according to boethius it is the copious changes of fate , and sharp vicissitudes , that compel a man to find happiness not in external happenings , but in himself , and that the worst of all fates is to have a life so perfect and yet so dependent on the next success to retain this state of happiness , for with enough age , according to boethius , misfortune will finally come to those possessing such perfect lives , and when it does they will not be immured to the consequences .