A group of nine goddesses who, in the tradition of Ancient Greece, inspired people to create art. Boethius wrestles with the Muses at the very beginning of the Consolation, as he struggles to write a poem about his recent misfortunes, but Philosophy soon shows up and kicks the Muses out of Boethius’s room, declaring that “Reason” must triumph over “Passion.” The Muses represent Boethius’s integration of both prose with poetry, and of Greek tradition with his contemporary Roman Christianity.
The Muses Quotes in The Consolation of Philosophy
The The Consolation of Philosophy quotes below are all either spoken by The Muses or refer to The Muses. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book I, Part I
Quotes
While with success false Fortune favoured me
One hour of sadness could not have thrown me down,
But now her trustless countenance has clouded,
Small welcome to the days that lengthen life.
Foolish the friends who called me happy then:
For falling shows a man stood insecure.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Consolation of Philosophy LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Muses Quotes in The Consolation of Philosophy
The The Consolation of Philosophy quotes below are all either spoken by The Muses or refer to The Muses. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book I, Part I
Quotes
While with success false Fortune favoured me
One hour of sadness could not have thrown me down,
But now her trustless countenance has clouded,
Small welcome to the days that lengthen life.
Foolish the friends who called me happy then:
For falling shows a man stood insecure.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis: