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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Boethius say Philosophy's arguments do not soothe his pain?
(a) They are only words.
(b) They arrive too late to help him.
(c) His pain is too great.
(d) They do not solve his problem of being in prison.

2. What does Philosophy say about Boethius' feelings toward fortune at the start of Book II?
(a) His health.
(b) His comfort.
(c) That he hates it.
(d) That he is longing for it.

3. What became rusty according to the test administered by the woman to Boethius?
(a) Boethius' knife.
(b) The bars of the cell.
(c) Boethius' mind.
(d) Boethius' chariot.

4. Why does Philosophy justify her saying that Boethius didn't lose anything?
(a) His wife and children will continue to enjoy his riches.
(b) He made a deal with fortune to get it all back.
(c) She says he never really owned anything.
(d) All his belongings are safely hidden.

5. Why does Philosophy praise Boethius' sons?
(a) They don't squander money.
(b) They are staying away from politics.
(c) They have his high morals.
(d) They are senators.

6. According to Philosophy, what are the remarks Philosophy makes about Fortune at the beginning of the Book II?
(a) Everything she has to say.
(b) Everything Boethius needs to feel better.
(c) Only an introduction to her main argument.
(d) Only a small part of her great wisdom.

7. Why does Boethius not understand what the woman is trying to explain to him in Book 1?
(a) He has a limited intellect.
(b) He is malnourished.
(c) His suffering seems quite real.
(d) The woman does not speak his language.

8. What should Boethius keep in mind concerning his money?
(a) How weak his hold on it was.
(b) That people were jealous of him.
(c) That his wife was using too much of it.
(d) How much he liked it.

9. What does Philosophy say of Fortune?
(a) It is a muse.
(b) It is a monster.
(c) It is like a child.
(d) It is a friend.

10. What gift did God give to men according to Boethius?
(a) Freedom.
(b) Houses.
(c) Knowledge.
(d) Curiosity.

11. Why does Boethius want political power?
(a) For personal gain.
(b) To be safe from persecution.
(c) To help friends get jobs.
(d) To promote justice.

12. What does Philosophy reply when Boethius tells her that his pain is real and tangible?
(a) That she has not gotten to the substance of her treatment.
(b) That she is not a doctor.
(c) That the spirit has power over the body.
(d) That she can heal him with her hands.

13. What is Boethius' answer after the woman asks what ails him?
(a) That he can't escape.
(b) That what ails him is obvious.
(c) That his sons won't visit him.
(d) That his wife left him.

14. What does Philosophy tell Boethius concerning what he thinks about Fortune?
(a) He doesn't know what he is talking about.
(b) He is on the verge of finding how to control fortune.
(c) He is right.
(d) He is wrong.

15. What does Philosophy tell Boethius to make her point about fortune?
(a) That God explained how it works.
(b) That Boethius had similar arguments when he was rich.
(c) That philosophy knows best.
(d) That Fortune says the same thing.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Boethius aware of concerning Fortune?

2. What does the woman disagree with Boethius about in Book 1?

3. What does Fortune love to do to men comfortable with their possessions?

4. What does Philosophy think Boethius feels about fortune?

5. What does Philosophy say of the wealth Fortune gives away?

(see the answer keys)

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