Theological Tractates/The Consolation of Philosophy Quotes

“Should Plenty pour from cornucopia full
As much in riches as the sand
Stirred up by wind-whipped seas, or as the countless stars
That shine in the clear night sky,
And never stay her hand,
Still would mankind not cease
Complaining of their wretchedness.
Even were God with much gold prodigal,
Answering men's prayers,
And heaped bright honors on those wanting them,
Their gains would seem to them
Nothing: ever their cruel gain-devouring greed
Opens new maws. What curbs
Could check within firm bounds this headlong lust,
When even those whose wealth is overflowing
The thirst for gain still burns?
He is never rich
Who trembles and sighs, thinking himself in need.”
― Boethius, Theological Tractates/The Consolation of Philosophy

“For the nature of man is such that he is better than other things only when he knows himself, and yet if he ceases to know himself he is made lower than the brutes. For it is natural for other animals not to have this self-knowledge; in man it is a fault. How far from your true state have you wandered when you think you can be at all improved by the addition of the beauties of other things!”
― Boethius, Theological Tractates/The Consolation of Philosophy