51 things from this book went into her brain. Here are the first 6.
Boethius, through Philosophy, warns that soothing words which only feed a sad mood are sweet poison, and that a troubled mind needs real remedies, not more indulgence.
In The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius shows that when someone is overwhelmed, the time calls for healing rather than more lamenting.
In The Consolation of Philosophy, Philosophy reminds Boethius that wise people have always been attacked, and that a crowd can only grab at outward possessions while the wise stay safe on higher ground.
Boethius, in his Song on virtue, holds that a calm and steady person cannot be subdued by fate, while anyone who lets hope or fear rule them forges their own chains.
Boethius explains that he took his duties in public life from his study of philosophy and acted for the common good, even when this cost him the goodwill of the powerful.
Boethius holds that a good conscience gives its own quiet reward, and that seeking public praise for good deeds takes some of that reward away.
Boethius notes that people judge outcomes rather than merit, so a person who falls on hard times often loses their reputation first, even when they did nothing wrong.
Philosophy tells Boethius that no one can truly be banished from a life of reason, and that anyone who stops wanting to live by reason has effectively exiled themselves.
Boethius sings that everything has its appointed time, so planting or harvesting out of season leaves a person short, and the wise wait for the right moment.
Philosophy asks Boethius to remember that he is a reasoning, mortal being, and notes that grief can shake a person without uprooting them from their own nature.
Boethius holds that a person who forgets their own nature and purpose will feel bewildered and see wicked people as happy, and that recovery starts by remembering who we are.
Philosophy argues that wealth and status were never truly ours to keep, so losing them cannot take away anything of real worth.
Philosophy says that if you chose to trust changeable fortune, you cannot demand it stay still, just as a sailor who hands over the sails goes where the wind takes them.
In Boethius, Lady Fortune argues that wealth and status were only ever lent, so we should be grateful for their use rather than resent their loss.
Boethius's Fortune says that anyone who rises should accept the fall that comes with the rise, because life runs on a turning wheel that no one can keep still.
Boethius observes that a greedy heart is never satisfied, since each new gift only feeds a deeper craving for more.
Philosophy urges Boethius to count the blessings he has had, because someone who dwells only on what is lost overlooks what still remains.
Philosophy points out that nobody's lot is perfectly satisfying, and that something is only wretched if we think it so, so any lot borne with equanimity can feel good.
In The Consolation of Philosophy, Philosophy says true happiness lies within, in mastery of oneself, because what chance can take away cannot be the highest good.
Philosophy argues that wealth is only really ours while we give it away, because what passes to someone else is no longer ours to keep.
Philosophy warns that people who gather many possessions end up needing more to protect them, while those who measure abundance by real need are the ones who lack least.
Boethius argues that honour comes to a position from virtue, not the other way round, so a title alone never makes a person worthy of respect.
Philosophy calls the love of glory a last weakness, and reminds Boethius that the whole inhabited earth is tiny against the heavens, so reputation has little room to spread.
Boethius says that people who chase popular applause abandon conscience and virtue, and that real worth is measured by inner integrity rather than the praise of others.
Philosophy argues that hard times can serve us well, because misfortune shows who our true friends are, and loyal friends are a richer gain than the wealth that was lost.
Philosophy observes that everyone is really seeking the same thing, happiness, but many chase false versions of it such as wealth, status or pleasure, and the error lies in the path rather than the goal.
Philosophy shows that wealth brings its own need for protection and creates new wants, so it cannot make a person free from want, only soothe it for a while.
Philosophy argues that power does not guarantee safety, since rulers live in fear, and that friends won by fortune rather than virtue will turn away once fortune changes.
Song V of The Consolation of Philosophy says whoever wants power must first master their own spirit, since a ruler who cannot drive out haunting fear is powerless however wide their reach.
Boethius says that noble birth is only the fame of one's ancestors, so its real value is the duty not to fall below their virtue.
Philosophy sums up that wealth, office, power, glory and pleasure each carry hidden costs, and none of them can make a person fully happy on its own.
Philosophy warns that chasing one part of the good alone, such as money to escape want, often loses the whole, because you give up the other goods that would have made the prize worth having.
Philosophy points out that we rarely want a thing for its own sake: we ride a horse for the health it brings. So it pays to ask what a thing is really for before chasing it.
Boethius notes that plants thrive in the soil that suits them and wither when moved elsewhere, so every thing does best where its nature fits its surroundings.
In Boethius's retelling of Orpheus, the hero loses his prize by looking back just as he nears the light, a reminder to keep your eyes on the way ahead.
Philosophy says every action needs both will and power, and that a person's real strength is what they can actually bring about, not what they merely wish for.
Philosophy argues that someone working through their natural strengths will outdo someone forcing an unnatural route, like walking on hands, so good results come from the way that suits you.
Boethius's song on passion says that a powerful ruler who cannot master his own appetites is in fact bound by hidden chains, so real power starts with self-control.
Philosophy argues that doing right carries its own reward, because goodness cannot be separated from the good person, whereas a prize handed out by someone else can be taken away.
In Boethius's tale of Circe's cup, wrongdoing changes the inner person far more than the outward one, so the deepest damage from vice is to the soul.
Philosophy holds that we raise or lower ourselves by our own choices, so good character needs no outside judge to reward it and bad character carries its own consequences.
Philosophy compares wrongdoers to the sick, who deserve treatment rather than hatred, and suggests that the wise have no room for hatred at all.
Boethius's song on wonder says that weak minds magnify whatever is rare or strange, while a mind freed from ignorance meets unexpected change with calm understanding.
Philosophy suggests that adversity tests the true self and builds patience, and that a hard lot is often matched to the strength of the person who must bear it.
Philosophy says a wise person should not take hard times badly, just as a soldier does not resent the trumpet call, because adversity is the chance to show courage and perfect wisdom, and it is best to hold the middle way.
Following Aristotle, Philosophy describes chance as an unplanned result of separate causes meeting, like finding gold while digging a field, so surprises usually have traceable causes behind them.
Philosophy holds that free choice comes with reason, and that people who give in to vice become captive to their own habits, so good choices are what keep us free.
Boethius points out that seeing something in advance does not cause it to happen, a useful distinction for anyone who forecasts the future and mistakes a prediction for a decision.
Boethius explains that we understand things through the faculty of the knower, so the same roundness is grasped by sight as a whole and by touch piece by piece, and our viewpoint shapes what we see.
Boethius's song on the upward look notes that a bent head dulls the soul, and asks us to lift our minds as well as our eyes, so that our thoughts do not stay stuck in the dirt.
Boethius closes his argument by urging us to resist vice, practise virtue, and lift our hopes to what is right, since our choices are made in full view of a judge who sees all.
