302 BOETHIUS
THE CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY
(in part)
BOOKV
CHAPTER6: PHILOSOPHYSOLVES THEPROBLEM OFPROVIDENCE
ANDFREEWILL BYDISTINGUISHINGBETWEENSIMPLE AND
CONDITIONALNECESSITY
“Since, as we have shown, whatever is known is known according to the nature of the
knower, and not according to its own nature, let us now consider as far as is lawful the
nature of the Divine Being, so that we may discover what its knowledge is. The common
judgment of all rational creatures holds that God is eternal. Therefore let us consider
what eternity is, for this will reveal both the divine nature and the divine knowledge.
“Eternity is the whole, perfect, and simultaneous possession of endless life. The
meaning of this can be made clearer by comparison with temporal things. For whatever
Boethius,The Consolation of Philosophy,Book V, Chapters (prose) 2, 3, 6, translated by Richard Green
( /Library of the Liberal Arts, 1962).
Boethius in Prison (from the 1385 manuscript of On the Consolation of Philosophy). Boethius was consul
Public Domain)and first minister to King Theodoric, the Ostrogothic ruler of Italy. But in 522 Boethius was accused of
treason, imprisoned, and executed sometime around 524. The specific charges are not known, but probably
involved religious differences between the Catholic Boethius and the Arian Theodoric. (
Pearson