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Boethius Quotes

Philosopher

Boethius, a Roman philosopher and statesman, is best known for his work *The Consolation of Philosophy*, which explores themes of fate, suffering, and the search for true happiness. His reflections delve into the human condition, offering wisdom on how to navigate life’s challenges and find peace in the face of adversity. The following quotes capture his profound insights on the nature of fortune, the impermanence of worldly success, and the power of philosophical contemplation.

He is in no real danger. He merely suffers from a lethargy, a sickness that is common among the depressed. He has forgotten who he really is, but he will recover, for he used to know me, and all I have to do is cloud the mist that beclouds his vision.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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There the Lord of kings holds His scepter, governing the reigns of the world. With sure control He drives the swift chariot, the shining judge of all things.
If the road which you have forgotten, but now search for, brings you here, you will cry out: 'This I remember, this is my own country, here I was born and here I shall hold my place.
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You would not search the woodside gay
To pick a springtime flower
When all the shuddering country groans
Before the North Wind's power.
Nor would you seek with greedy hand
To pluck your vines in May;
The wine god gives his gift of grapes
When Autumn's on the way.
For God has fixed the season's tasks
And each receives its own:
No power is free to disarray
The order God has shown.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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It is not the walls of your library with their glass and ivory decorations that I am looking for, but the seat of your mind.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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Nothing is miserable unless you think it so; and on the other hand, nothing brings happiness unless you are content with it.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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... there is no place whatever for hatred in the minds of the wise. Only an utter idiot would hate good men, and it is irrational to hate the wicked; for if vice is a species of mental disease comparable to illness in the body, since we regard those who are physically ill as wholly undeserving of hatred and deserving rather of pity, then men with minds oppressed by wickedness, a condition more dreadful than any sickness, should all the more be pitied rather than hounded.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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Nunc fluens facit tempus,
nunc stans facit aeternitatum.

(The now that passes produces time, the now that remains produces eternity.)
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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So it follows that those who have reason have freedom to will or not to will, although this freedom is not equal in all of them. [...] human souls are more free when they persevere in the contemplation of the mind of God, less free when they descend to the corporeal, and even less free when they are entirely imprisoned in earthly flesh and blood.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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Since it is through the possession of happiness that people become happy, and since happiness is in fact divinity, it is clear that it is through the possession of divinity that they become happy. But by the same logic as men become just through the possession of justice, or wise through the possession of wisdom, so those who possess divinity necessarily become divine. Each happy individual is therefore divine. While only God is so by nature, as many as you like may become so by participation.
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So dry your tears. Fortune has not yet turned her hatred against all your blessings. The storm has not yet broken upon you with too much violence. Your anchors are holding firm and they permit you both comfort in the present, and hope in the future.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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He is in no real danger. He merely suffers from a lethargy, a sickness that is common among the depressed. He has forgotten who he really is, but he will recover, for he used to know me, and all I have to do is cloud the mist that beclouds his vision.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
There the Lord of kings holds His scepter, governing the reigns of the world. With sure control He drives the swift chariot, the shining judge of all things.
If the road which you have forgotten, but now search for, brings you here, you will cry out: 'This I remember, this is my own country, here I was born and here I shall hold my place.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
You would not search the woodside gay
To pick a springtime flower
When all the shuddering country groans
Before the North Wind's power.
Nor would you seek with greedy hand
To pluck your vines in May;
The wine god gives his gift of grapes
When Autumn's on the way.
For God has fixed the season's tasks
And each receives its own:
No power is free to disarray
The order God has shown.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It is not the walls of your library with their glass and ivory decorations that I am looking for, but the seat of your mind.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Nothing is miserable unless you think it so; and on the other hand, nothing brings happiness unless you are content with it.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
... there is no place whatever for hatred in the minds of the wise. Only an utter idiot would hate good men, and it is irrational to hate the wicked; for if vice is a species of mental disease comparable to illness in the body, since we regard those who are physically ill as wholly undeserving of hatred and deserving rather of pity, then men with minds oppressed by wickedness, a condition more dreadful than any sickness, should all the more be pitied rather than hounded.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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Nunc fluens facit tempus,
nunc stans facit aeternitatum.

(The now that passes produces time, the now that remains produces eternity.)
From The Consolation of Philosophy
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
So it follows that those who have reason have freedom to will or not to will, although this freedom is not equal in all of them. [...] human souls are more free when they persevere in the contemplation of the mind of God, less free when they descend to the corporeal, and even less free when they are entirely imprisoned in earthly flesh and blood.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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Since it is through the possession of happiness that people become happy, and since happiness is in fact divinity, it is clear that it is through the possession of divinity that they become happy. But by the same logic as men become just through the possession of justice, or wise through the possession of wisdom, so those who possess divinity necessarily become divine. Each happy individual is therefore divine. While only God is so by nature, as many as you like may become so by participation.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
So dry your tears. Fortune has not yet turned her hatred against all your blessings. The storm has not yet broken upon you with too much violence. Your anchors are holding firm and they permit you both comfort in the present, and hope in the future.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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He is in no real danger. He merely suffers from a lethargy, a sickness that is common among the depressed. He has forgotten who he really is, but he will recover, for he used to know me, and all I have to do is cloud the mist that beclouds his vision.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
There the Lord of kings holds His scepter, governing the reigns of the world. With sure control He drives the swift chariot, the shining judge of all things.
If the road which you have forgotten, but now search for, brings you here, you will cry out: 'This I remember, this is my own country, here I was born and here I shall hold my place.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
You would not search the woodside gay
To pick a springtime flower
When all the shuddering country groans
Before the North Wind's power.
Nor would you seek with greedy hand
To pluck your vines in May;
The wine god gives his gift of grapes
When Autumn's on the way.
For God has fixed the season's tasks
And each receives its own:
No power is free to disarray
The order God has shown.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It is not the walls of your library with their glass and ivory decorations that I am looking for, but the seat of your mind.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Nothing is miserable unless you think it so; and on the other hand, nothing brings happiness unless you are content with it.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
... there is no place whatever for hatred in the minds of the wise. Only an utter idiot would hate good men, and it is irrational to hate the wicked; for if vice is a species of mental disease comparable to illness in the body, since we regard those who are physically ill as wholly undeserving of hatred and deserving rather of pity, then men with minds oppressed by wickedness, a condition more dreadful than any sickness, should all the more be pitied rather than hounded.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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Nunc fluens facit tempus,
nunc stans facit aeternitatum.

(The now that passes produces time, the now that remains produces eternity.)
From The Consolation of Philosophy
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
So it follows that those who have reason have freedom to will or not to will, although this freedom is not equal in all of them. [...] human souls are more free when they persevere in the contemplation of the mind of God, less free when they descend to the corporeal, and even less free when they are entirely imprisoned in earthly flesh and blood.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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Since it is through the possession of happiness that people become happy, and since happiness is in fact divinity, it is clear that it is through the possession of divinity that they become happy. But by the same logic as men become just through the possession of justice, or wise through the possession of wisdom, so those who possess divinity necessarily become divine. Each happy individual is therefore divine. While only God is so by nature, as many as you like may become so by participation.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
So dry your tears. Fortune has not yet turned her hatred against all your blessings. The storm has not yet broken upon you with too much violence. Your anchors are holding firm and they permit you both comfort in the present, and hope in the future.
From The Consolation of Philosophy
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