Boethius is a philosopher who is sitting in jail waiting to die and while he is waiting he is wondering why bad things happen to good people. So, Lady philosophy tries make Boethius realize that if have the goods of nature then the goods of fortune are meaningless. In order to do that we must first understand what the goods of fortune are, what the goods of nature are, and what happiness is. The goods of fortune are what happen to us and are changing, beyond our control, and incomplete. The goods of nature are what we do and are constant, freely chosen, and complete. Happiness is the highest good. Also, since happiness is the highest good it cannot be taken away and fortune can be taken away we can conclude that happiness is not in fortune.
             Happiness also requires a good that is perfect, unchanging, and unified. The only person that has all three is God. So, God is the goods of nature and is always at the center of life and not material possessions, school, or work. Also, since God is the center of life, the further away from the center you go the less free and complete you will be. The way we stay close to the center is by choosing the goods of nature and the more we neglect them the further away from the center we will be. If we have the goods of nature it does not matter what happens to us whether it be good or bad because we will know how use it to make us more complete. An example is if we have wealth (goods of fortune) it is not necessarily a bad thing as long as we use it as a mean and not as an end. By lady philosophy explaining this to Boethius it makes him realize that everything happens for a reason and it happens in divine providence. This means the way in which God directs everything towards their natural ends. So, God directs us toward the center and it is up to us whether or not we want to follow His direction.
             Boethius realizes through lady philosophy that if you have the goods of nature then ther...