“The
operation of wisdom is shown in this way more nobly and clearly, when the
happiness of rulers is in a manner transmitted to the people who come into
contact with their rule; and especially when prisons, bonds, and other penalties
of the law become the lot of the evil citizens for whom they were designed.
“I
am struck with great wonder why these dues are interchanged; why punishments
for crimes fall upon the good, while the bad citizens seize the rewards of
virtue; and I long to learn from you what reason can be put forward for such
unjust confusion.
“I
should wonder less if I could believe that everything was the confusion of
accident and chance. But now the thought of God's guidance increases my
amazement. He often grants happiness to good men and bitterness to the bad, and
then, on the other hand, sends hardships to the good and grants the desires of
the wicked. Can we lay our hands on any cause? If not, what can make this state
different in any way from accidental chance?”
—from
Book 4, Prose 5
Like
most of us when we are trying to work through a problem, Boethius will jump
from one place to another, working something out on this side, only to find
that it has revealed a different difficulty on the other side. It will involve
all the frustration that comes from trying to herd cats.
At this
point in the text, Boethius feels more comfortable with the small picture, and
yet he once again becomes more confused about the big picture. He is making
more sense of how his own life is working out, while he is increasingly
troubled that the Universe as a whole isn’t working out.
Recall,
of course, that we began with his deepest despair about his personal situation,
that he has been treated unjustly, that his enemies have triumphed over him, and
that his happiness has been stolen from him.
He now
begins to see that his act of living well is its own reward, that his enemies’
act of living poorly is its own punishment, and that his happiness is his to
determine, only through the content of his character.
Still,
why is Providence, the very order behind the unfolding of the world, not doing
more to encourage and support the good life? If a man chooses to pursue wisdom,
would it not be best if he were given the best means to do so? If a man commits
to living with virtue, would it not be best if he were offered the best
opportunities to practice it?
Surely
God should cease allowing the just to be cast aside, the workers to be denied
prosperity, or the loving to be shown disrespect? After all, if God really
loved us, he would give us benevolent rulers, to assist us in our own
benevolence. If He cared enough, he would do enough to show us how much He
cares.
Does
this mean that a man can do right, but he will never be treated right? It
hardly seems fair.
The
answer, however, is already to be found in everything Lady Philosophy has
taught. It is because we are still mixing standards that we are confused about
our human worth. Boethius only sees an inconsistency at this point because he
is not applying one and the same measure of the human good. He accepts that he
is made to do well, and yet he still expects others to do well for him.
Will
being offered wealth, power, veneration, and strength necessarily make a person
better? They could just as easily make him worse, depending on what he makes of
them.
Will
being burdened with poverty, exile, disgrace, and weakness necessarily make a
person worse? They could just as easily
make him better, depending on what he makes of them.
It may
indeed seem that the way circumstances are distributed is random and arbitrary.
That seeming comes only from failing to understand the part and whole as
working together.
Written in 11/2015
No comments:
Post a Comment