Consolation Of Philosophy

As Boethius feels himself to be the victim of misfortune, he and Philosophy now discuss the nature of fortune. Philosophy describes fortune as a cheat that seduces her victims with friendship, then suddenly deserts them. She tries to convince Boethius that in losing his good fortune he did not lose anything of real value: “Fortune's very mutability deprives her threats of their terror and her enticements of their allure” (23). This chapter introduces the concept of the Wheel of Fortune, which would have considerable influence in the Middle Ages. Like a wheel, fortune turns endlessly while changing people's happiness to sorrow or vice versa. 

Philosophy continues to discuss the characteristics of fortune. People have no right to complain about bad fortune since it is in the very nature of fortune to change constantly. By the same token, a person who has suffered bad fortune may plausibly expect his fortune to change to good again. Philosophy cites examples from Greek history and literature (e.g., the Iliad) of people who experienced sudden changes of fortune.

In verse, Philosophy admonishes that no matter how much good fortune human beings enjoy, they will always be greedy for more things: “No reins will serve to hold in check / The headlong course of appetite [.