Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy 4.5

. . . “Do you remember that we agreed from our earlier reasonings, that the instinct of all human will, though acted upon by different aims, does lead with eagerness towards happiness?”

“Yes,” said I, “I remember that that too was proved.”

“Do you remember that happiness is the absolute good, and that the good is desired of all, when in that manner happiness is sought?”

“I need not recall that,” I said, “since it is present fixedly in my memory.”

“Then all men, good and bad alike, seek to arrive at the good by no different instincts?”

Yes, that follows necessarily.”

“But it is certain that the good become so by the attainment of good?”

“Yes.”

“Then the good attain that which they wish?”

“Yes,” said I, “it seems so.”

“But if evil men attain the good they seek, they cannot be evil?”

“No.”

“Since, then, both classes seek the good, which the good attain, but the evil attain not, it is plain that the good are powerful, while the evil are weak?”

“If any doubt that, he cannot judge by the nature of the world, nor by the sequence of arguments.” . . .

—from Book 4, Prose 2

As Aristotle observed in the Nicomachean Ethics, we will all agree that we want happiness, even as we may be uncertain of what the actual goal might be, or by what means we should go about attaining it.

There is something surreal, and sometimes quite disturbing, in seeing people rush about here and there, busy with all sorts of different tasks, all seeking this same prize, so necessary yet so mysterious, so close yet so far.

Now people will express their purpose in many different ways, and they will pursue it by many varied paths, but the end remains the same. We may confuse that end with all sorts of imperfect diversions, of course, because we are forgetting that it is the whole of our humanity we are trying to fulfill, and that the good we seek is the highest good, not just any good.

I may well fret about how vicious people seem to become happy, and how virtuous people seem to become miserable. What I am once again forgetting, however, is that very identity between happiness and the highest good.

I can only be happy if I possess that good, and will remain quite unhappy if I lack it. It only follows that a life of virtue, a good life, is also a happy life, and a life of vice, a bad life, is also an unhappy life.

In other words, to find happiness requires the power to seek the good, and the power to achieve the good. The virtuous man understands what he should desire, and he therefore acts toward attaining that goal.

The vicious man, however, may understand that he wants to be happy, but because of how he chooses to act, he does not have the means to get there; he lives poorly, and so he only moves away from happiness, not closer.

Real power is in finishing the job, and it is strength of character that finishes the job of being human. Weakness of character, however, leaves everything undone.

My sense of what is strong and weak will change in direct proportion to my sense of what is good and bad, right and wrong.

I will no longer feel so frustrated when I see the scoundrel acquiring all of his trinkets, because I know they are not the highest good. I will begin to admire the decent fellow, because I know that he is improving his very human nature.

It takes careful observation to notice how those who are deeply selfish, lustful, or dishonest are still quite edgy, worried, and grasping in most everything they do. This is because they are lacking in something they need. At the same time, notice how those who are truly just, loving, and sincere reveal a profound inner serenity and calm. This is because they have exactly what they need.

Written in 10/2015