A psychiatrist is defined as “A physician who specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness” (Definition of Psychiatrist). In Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, Lady Philosophy, a personification from the narrators mind, assumes the role of a Socratic teacher who guides her student through questions and discussions. As Boethius awaits his execution in a prison cell, we are introduced to Lady Philosophy, Boethius’s old nursemaid who he is unable to recognize because of his anxiety and anger for the people who have wronged him. Lady Philosophy has arrived to help Boethius and uses a strategy to awaken him to the fact that he has not truly lost anything and that there is no point in feeling this way. Boethius shows
…show more content…
Boethius starts his story by mournfully recalling his fall from Fortune’s favor. Now all he can do is recall happier songs before his fall, “I who with zest penned songs in happier days, must now with grief embark on sombre lays” (I, poem 1). Boethius is suffering serious depression at the hands of the goddess Fortune. As humans, we give our bodies supremacy over our souls. Boethius believes that he has lost everything solely because he has lost the materialistic aspects of his life. As Philosophy enters she takes all of this in and realizes that he has to be reminded of everything he still has within himself. When you give your body supremacy, you are much more likely to lose everything. Our wealth and power can be taken away from us in a matter of moments as Boethius is learning. When we give our souls supremacy, we don’t care as much about the material world. We are attuned with God and are able to communicate with him through out actions. We know that whatever happens to us, in the end everything will work …show more content…
When I spend money, no matter how much I have, I am constantly worried that I will run out of it and that makes me anxious. This constant gnawing fear cannot be part of what makes us happy. When we pursue our passion, when we are creative, we are truly happy. Everyone has had those moments in his or her lives when they have been working on something they truly enjoy for what feels like fifteen minutes and they look up and it’s been three hours. That feeling, the feeling of self worth, of love and passion, that is what truly makes you happy. When we understand that, much like Boethius does in the end of Consolation of Philosophy, our anxiety flows out of us. In the end of the book, Boethius no longer worries about his upcoming execution. He has realized that his family is provided for, and that he hasn’t truly lost anything from his imprisonment. The money, fame and power that he has been given in his life, don’t mean anything to him anymore. He has realized, much like men and women throughout our world realize, that if you follow your passion, and let go of your anxiety towards material goods, you will be truly happy and will be above the wants and needs of the material
Boethius starts his story by mournfully recalling his fall from Fortune’s favor. Now all he can do is recall happier songs before his fall, “I who with zest penned songs in happier days, must now with grief embark on sombre lays” (I, poem 1). Boethius is suffering serious depression at the hands of the goddess Fortune. As humans, we give our bodies supremacy over our souls. Boethius believes that he has lost everything solely because he has lost the materialistic aspects of his life. As Philosophy enters she takes all of this in and realizes that he has to be reminded of everything he still has within himself. When you give your body supremacy, you are much more likely to lose everything. Our wealth and power can be taken away from us in a matter of moments as Boethius is learning. When we give our souls supremacy, we don’t care as much about the material world. We are attuned with God and are able to communicate with him through out actions. We know that whatever happens to us, in the end everything will work …show more content…
When I spend money, no matter how much I have, I am constantly worried that I will run out of it and that makes me anxious. This constant gnawing fear cannot be part of what makes us happy. When we pursue our passion, when we are creative, we are truly happy. Everyone has had those moments in his or her lives when they have been working on something they truly enjoy for what feels like fifteen minutes and they look up and it’s been three hours. That feeling, the feeling of self worth, of love and passion, that is what truly makes you happy. When we understand that, much like Boethius does in the end of Consolation of Philosophy, our anxiety flows out of us. In the end of the book, Boethius no longer worries about his upcoming execution. He has realized that his family is provided for, and that he hasn’t truly lost anything from his imprisonment. The money, fame and power that he has been given in his life, don’t mean anything to him anymore. He has realized, much like men and women throughout our world realize, that if you follow your passion, and let go of your anxiety towards material goods, you will be truly happy and will be above the wants and needs of the material