Book 3, Chapter 11 | The Consolation of Philosophy

Chapter Summary

Philosophy adds more reasoning to support her point of the previous chapter. All parts of the good are inseparable, and everything that is good is so because it participates in the Good. Thus God, the ultimate unified one, and the Good are the same.

Philosophy then talks about unity in earthly creatures. All existing things exist only as unities, and die when they break apart (such as the soul and body). Every living thing pursues self-preservation, even trees and fire and stones—this is a natural instinct. When they seek self-preservation, they are seeking unity. And unity is identical to the Good itself, to God himself. So the Good is the goal of all living things.

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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