中世紀音樂理論家波埃提烏斯認為，音樂在四藝中佔有相當重要的地位，它與道德及知識緊緊相扣。他一生儘其所能的維護與傳承古希臘文化，將古文獻傳諸於後世。波埃提烏斯不僅契而不捨的對希臘哲學進行思辨與探究，人與宇宙的關係，更是波埃提烏斯學說的重點。他認為，人們領會世界一元論和上帝創造說的進展程序從學習數學的基礎及定義開始，接著學習幾何，再學習音樂，最後學習天文。至於有關波埃提烏斯的全人教育音樂思想則呈現在他的第一類著作--《音樂原理》中。其中除了肯定音樂的道德功能外，三個層次的音樂、誰才是真正的音樂家、與三個層次音樂活動的論述觀點，清楚勾勒出波埃提烏斯視音樂為反映宇宙秩序的一面鏡子，認為音樂為通達萬物之道和更高真理的表徵之理念。

Music theorist A.M.T.S. Boëthius in the Middle Ages believed that music occupied an important position in Quadrivium and closely correlated with morality and knowledge. He devoted his whole life to preserving and instructing ancient Greece culture as possible as he could, and propagated ancient records to later generations. Boëthius not only indefatigably debated and speculated on Greece philosophy, but also regarded the relationship between human and the universe as the focal point in his doctrine. He thought that the procedure of understanding the theory of world monism and God’s creation was to begin with learning the base and definition of Mathematics, then Geometry, Music, and the last Astronomy. Besides, Boëthius’ music thinking of holistic education was represented in his first category of writing: De institutione musica. Except approving music’s function of morality, in this work, the issue of “three level of music”, “who is a real musician” and “three level of music action” clearly illustrate Boëthius’ points which regard music as a mirror that reflects the universal order and consider music as a notion that leads to comprehending the tenet of whole creation and represents all great truth.