How to Cope: An Ancient Guide to Enduring Hardship

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers

by Boethius, Philip Freeman (translator)

A vivid and accessible new translation of essential selections from Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy—a moving classic about facing life’s worst events with courage and hope

What do you do when your life has fallen apart? Fifteen hundred years ago, a Roman nobleman named Boethius (ca. 480–524 CE) asked this question as he was sitting in a prison cell waiting to die, accused—probably unjustly—of treason. Boethius had been a rich and powerful man with all a person could want in life, but now he had lost everything. Shaken, he wondered how such terrible misfortune could have happened to him and why life was so unfair. When Philosophy herself appears in his cell and confronts Boethius, the conversation that follows between the two on the nature of evil and why humans suffer is as powerful and inspiring today as it was to its first readers. In How to Cope, Philip Freeman presents a lively modern translation of essential selections from Boethius’s classic, complete with an introduction and the original Latin on facing pages.

This translation vividly captures Boethius’s journey from bitterness and anger to reconciliation and peace, showing how ancient philosophy, especially Stoicism, can help readers deal with adversity in their own lives. The book reveals the qualities that have made The Consolation of Philosophy one of the most popular and influential works of classical and world literature, and an inspiration to countless writers, including Thomas Aquinas, Dante, and Chaucer.

Genres: Philosophy, Audiobook, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

Published September 30, 2025

About the author

Roman mathematician Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, imprisoned on charges of treason, wrote The Consolation of Philosophy , his greatest work, an investigation of destiny and free will, while awaiting his execution.

His ancient and prominent noble family of Anicia included many consuls and Petronius Maximus and Olybrius, emperors. After Odoacer deposed the last western emperor, Flavius Manlius Boethius, his father, served as consul in 487.

Boethius entered public life at a young age and served already as a senator before the age of 25 years in 504. Boethius served as consul in 510 in the kingdom of the Ostrogoths.

In 522, Boethius saw his two sons serve as consuls. Theodoric the Great, king, suspected Boethius of conspiring with the eastern empire eventually. Jailed, Boethius composed his treatise on fortune, death, and other issues. He most popularly influenced the Middle Ages.

People linked Boethius and Rithmomachia, a board game.

Reviews

[Andy]

DNF. More sophistry than philosophy, especially if packaged as "how to cope." The main thing the dude is whining about is injustice. Accepting one's execution because nothing really matters is not an effective way of coping with injustice, in my opinion. But maybe there's a Queen song in there.

[Omar Khedr]

Great book with solid insights on coping from a Roman Consul to Prisoner

[Clare Lewis]

What I enjoyed mostly about this book was feeling the connection between a human 1500 years ago, battling the same questions that I struggle with today. The beginning was my favourite. I could sense Boethius ‘coping’ in the middle, often mentioning the clearness of his argument which had left me baffled, and I found myself just getting through.

[Peter Liao]

A short read involving timeless debates surrounding hardships. Interesting to see Greek wisdom preserving till today and remaining incredibly potent in a world that is getting increasingly difficult to survive in.