lifelove+justice: February 2010

Other people just say it better than I can:

You who control all the world everlastingly by your own reason,

Sowing the seeds of the earth and the heavens, commanding the eons

To roll from eternity; resting unmoved, you put all things in motion,

You whom no alien causes demanded to fashion creation

From mutable matter, but only the unstinting essence of true good things,

All of them, out and, most splendid yourself, in your own mind you carry

This splendid world and you shape it to mirror your image and likeness,

And you command that its perfect components accomplish perfection.

You bind in number and ratio the elements, ice and flame matching,

Dry matching moist, so there is no flight up for the rarified fire,

Earth is not dragged by its weight to sink down to the depths of the waters.

You center Soul: It unites threefold Nature, sets all things in motion;

You divide Soul and apportion it into harmonious members;

Soul, once divided, collected its motion in two equal orbits,

Moving so as to return to itself, and completely encircling

Mind at the core, so the universe wheels in its image and likeness.

You by like causes bring forth lesser souls; for these lesser creations

You fashion nimble conveyances for a heavenly journey.

You plants these souls in the heavens, in earth; by your generous statutes

You make them turn back toward you and return—a regression of fire.

Grant to the mind, Father, that it may rise to your holy foundations;

Grant it may ring round the source of the Good, may discover the true light,

And fix the soul’s vision firmly on you, vision keen and clear-sighted.

Scatter these shadows, dissolve the dead weight of this earthyl concretion,

Shine in the splendor that is yours alone: only you are the bright sky,

You are serenity, peace for the holy; their goals is to see you;

You are their source, their conveyance, their leader, their path, and their haven.

-Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy-

lifelove+justice