"You are confused because you have forgotten what you are, and therefore, you are upset because you are in exile and stripped of all your possessions. Because you are ignorant of the purpose of things, you think that stupid and evil men are powerful and happy. And, because you have forgotten how the world is governed, you suppose that these changes of your fortune came about without purpose. Such notions are enough to cause not only sickness, but death." (Book I, Prose 6, p. 16)
Yes. What Philosophy tells Boethius is exactly what I see. But how can attitude alone cause change? Does she suggest that there is a deception of perception of reality that can be modified by belief? While I would agree that "I’ve been down so long it looks like up to me" is a turning point, it appears that Philosophy is insisting that while grief and sorrow over misfortunes clouds the mind and thus, the vision of truth–and this may be a natural reaction–there is something stronger that if not allowed to be lost to emotional reaction, would be enough to hold Boethius through his trials.
Is this possible? She is not referrring to faith in God, I do not think, but a truth in human nature that can withstand the "wild south wind (that) churns up the sea, the waves which once were clear as glass, as clear as the bright days, seem muddy and filthy to the beholder." (Book I, Poem 7, p. 16)
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology