ,,lii41 #b4 ch4 vi41 p4 #aad1 l4 #d3 ,euripides1 ',andromache1' #cai1 #cbj4 ch4 ix41 p4 #abi1 l4 #c3 ,plato1 ',timus1' #bg1 ,c2 ,jowett1 vol4 iii41 p4 #ddh4 ch4 xii41 p4 #aeg1 l4 #ad3 ,quoted ,plato1 ',sophistes1' #bdd1 ,e2 ,jowett1 vol4 iv41 p4 #cgd4 ch4 xii41 p4 #aeg1 l4 #bb3 ,plato1 ',timus1' #bi1 ,b2 ,jowett1 vol4 iii41 p4 #ddi4 ,bk4 ,,iv41 ch4 vi41 p4 #bjf1 l4 #ag3 ,lucan1 ',pharsalia1' ,i4 #abf4 ch4 vi41 p4 #baj1 l4 #bc3 ',iliad1' ,,xii4 #agf4 ,bk4 ,v41 ch4 i41 p4 #bbg1l4 #af3 ,aristotle1 ',physics1' ,,ii4 v4 #e4 ch4 iii41 p4 #bch1 l4 #bj3 ,horace1 ',satires1' ,,ii4 v4 #ei4 ch4 iv41 p4 #bdc1 l4 #c3 ,cicero1 ',de ,divinatione1' ,,ii4 #g1 #h4 ch4 vi41 p4 #beh1 l4 #h3 ,aristotle1 ',de ,clo1' ,,ii4 #a4