Part IX

PTTHAGORAS.
39i
* Anon. Phot.
tbe Theoretic^ celebrated as ’Divine Virtue^ vohen clojing the Injirufftons of Civil Virtue.
Thefe labour (faith he) jludy thefe^ andthefe affeHy
To Divine Virtue^ thefe thy Jleps direll.
Firft therefore a Man muft be made good, then a God : good the Civil Virtues render a Man, but the Sciences conducing to the Divine Virtue divi- nifie. But to thofe who afcend, the lefler things precedethe greater; for which realbn in the Py- thagorical Precepts, the Rules of Virtue are firft delivered, teaching us to afcend from the greateft ufe of Life, to the Divine Refem- blance.
* Three ways', fay they, liidn may become better than himfelf, firft by Convcrfation with the Gods for it .is necelfary, that he^who addrcffcth himfelf to them, at that time, f^uefter himfelf from all evil, afliniilating himfdf as near as he can to God : Secondly, by well doing, for that is proper to God, and therein he imitates God : Thirdly, by death *, for if the Soul in this- Life, being a little feparated from the Body, becometh better, and beginneth to divine in Dreams by Vi- iions and Extalies of Difeafes, it will be much bet¬ ter when it fhall be wholly feparated from the Body.
Hence he affirmed, that(/) the moft cenfider- ibid. things Humane; is to inform the Soul
mng concerning good and ill- That men have ier. perfeft felicity when they have a good Soul, or
(/)Cknx. that (/) the knowledge of the perfeftion of the of the ^oul is the chief felicity -, That * (^) every man is appointed by God to know and (m)Jmb.'gto- to contemplate ; That {n) Virtue is a Harmony, n-ept. cap. 9. and fo is all good, even God himfelf •, That (p) the PS* 58. £jni oj. chief Good is to refemble God : whence he * ‘ exprefly faid. Follow God; not vifible to the Eye,
(o;5!/o5.£tb. but intelligible to the Underftanding, by the har- 2. pag._idj. mony of the World ; That (p) the moft excellent things giveg by the gods unto men, arc, to fpeak truth, and to benefit others, CTheoretick and Praftick Virtue] and that each of thefe refembled the Works of God : to this latter S'tfabo alludes, commending thofe who faid, (q) Men imitate the gods moft when they benefit others : The former 5.27. fee is confirmed by (r) Porphyrius, that he advifed a- bove all things to fpeak truth, for that only is able to make Men like to the gods ; for God him¬ felf, as he learn’d of the Magi, who term him Oromafdes, in his Body refembles light,in his Soul truth. This is that (Divinity) which
0") Jcmblichus reckons laft in his Recapitulation of the Heads of the Pythagorick Philofbphy, and is the fame with which the Golden Verfes con¬ clude, thus.
Then ftript offlejh up to free ^ther foar,
A deathlefs god ^ divine mortal no more.
fmph.
(j^Lib.
alib
Serai, n.
(0 Cap. 6.
S E"C T. I.
PraUick Philofophy, its parts ; and firfiof P/deutick.
|Raftick Philofophy feems to have been the In¬ vention of Pythlogorat-, for Ariftotle
that he firft undertook to difeourfe concerning Virtue .; That Socrates is generally efteemed the Author thereof, periiaps is only fiecaufe, as Ari- ^^7//^adds, coming after him he diftourfed better and more fully thereupon.
To this part of Philofbphy alludes (b) this Sen- fA) ferm. tence of Pythagoras-, That the difeourfe of that 80. Philofopher is vain, by which no pallion of a man is healed : for as there is no benefit of Me¬ dicine, if it expel not difeafes out of bodies, fo neither of Philofophy, if it expel not ill out of the Soul.
Virtues being of two kinds, private, which re- fpea our felves, and publick, which have reference to others; Pythagoras feems to have comprehend¬ ed the firft under Pdcdeutick, the fecond under Po- ' litick- affirms he writThreeTreatifes, .
P£deuUck,Pol'itick,Phyfick. The Heads of P^f- • deutick, according to the general recapitulation of
(c) Jamblichifs, feem to have been. thefe, Inflituti- (c ]'Cap. 6. on. Silence, AbfiinencefromPlefl), Fortitude, Tem¬ perance, Sagacity.
GHAP. 1.
Injlitution, Silence, Abjlinence.
GOncerning Inftitution, ^c. there are thefe Sentences and Pi ecepts of pre-
ferved by Stobaiss and others.
(a) We ought to make choice of the beft courfe {‘i)Stoh. ferm. of life ; for Cuftom will make it plealant ; Wealth is a weak Anchor, Glory a weaker: The Body, Magiftracies, Honours, all thefe are infirm dnd unable. What are then able Anchors? Wifdom, Magnanimity, Fortitude-, thefe no tempeft fhakes.
This is the Law of Gbd, that Virtue only is folid ; all elfe are but trifles^
(b) To take away bitternefs from Wormwood, (b) stob. fcr.9. and liberty from Speech, are both alike.
(c) Endeavour not to conceal thy faults with fej stob. ibid, words, but to a mend them by reproof.
(d) It is not fo hard to oftend, as not to reprove ('d ) 5/oA.ihid. an offending perfon:
(e) As the licknefs of the body; if hid or praifed, (e J stob. 15. is not healed, lb the foul therilhed in its ways, or concealed, is not reformed.
(/) Rcjnice more in reprovers than in flatterers : cOstob. 14. fly from flatterers as Enemies. '
(g) We ought either to be filent, or to l])eak Cgjstob. 24; things that are better than filence.
(h) It is better to throw a ftone at random, than (h) Stob. 54. an idle word.
( i) Comprehend not few things in many vtbrds, (0 stob. 55. but many things in few words.
We muft faithfully reftore to him that en- (Ji)Porph.^.2i. trufts us, the Depofitum, not only of money, but'of words.
(/) Of Opinion, iht Pythagoreans Ir rD7
is the part of a man void of underftanding, to adhere to all mens Opinions, efpecially to that which is maintained by the greateft number : for to conceive and judge aright is proper to few, it only belongs to the knowing, who are not many : this power therefore extends not to many. On the otlier fide, it is no lefs madneft, to contemn all Conception and Opinion. Such a perfon muft be unlearned and unreftifiable : for it is neceflary, that he who is ignorant learn thofe things where-,
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PTTHAGORAS.