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God’s plan for the universe, considered from the perspective of God’s “divine reason itself.” This contrasts with Fate, which is the same plan, viewed from the temporal perspective of the material world. In practice, this means that Providence is the overall order of things, like an unchanging blueprint, whereas Fate is the actual, constantly-changing process of construction itself. Providence is absolutely benevolent and perfect, even if Fate sometimes takes a roundabout path to manifesting it.
Providence Quotes in The Consolation of Philosophy
The The Consolation of Philosophy quotes below are all either spoken by Providence or refer to Providence. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book III, Part IX
Quotes
O Thou who dost by everlasting reason rule,
Creator of the planets and the sky, who time
From timelessness dost bring, unchanging Mover,
No cause drove Thee to mould unstable matter, but
The form benign of highest good within Thee set.
All things Thou bringest forth from Thy high archetype:
Thou, height of beauty, in Thy mind the beauteous world
Dost bear, and in that ideal likeness shaping it,
Dost order perfect parts a perfect whole to frame.
[…]
Grant, Father, that our minds Thy august seat may scan,
Grant us the sight of true good’s source, and grant us light
That we may fix on Thee our mind’s unblinded eye.
Disperse the clouds of earthly matter’s cloying weight;
Shine out in all Thy glory; for Thou art rest and peace
To those who worship Thee; to see Thee is our end,
Who art our source and maker, lord and path and goal.
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Book IV, Part I
Quotes
But the greatest cause of my sadness is really this—the fact that in spite of a good helmsman to guide the world, evil can still exist and even pass unpunished. This fact alone you must surely think of considerable wonder. But there is something even more bewildering. When wickedness rules and flourishes, not only does virtue go unrewarded, it is even trodden underfoot by the wicked and punished in the place of crime. That this can happen in the realm of an omniscient and omnipotent God who wills only good, is beyond perplexity and complaint.
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Book IV, Part VI
Quotes
The relationship between the ever-changing course of Fate and the stable simplicity of Providence is like that between reasoning and understanding, between that which is coming into being and that which is, between time and eternity, or between the moving circle and the still point in the middle.
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Providence Term Timeline in The Consolation of Philosophy
The timeline below shows where the term Providence appears in The Consolation of Philosophy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book IV, Part VI
...God,” who has “a plan for the multitude of events,” which is also known as “Providence” or “Fate,” depending on the perspective. “Providence” refers to “the divine reason itself,” God’s total...
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As a result of the distinction between Providence and Fate, Philosophy continues, some things are below Providence but above the changing events of...
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In short, the answer to Boethius’s question is this: through Providence, God has “evil men making other evil men good.” When evil people are treated unjustly,...
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Book V, Part I
...the conjunction of its causes with action which is done for some purpose” under God’s Providence.
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Book V, Part III
...there a contradiction between “God’s universal foreknowledge and freedom of the will?” That is, if Providence has determined the future, how can people truly control their actions? Philosophy notes that some...
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Philosophy asks how there can be “such enmity” between God’s Providence and the human will. How can the mind, she sings, yearn “to learn the secret...
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Book V, Part IV
Philosophy tells Boethius that his doubt is “an old complaint about Providence,” but accuses his argument of lacking “care and rigour” and admits that “human reasoning” will...
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Book V, Part VI
...and His foreknowledge is really “the knowledge of a never ending presence,” which Philosophy calls “providence or ‘looking forth’ [rather] than prevision or ‘seeing beforehand.’”
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So something’s place in Providence, or God’s plan for all things, is conditionally but not simply necessary, because although it...
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