The Consolation of Boethius' Philosophy and the Old English poem “The Wanderer” are both testaments to the enduring quality of literature. Writing in the 6th century AD, Boethius discusses topics as diverse as happiness, the existence of evil, and the path to God while locked in a cell with the goddess Philosophy. In contrast, “The Wanderer,” an elegy originally written in Old English, is a poem told from the point of view of an exile mourning his despondent existence away from the community. Although it was written nearly five centuries later, it reflects many of the philosophical principles outlined in Boethius' account. He expresses life as a merely transitory existence, arguing that happiness can only be found in God and that destiny is an integral part of the human experience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Both texts agree on the transitory nature of human existence. For example, to the narrator of “The Wanderer,” wealth is nothing more than a temporary means of happiness that is ultimately transitory and will eventually be destroyed along with the rest of the world. This sentiment is evoked when he writes that “wealth is fleeting” (108), and in another verse he predicts that “all the wealth of this world will remain wasted” (74) as long as the universe “remains empty” (109). This belief mirrors in many ways the teachings of Boethius' Consolation. First, both works argue that one should not be attached to wealth because it ultimately serves no purpose. Boethius' Fortune explains that she holds the power to “withdraw [her] gifts” (21) whenever she wants and condemns humans for wanting to be “enhanced by external ornaments” (29). Although the narrator of “The Wanderer” does not explicitly say that God ultimately strips us of our material possessions, his belief in our final destruction compares his “Heavenly Father” (117) to the role of Fortune, in the sense that what provided to us can be taken away just as easily. Secondly, both suggest that the only remedy for this desire is a spiritual relationship with God, which will survive the material world. The pursuit of happiness also takes on an ephemeral presence in both “The Wanderer” and Consolation. Both narrators find themselves in exile, able to seek consolation only through poetic expression that finds their surroundings meaningless and temporary. The philosophy outlines three pursuits that ultimately lead nowhere: wealth, respect and fame. But all these initiatives cause nothing but damage. Wealth brings worry (46), power brings contempt (48), and fame is nothing more than a false celebration (49). These vain endeavors turn humans into animals who fail to establish a spiritual connection in this transitory life. Although the narrator of “The Wanderer” does not seem to lament a moral decadence like Philosophy, his displeasure is simply because those things are not eternal. Those “greedy for fame often bind securely…a grieving soul” (17). His “memory of relatives” (51) brings temporary comfort, but they “always swim away” (53), and in the end “the rulers lie bereft of all joy” (99) “as if it had never been” (96 ). The world of “The Wanderer” is only temporary and describes aspects of civilization as a whole that are “destroyed” (85) by “The Creator” (84). In the final lines, the only hope for redemption is for those who “seek mercy” (116) in God. Since the world is empty, the only path to true happiness is through virtue. Philosophy states that all earthly attempts at happiness are simply inadequate because the:.