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There was excitement in the air this morning as students on the New England High School Summer Program walked to class. After yesterday’s first foray into Euclid’s definitions and last night’s prop preparation, the programmers couldn’t wait to build on what they had learned and dive into their first in-class demonstrations.

Classrooms were filled early as students prepared to demonstrate Propositions , , and  from Book 1 of Euclid’s Elements. They constructed equilateral triangles and learned to prove that you can create a line equal to another line. Confidence rose as students grew more comfortable with the patterns and method of the props. With nothing but logic and a few simple tools, they investigated a new world and a new language of mathematical demonstration.

From the crisp clarity of geometric construction, the day moved into deeper waters with Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy. In their afternoon class, programmers met the imprisoned Roman philosopher as he grappled with the collapse of fortune and the silence of former friends. But, just as geometry offered structure in a blank space, students saw Boethius begin to rebuild his shattered interior world through dialogue with Lady Philosophy.

What does it mean to suffer unjustly? Is Fortune truly fickle, or is she merely fulfilling her anointed role? Can happiness be found in the external world, or only in the interior life of the soul aligned with truth? These were the questions ringing through the classrooms as students wrestled with Boethius’s fusion of classical logic and Christian hope.

Today was a day of contrast and connection, of the tangible certainty of circles and the intangible consolation of wisdom in suffering. After class, the programmers were off to a full afternoon of dancing, dinner, and Adoration. Read all about it tomorrow on the Summer Blog! 

More photos from the High School Summer Program

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