A major relationship between the prose and related poems in Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy is that both follow the same form of logical structure. Each matching prose and poem, as well as all of them as a whole, present three premises, deduct a conclusion from those premises, and then identify the contradiction that the conclusion creates. Though all logical arguments must follow the form of premises leading to conclusions, the distinct relationship is created in the poetry. Poetry is not bound by the same laws as logical argument, however Boethius uses the same form of logical structure in his poems to further enumerate the idea he is trying to express in each prose poem match, and, therefore, marries the arts (poetry) and logic into what he deems true philosophy. Previous philosophers could not tie the arts and logic together, concluding that the two could not coexist in a single form. Boethius creates the prose poem logical relationship not only to further dictate his points but also to make the distinction that the two can coexist in a single idea. Boethius believes that true philosophy must encompass all things and in creating this relationship illustrates his idea of true philosophy. As a prime example, in Book I, prose and poem II, Boethius explains his three premises, bases a conclusion on those premises, and then shows the contradiction created by his conclusion. Boethius does this exact logical structure in both the poem and the prose, and though the premises, conclusion, and contradiction are not exactly the same in the poem and prose they are intrinsically tied to encompass the same idea.
             A good argument must first have ideas to base the argument. Boethius's first step when writing his poems or prose was to explain, and sometimes imply, the premises his argument is based on. It is important to realize that he sometimes did imply his reasoning, especially in poetry, because to the untrained...