Book 3, Chapter 9 | The Consolation of Philosophy

Chapter Summary

Now Philosophy promises to show what true happiness is. She proves that ability and power share by nature the same substance, as do honor, fame, and happiness. But human error divides this natural whole into fragments, and pursues them individually, and thus does not obtain either the whole or the parts. Even if someone attained the whole, he would not find true happiness since these pursuits do not give it in themselves. True happiness comes from being wholly self-sufficient, wholly able, wholly respectable, wholly well-known, and wholly happy. But earthly pursuits cannot provide this highest Good, this true happiness. May God guide us and show us where it can be found!

About The Consolation of Philosophy

Written in the 6th-century from a prison cell as the author awaits execution for a crime he did not commit, The Consolation of Philosophy is a dialogue between Boethius and a mysterious woman—Lady Philosophy—who helps him rediscover wisdom and virtue.

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