Born into a Christian patrician family in late Roman society, Ancius Boethius (480-525) rose in favour under the Emperor Theodoric until he attained 'magister officiorum' - the highest bureaucratic position in the empire. From this lofty pinnacle he was suddenly cast down, unjustly arrested and condemned as a traitor. Imprisoned, despondent, facing torture and certain death, Boethius wrote 'The Consolation of Philosophy', a dialogue between the author and the allegorical 'Lady Philosophy', who comes to his place of confinement to 'cure' him of his attachment to earthly desires. In a series of discussions based on classical authors such as Plato, Cicero and Ovid, the book covers a swathe of issues - Chance, Fortune, the existence of Evil, Freewill, and the path to true happiness. This is a book of many levels that will appeal to all those interested in the well-springs of our being.