Prologue

I would have turned away from the company of the frivolous, leaving the palace of the courtier, except that the authority of your precepts has detained my departure on the threshold itself. For when I revealed to you the distress of my heart and complained about the loss of time and of life, you always advised me to carry on with strong heart until God reveals Himself to others and transforms my circumstances for the better, persuading me that, in the manner of the labourer who averts or diminishes the tedium of his labours by old songs and sweet voices, I might be compensated for the waste of time and material goods. For the path seems easier and more brief for travellers if they are refreshed by a story pleasant to the senses or by the melodies of a sweet voice. So also you told me to pursue a devotion to reading or some other activity and, if nothing else is granted, to lament about my situation and the fickle forms of fortune, at least to myself and to the Muses. For in aspiring to philosophy, it is an important step to bewail the lack of virtue in oneself.