Back in my day!

The 5^th Metron provides a very interesting contrast to the preceding Prosa (number 4). The 4^th prosa is based around Boethius describing what has gone wrong, why he is in prison. The main slant of it is that although he was acting in a manner that was to benefit the Senate, he is falsely accused by others out of desire for gain and advancement. The accusations made against Boethius are supposed to seem overwhelmingly false because they conflict with what he has learned from Philosophia; however the charges themselves are based on his philosophy, or so it seems he would have the reader believe. The picture that the 4^th prosa paints is one of over-turned expectation. What Boethius believes ought to be right and what ought to be done are not and instead evil triumphs. The 5^th metron, then, coming right afterwards paints an opposite picture. In this metron Boethius describes the heavans/nature working in proper fashion and directly addresses the great creator as the orchestrator of the heavenly/natural order. The first three quarters or so of this metron is dedicated to the description of the proper workings of the heavens and Boethius directly addresses that no part leaves its work “Nihil antiqua lege solutum/Linquit propriae stationis opus”. The last part of the Metron calls on the great ruler to turn his gaze towards the issues of the world and the broken order there, as well as to bring the laws that govern heaven peacefully to earth. It is a lovely contrast that follows the 4^th Prosa and the calm beginning of the 5^th metron allows for greater emphasis of the call for change at the end.