This page features a decorative headpiece depicting three birds amidst symmetrical foliage, signaling the start of the main narrative.

THE

CONSOLATION

OF

PHILOSOPHY.

BOOK ONE.

POETRY I. Boethius wrote this work in a style called "prosimetrum," which alternates between prose and verse. This first poem is an elegy, a traditional form for expressing grief and lamentation.

I, whose first verses spoke only of joy,
I cannot avoid the tears in which I drown;
I see all my pleasures changed by my grief,
And if I write verses, I owe them to misfortune;
The favors of Apollo original: "Appollon." The Greek and Roman god of music, poetry, and prophecy, often invoked as a patron of poets. offer me only laments;
In the waters of my eyes, my charms are extinguished;
Yet the benefits of his sweet kindness,
Touched by my sorrows, have always assisted me;
The honor with which he once cherished my childhood
Softens the sorrow that strikes at my constancy,
Though so many misfortunes lead with great strides,