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HOW TO COPE: An Ancient Guide to Enduring Hardship, Boethius, Philip Freeman Editor & 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–HOW TO COPE: An Ancient Guide to Enduring Hardship, Boethius, Philip Freeman Editor (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers, Princeton University Press, September 2025)

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.

“Wisdom for the ages. . . . [and] a clear introduction to a way of finding faith in cosmic concord during times of strife.” ― Kirkus Reviews

“A very welcome new selection of a philosophical must-read in an excellent new English translation. Gentle and amazingly relevant today, this is a handy volume to keep by the bedside.”—Tom Hodgkinson, founder and editor of The Idler

“It is commonplace to say that philosophy is one of the most useless of human activities. This new translation of Boethius by Philip Freeman gives the lie to such nonsense. Read it, reflect on it, practice it. It will change your life for the better.”—Massimo Pigliucci, author of How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life

Philip Freeman earned his PhD at Harvard University and has taught at colleges and universities in the US. He has written over thirty books on ancient and medieval history and literature. His books have been reviewed in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other national publications.