1. Anyone can tell stories but no one seems to know any actual evidence for Pythagoras.
2. But what exactly is the historical evidence for Pythagoras?
3. This tactic … deviously hides the fact that there is actually no evidence for Pythagoras: whether he actually existed…
4. Racists are unwilling to honestly admit that there is no actual evidence for Pythagoras…
5. Since there is no evidence for “Pythagoras”…
Pythagoras of Samos was a real person. There are simply too many references in Ancient Greek and Ionian manuscripts to have been faked. Benign myths can be created within the primary source language, yet they are usually embellishments of some core truth. By contrast, malicious myths are more likely to be created upon translation from primary sources into secondary sources. In the case of Pythagoras, Greek sources will have more credibility than Latin translations as
ἔτη τετταράκοντα τέτταρα, διὰ τῆς ἰδίας ἀρετῆς κατωρθωκὼς οὐκ ὀλίγα τῶν κοινῶν. ὅτι ἐπʼ ἄρχοντος Ἀθήνησι Θηρικλέους κατὰ τὴν ἑξηκοστὴν πρώτην Ὀλυμπιάδα Πυθαγόρας ὁ φιλόσοφος ἐγνωρίζετο, προκεκοφὼς ἤδη ἐν παιδείᾳ· γέγονε γὰρ ἱστορίας ἄξιος, εἰ καί τις ἕτερος τῶν περὶ παιδείαν διατριψάντων. γέγονε δὲ Σάμιος τὸ γένος· οἱ δέ φασιν
he rushed at Tullius, and seizing him by the arm he hurled him down the steps. Tullius picked himself up and, limping from the fall, endeavoured to flee, but was put to death. Const. Exc. 4, p. 293. Servius Tullius, the king of the Romans, enjoyed a rule of forty-four years, successfully establishing not a few institutions in the commonwealth by virtue of his own high character. When Thericles was archon in Athens in the Sixty-first Olympiad, Pythagoras, the philosopher, was generally recognized, having already far advanced in learning; for if there is any man of those who have cultivated learning deserving of a place in history, it is he. By birth he was a Samian, though some men say that he was a Tyrrhenian. And there was such persuasion and charm in his words that every day almost the entire city turned to him, as to a god present among them, and all men ran in crowds to hear him. Not only in eloquence of speech did he show himself great, but he also displayed a character of soul which was temperate and constituted a marvellous model of a life of modesty for the youth to emulate. Whoever associated with him he converted from their ways of extravagance
ἐπιθυμίας πρὸς τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν ἐκκαλεσάμενοι τὰς τραπέζας ἐκέλευον αἴρειν τοὺς παῖδας, καὶ παραχρῆμα ἄγευστοι τῶν παρατεθέντων ἐχωρίζοντο.Const. Exc. 2 (1), pp. 220- 223. ὅτι ὁ Πυθαγόρας μετεμψύχωσιν ἐδόξαζε καὶ κρεοφαγίαν ὡς ἀποτρόπαιον ἡγεῖτο, πάντων τῶν ζῴων τὰς ψυχὰς μετὰ θάνατον εἰς ἕτερα ζῷα λέγων εἰσέρχεσθαι. καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ἑαυτὸν ἔφασκεν ἐπὶ τῶν Τρωικ
This practice they followed to gain knowledge and judgement in all matters and experience in the ability to call many things to mind. The Pythagoreans trained themselves in the exercise of self-control in the following manner. They would have prepared for them everything which is served up at the most brilliant banquets, and would gaze upon it for a considerable time; then, after through mere gazing they had aroused their natural desires with a view to their gratification, they would command the slaves to clear away the tables and would at once depart without having tasted of what had been served. Const. Exc. 2 (1), pp. 220-223. Pythagoras believed in the transmigration of souls and considered the eating of flesh as an abominable thing, saying that the souls of all living creatures pass after death into other living creatures. And as for himself, he used to declare that he remembered having been in Trojan times Euphorbus, the son of Panthus, who was slain by Menelaus. We are told that once, when Pythagoras was sojourning in Argos, he saw a shield from the spoils of Troy fastened by nails to the wall and wept. And when the Argives inquired of him the cause of his grief, he replied that he himself had carried this shield in the land of
τοῦ διατηρεῖσθαι τὰς ὑπὲρ τούτων ὑποθήκας τὸ τοὺς Πυθαγορείους ὑπόστασιν ἔχειν μηδὲν τοιοῦτο ποιεῖν ἔγγραφον, ἀλλὰ διὰ μνήμης ἔχειν τὰ παραγγελλόμενα. ὅτι ὁ Πυθαγόρας πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις παρήγγελλε τοῖς μανθάνουσι σπανίως μὲν ὀμνύναι, χρησαμένους δὲ τοῖς ὅρκοις πάντως ἐμμένειν καὶ πρὸς τέλος ἄγειν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἄν τις ὀPauμόσῃ πραγμάτων, οὐχ ὁμοίαν
in addition to his other injunctions, commanded his pupils rarely to take an oath, and, when they did swear an oath, to abide by it under any circumstances and to bring to fulfilment whatever they have sworn to do; and that they should never reply as did Lysander the Laconian and Demades the Athenian, the former of whom once declared that boys should be cheated with dice and men with oaths, and Demades affirmed that in the case of oaths, as in all other affairs, the most profitable course is the one to choose, and that it was his observation that the perjurer forthwith continued to possess the things regarding which he had taken the oath, whereas the man who had kept his oath had manifestly lost what had been his own. For neither of these men looked upon the oath, as did Pythagoras, as a firm pledge of faith, but as a bait to use for ill-gotten gain and deception. Const. Exc. 4, pp. 293-295. Pythagoras commanded his pupils rarely to take an oath, and when they did swear an oath, to abide by it under every circumstance. The same Pythagoras, in his reflections upon the pleasures of love, taught that it was better to approach women in the summer not at all, and in the winter only sparingly. For in general he considered every kind of pleasure of love to be harmful, and believed that the uninterrupted indulgence in them is altogether weakening and destructive. Const. Exc. 2 (1), p. 423.
ἀπολλύντα. τούτων γὰρ ἑκάτερος οὐ καθάπερ Πυθαγόρας ὑπεστήσατο τὸν ὅρκον εἶναι πίστεως ἐνέχυρον βέβαιον, ἀλλʼ αἰσχροκερδείας καὶ ἀπάτης δέλεαρ.Const. Exc. 4, pp. 293-295. ὅτι Πυθαγόρας παρήγγελλε τοῖς μανθάνουσι σπανίως μὲν ὀμνύναι, χρησαμένους δὲ τοῖς ὅρκοις πάντως ἐμμένειν. ὅτι ὁ αὐτὸς Πυθαγόρας καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀφροδισίων ἐκλογιζόμενος τὸ συμφέρον παρήγγ
reply as did Lysander the Laconian and Demades the Athenian, the former of whom once declared that boys should be cheated with dice and men with oaths, and Demades affirmed that in the case of oaths, as in all other affairs, the most profitable course is the one to choose, and that it was his observation that the perjurer forthwith continued to possess the things regarding which he had taken the oath, whereas the man who had kept his oath had manifestly lost what had been his own. For neither of these men looked upon the oath, as did Pythagoras, as a firm pledge of faith, but as a bait to use for ill-gotten gain and deception. Const. Exc. 4, pp. 293-295. Pythagoras commanded his pupils rarely to take an oath, and when they did swear an oath, to abide by it under every circumstance. The same Pythagoras, in his reflections upon the pleasures of love, taught that it was better to approach women in the summer not at all, and in the winter only sparingly. For in general he considered every kind of pleasure of love to be harmful, and believed that the uninterrupted indulgence in them is altogether weakening and destructive. Const. Exc. 2 (1), p. 423. It is told of Pythagoras that once, when he was asked by someone when he should indulge in the pleasures of love, he replied, “When you wish not to be master of yourself.”
δέλεαρ.Const. Exc. 4, pp. 293-295. ὅτι Πυθαγόρας παρήγγελλε τοῖς μανθάνουσι σπανίως μὲν ὀμνύναι, χρησαμένους δὲ τοῖς ὅρκοις πάντως ἐμμένειν. ὅτι ὁ αὐτὸς Πυθαγόρας καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀφροδισίων ἐκλογιζόμενος τὸ συμφέρον παρήγγελλε κατὰ μὲν τὸ θέρος μὴ πλησιάζειν γυναιξί, κατὰ δὲ τὸν χειμῶνα προσιέναι τεταμιευμένως. καθόλου γὰρ τὸ γένος τῶν ἀφρ
and men with oaths, and Demades affirmed that in the case of oaths, as in all other affairs, the most profitable course is the one to choose, and that it was his observation that the perjurer forthwith continued to possess the things regarding which he had taken the oath, whereas the man who had kept his oath had manifestly lost what had been his own. For neither of these men looked upon the oath, as did Pythagoras, as a firm pledge of faith, but as a bait to use for ill-gotten gain and deception. Const. Exc. 4, pp. 293-295. Pythagoras commanded his pupils rarely to take an oath, and when they did swear an oath, to abide by it under every circumstance. The same Pythagoras, in his reflections upon the pleasures of love, taught that it was better to approach women in the summer not at all, and in the winter only sparingly. For in general he considered every kind of pleasure of love to be harmful, and believed that the uninterrupted indulgence in them is altogether weakening and destructive. Const. Exc. 2 (1), p. 423. It is told of Pythagoras that once, when he was asked by someone when he should indulge in the pleasures of love, he replied, “When you wish not to be master of yourself.” The Pythagoreans divided the life of mankind into four ages
.Const. Exc. 4, p. 295. ὅτι ὁ αὐτὸς Πυθαγόρας παρήγγελλε πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς προσιέναι τοὺς θύοντας μὴ
It is told of Pythagoras that once, when he was asked by someone when he should indulge in the pleasures of love, he replied, “When you wish not to be master of yourself.” The Pythagoreans divided the life of mankind into four ages, that of a child, a lad, a young man, and an old man; and they said that each one of these had its parallel in the changes which take place in the seasons in the year’s course, assigning the spring to the child, the autumn to the man, the winter to the old man, and the summer to the lad. Const. Exc. 4, p. 295. The same Pythagoras taught that when men approach the gods to sacrifice, the garments they wear should be not costly, but only white and clean, and that likewise they should appear before the gods with not only a body clean of every unjust deed but also a soul that is undefiled. Const. Exc. 2 (1), p. 223. Pythagoras declared that prudent men should pray to the gods for good things on behalf of imprudent men; for the foolish are ignorant of what in life is in very truth the good. Pythagoras used to assert that in their supplications men should pray simply for “all good things,” and not name them singly, as, for example, power, strength, beauty, wealth, and the like
σώφρονος ζῆλον καὶ πρὸς ἀνδρείαν τε καὶ καρτερίαν, ἔτι δὲ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρετάς, ἴσα θεοῖς παρὰ τοῖς Κροτωνιάταις ἐτιμᾶτο.Const. Exc. 2 (1), p. 223. ὅτι Πυθαγόρας φιλοσοφίαν, ἀλλʼ οὐ σοφίαν ἐκάλει τὴν ἰδίαν αἵρεσιν. καταμεμφόμενος γὰρ τοὺς πρὸ αὐτοῦ κεκλημένους ἑπτὰ σοφοὺς ἔλεγεν, ὡς σοφὸς μὲν οὐδείς ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὢν καὶ πολλάκις διὰ
for the best things for themselves, whereas in truth they were calling down curses upon their own heads. Const. Exc. 4, p. 295. During the time that Pythagoras was delivering many other discourses designed to inculcate the emulation of a sober life and manliness and perseverance and the other virtues, he received at the hands of the inhabitants of Croton honours the equal of those accorded to the gods. Const. Exc. 2 (1), p. 223. Pythagoras called the principles he taught philosophia or love of wisdom, but not sophia or wisdom. For he criticized the Seven Wise Men, as they were called, who lived before his time, saying that no man is wise, being human, and many a time, by reason of the weakness of his nature, has not the strength to bring all matters to a successful issue, but that he who emulates both the ways and the manner of life of a wise man may more fittingly be called a “lover of wisdom.” Although both Pythagoras himself and the Pythagoreans after his time made such advancement and were cause of so great blessings to the states of Greece, yet they did not escape the envy which besmirches all noble things. Indeed there is no noble thing among men, I
ἐδόξασαν. λέγουσι δὲ καὶ ὡς αὐτοὶ γεωμετρίαν τε καὶ ἀστρολογίαν καὶ ἀριθμητικὴν ἀνεῦρον. καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ τῆς εὑρέσεως ὧδε ἔχει. Φιλοσοφίαν δὲ πρῶτος ὠνόμασε Πυθαγόρας καὶ ἑαυτὸν φιλόσοφον, ἐν Σικυῶνι διαλεγόμενος Λέοντι τῷ Σικυωνίων τυράννῳ ἢ Φλιασίων, καθά φησιν Ἡρακλείδης ὁ Ποντικὸς ἐν τῇ Περὶ τῆς ἄπνου· μηδένα γὰρ εἶναι σοφὸν ἄνθρωπον
say that the stars consist of fire, and that, according as the fire in them is mixed, so events happen upon earth; that the moon is eclipsed when it falls into the earth’s shadow; that the soul survives death and passes into other bodies; that rain is caused by change in the atmosphere; of all other phenomena they give physical explanations, as related by Hecataeus and Aristagoras. They also laid down laws on the subject of justice, which they ascribed to Hermes; and they deified those animals which are serviceable to man. They also claimed to have invented geometry, astronomy, and arithmetic. Thus much concerning the invention of philosophy. But the first to use the term, and to call himself a philosopher or lover of wisdom, was Pythagoras; for, said he, no man is wise, but God alone. Heraclides of Pontus, in his De mortua, makes him say this at Sicyon in conversation with Leon, who was the prince of that city or of Phlius. All too quickly the study was called wisdom and its professor a sage, to denote his attainment of mental perfection; while the student who took it up was a philosopher or lover of wisdom. Sophists was another name for the wise men, and not only for philosophers but for the poets also. And so Cratinus when praising Homer and Hesiod in his Archilochi gives them the title of sophist. The men who were commonly regarded as sages were the following: Thales, Solon,
cont.
who took it up was a philosopher or lover of wisdom. Sophists was another name for the wise men, and not only for philosophers but for the poets also. And so Cratinus when praising Homer and Hesiod in his Archilochi gives them the title of sophist. The men who were commonly regarded as sages were the following: Thales, Solon, Periander, Cleobulus, Chilon, Bias, Pittacus. To these are added Anacharsis the Scythian, Myson of Chen, Pherecydes of Syros, Epimenides the Cretan; and by some even Pisistratus the tyrant. So much for the sages or wise men. But philosophy, the pursuit of wisdom, has had a twofold origin; it started with Anaximander on the one hand, with Pythagoras on the other. The former was a pupil of Thales, Pythagoras was taught by Pherecydes. The one school was called Ionian, because Thales, a Milesian and therefore an Ionian, instructed Anaximander; the other school was called Italian from Pythagoras, who worked for the most part in Italy. And the one school, that of Ionia, terminates with Clitomachus and Chrysippus and Theophrastus, that of Italy with Epicurus. The succession passes from Thales through Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, Archelaus, to Socrates, who introduced ethics or moral philosophy; from Socrates to his pupils the Socratics, and especially to Plato, the founder of the Old Academy; from Plato, through Speusippus and Xenocrates, the succession passes to
cont.
was another name for the wise men, and not only for philosophers but for the poets also. And so Cratinus when praising Homer and Hesiod in his Archilochi gives them the title of sophist. The men who were commonly regarded as sages were the following: Thales, Solon, Periander, Cleobulus, Chilon, Bias, Pittacus. To these are added Anacharsis the Scythian, Myson of Chen, Pherecydes of Syros, Epimenides the Cretan; and by some even Pisistratus the tyrant. So much for the sages or wise men. But philosophy, the pursuit of wisdom, has had a twofold origin; it started with Anaximander on the one hand, with Pythagoras on the other. The former was a pupil of Thales, Pythagoras was taught by Pherecydes. The one school was called Ionian, because Thales, a Milesian and therefore an Ionian, instructed Anaximander; the other school was called Italian from Pythagoras, who worked for the most part in Italy. And the one school, that of Ionia, terminates with Clitomachus and Chrysippus and Theophrastus, that of Italy with Epicurus. The succession passes from Thales through Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, Archelaus, to Socrates, who introduced ethics or moral philosophy; from Socrates to his pupils the Socratics, and especially to Plato, the founder of the Old Academy; from Plato, through Speusippus and Xenocrates, the succession passes to Polemo, Crantor, and Crates, Arcesilaus, founder of the Middle
cont.
the title of sophist. The men who were commonly regarded as sages were the following: Thales, Solon, Periander, Cleobulus, Chilon, Bias, Pittacus. To these are added Anacharsis the Scythian, Myson of Chen, Pherecydes of Syros, Epimenides the Cretan; and by some even Pisistratus the tyrant. So much for the sages or wise men. But philosophy, the pursuit of wisdom, has had a twofold origin; it started with Anaximander on the one hand, with Pythagoras on the other. The former was a pupil of Thales, Pythagoras was taught by Pherecydes. The one school was called Ionian, because Thales, a Milesian and therefore an Ionian, instructed Anaximander; the other school was called Italian from Pythagoras, who worked for the most part in Italy. And the one school, that of Ionia, terminates with Clitomachus and Chrysippus and Theophrastus, that of Italy with Epicurus. The succession passes from Thales through Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, Archelaus, to Socrates, who introduced ethics or moral philosophy; from Socrates to his pupils the Socratics, and especially to Plato, the founder of the Old Academy; from Plato, through Speusippus and Xenocrates, the succession passes to Polemo, Crantor, and Crates, Arcesilaus, founder of the Middle Academy, Lacydes, founder of the New Academy, Carneades, and Clitomachus. This line brings us to Clitomachus.
cont.
from Plato, through Speusippus and Xenocrates, the succession passes to Polemo, Crantor, and Crates, Arcesilaus, founder of the Middle Academy, Lacydes, founder of the New Academy, Carneades, and Clitomachus. This line brings us to Clitomachus. There is another which ends with Chrysippus, that is to say by passing from Socrates to Antisthenes, then to Diogenes the Cynic, Crates of Thebes, Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes, Chrysippus. And yet again another ends with Theophrastus; thus from Plato it passes to Aristotle, and from Aristotle to Theophrastus. In this manner the school of Ionia comes to an end. In the Italian school the order of succession is as follows: first Pherecydes, next Pythagoras, next his son Telauges, then Xenophanes, Parmenides, Zeno of Elea, Leucippus, Democritus, who had many pupils, in particular Nausiphanes [and Naucydes], who were teachers of Epicurus. Philosophers may be divided into dogmatists and sceptics: all those who make assertions about things assuming that they can be known are dogmatists; while all who suspend their judgement on the ground that things are unknowable are sceptics. Again, some philosophers left writings behind them, while others wrote nothing at all, as was the case according to some authorities with Socrates, Stilpo, Philippus, Menedemus, Pyrrho, Theodorus, Carneades, Bryson; some add Pythagoras and Aristo of Chios, except that
cont.
is as follows: first Pherecydes, next Pythagoras, next his son Telauges, then Xenophanes, Parmenides, Zeno of Elea, Leucippus, Democritus, who had many pupils, in particular Nausiphanes [and Naucydes], who were teachers of Epicurus. Philosophers may be divided into dogmatists and sceptics: all those who make assertions about things assuming that they can be known are dogmatists; while all who suspend their judgement on the ground that things are unknowable are sceptics. Again, some philosophers left writings behind them, while others wrote nothing at all, as was the case according to some authorities with Socrates, Stilpo, Philippus, Menedemus, Pyrrho, Theodorus, Carneades, Bryson; some add Pythagoras and Aristo of Chios, except that they wrote a few letters. Others wrote no more than one treatise each, as Melissus, Parmenides, Anaxagoras. Many works were written by Zeno, more by Xenophanes, more by Democritus, more by Aristotle, more by Epicurus, and still more by Chrysippus. Some schools took their name from cities, as the Elians and the Megarians, the Eretrians and the Cyrenaics; others from localities, as the Academics and the Stoics; others from incidental circumstances, as the Peripatetics; others again from derisive nicknames, as the Cynics; others from their temperaments, as the Eudaemonists or Happiness School; others from a conceit they entertained, as Truthlovers, Refutationists, and Reasoners from Analogy; others again from their teacher
Pliny, N.H. xxix. 5. Or perhaps a grandson, as Wilamowitz suggests, Antig. von Kar. p. 326. Cf. supr. ii. 101. A well-known fallacy ; see Book II. § 108. Cf. supra, § 162. Cf. Cicero, Acad. post. 42 “sed inter scientiam et inscientiam comprehensionem illam, quam dixi, collocabat” [sc. Zeno] ; Sext. Emp. Adv. math. vii. 151. Compare Clement Alex. Strom. i. 62 Πυθαγόρας μὲν οὖν Μνησάρχου Σάμιος, ὥς φησιν Ἱππόβοτος, ὡς δὲ Ἀριστόξενος ἐν τῷ Πυθαγόρου βίῳ, καὶ Ἀρίσταρχος καὶ Θεόπομπος, Τυρρηνὸς ἦν, ὡς δὲ Νεάνθης, Σύριος ἢ Τύριος, ὥστε εἶναι κατὰ τοὺς πλείστους τὸν Πυθαγόραν βάρβαρον τὸ γένος. Porphyry also (V. Pyth. i.) favours the connexion with Phoenicia, so that the boy Pythagoras was instructed there by Chaldaeans before, on his return to Samos, he enjoyed the instruction of Pherecydes of Syros and of Hermodainas of Samos. iv. 93 sq. Compare Clement Alex. Str
καὶ Ἀρίσταρχος καὶ Θεόπομπος, Τυρρηνὸς ἦν, ὡς δὲ Νεάνθης, Σύριος ἢ Τύριος, ὥστε εἶναι κατὰ τοὺς πλείστους τὸν Πυθαγόραν βάρβαρον τὸ γένος. Porphyry also (V. Pyth. i.) favours the connexion with Phoenicia, so that the boy Pythagoras was instructed there by Chaldaeans before, on his return to Samos, he enjoyed the instruction of Pherecydes of Syros and of Hermodainas of Samos. iv. 93 sq. Compare Clement Alex. Strom. i. 66 Θαλῆς . . . τοῖς Αἱγυπτίων προφήταις συμβεβληκέναι εἴρηται, καθάπερ καὶ ὁ Πυθαγόρας αὐτοῖς γε τούτοις διʼ οὓς καὶ περιετέμνετο, ἵνα δὴ καὶ εἰς τὰ ἄδυτα κατελθὼν τὴν μνστικὴν παρὰ Αἰγυπτίων ἐκμάθοι φιλοσοφίαν. Cf. also Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 18 sq. Fr. 129 D., 17 B. §§ 6-7 ἔνιοι μὲν καθηγησαμένου. Hesychius in Suidas (s.v.), an authority older than Schol. Plat. 600 B, proves that this passage is a coherent whole. The fragment of Heraclitus (B 129 Diels, 17 Byw.) is certainly genuine. There may be, in ἱστορίην, an allusion to the s
the context. Or rather “soft cheese”;cf. supra,i. § 7, note. Cf. Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 25, and Porphyry, De abstinentia, i. 26. Cf. inf. ix. 23. See, however, Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 4, who cites as his authority Timaeus the Sicilian historian (F.H.G. i. p. 211, Fr. 78), who was not improbably the source used by Favorinus. The χοῖνιξ was about a quart, in dry measure. The word Πυθαγόρας being taken to be a compound from Πύθιος and ἀγορεύειν. For the doctrines of Pythagoras(§§ 25-35) Alexander is taken as D. L.’s authority (see Introd. pp. xxvi, xxvii) This indefatigable pedant is known to have written a special work on the Pythagorean system. Our author may not have possessed this work by Alexander, but he probably had access to a public library containing it. In any case he deserves praise for the selection. Between Alexander Polyhistor in the first century b.c. and the threshold of the third century a.d. there had been an enormous increase in neoPythagorean literature, mostly dealing with mystical properties of numbers and with ethics based
ἀποπληρῶσαι τὴν ἐπιζήτησιν καὶ παρασχεῖν πολλοὺς καὶ τούτων ἐπισταμένους τὸ ἔθνος ἡμῶν καὶ καθʼ ὃ καιρὸς ἦν αὐτοῖς μνημονεύοντας παραθέσθαι ἐν ἰδίοις αὐτῶν συγγράμμασι. Πυθαγόρας τοίνυν ὁ Σάμιος ἀρχαῖος ὤν, σοφίᾳ δὲ καὶ τῇ περὶ τὸ θεῖον εὐσεβείᾳ πάντων ὑπειλημμένος διενεγκεῖν τῶν φιλοσοφησάντων, οὐ μόνον ἐγνωκὼς τὰ παρʼ ἡμῖν δῆλός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ
καὶ τὸ παγκράτιον τῷ Σικυωνίῳ Σωστράτῳ· καὶ γὰρ τὸν Λεοντίσκον καταβαλεῖν μὲν οὐκ ἐπίστασθαι τοὺς παλαίοντας, νικᾶν δὲ αὐτὸν κλῶντα τοὺς δακτύλους. τὸν δὲ ἀνδριάντα Πυθαγόρας ἐποίησεν ὁ Ῥηγῖνος, εἴπερ τις καὶ ἄλλος ἀγαθὸς τὰ ἐς πλαστικήν. διδαχθῆναι δὲ παρὰ Κλεάρχῳ φασὶν αὐτόν, Ῥηγίνῳ μὲν καὶ αὐτῷ, μαθητῇ δὲ Εὐχείρου· τὸν δὲ Εὔχειρον
παρὰ τοῦ Πουλυδάμαντος τὸν ἀνδριάντα δύο τε ἐκ τῆς Ἀρκάδων καὶ Ἀττικὸς ὁ τρίτος ἕστηκεν ἀθλητής. τὸν μὲν δὴ Μαντινέα Πρωτόλαον Διαλκοῦς πυγμῇ παῖδας κρατήσαντα ὁ Ῥηγῖνος Πυθαγόρας, Ναρυκίδαν δὲ τὸν Δαμαρέτου παλαιστὴν ἄνδρα ἐκ Φιγαλίας Σικυώνιος Δαίδαλος, Καλλίᾳ δὲ Ἀθηναίῳ παγκρατιαστῇ τὸν ἀνδριάντα ἀνὴρ Ἀθηναῖος Μίκων ἐποίησεν ὁ ζωγράφος. Νικοδάμου δὲ
μετʼ ἐκεῖνον καλοί τε αὐτῷ καὶ γενναῖοι ᾄδονται. πρὸς τοῦτον, ἔφη Ἀπολλώνιε, καὶ τὸν πρόγονον θεώρει τὸν ἐμόν, μᾶλλον δὲ τὸ πρόγονον σῶμα, τουτὶ γὰρ καὶ Πυθαγόρας Εὔφορβον ἡγεῖτο. ἦν τοίνυν ἔφη χρόνος, ὅτʼ Αἰθίοπες μὲν ᾤκουν ἐνταῦθα, γένος Ἰνδικόν, Αἰθιοπία δʼ οὔπω ἦν, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ Μερόην τε καὶ Καταδούπους ὥριστο
, ἀλλʼ εὐξάμενος, ὁπόσα τοῖς ἥρωσιν Ἰνδοί φασιν εὔχεσθαι, ὦ Ἀχιλλεῦ, ἔφην τεθνάναι σε οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φασίν, ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ ξυγχωρῶ τῷ λόγῳ, οὐδὲ Πυθαγόρας σοφίας ἐμῆς πρόγονος. εἰ δὴ ἀληθεύομεν, δεῖξον ἡμῖν τὸ σεαυτοῦ εἶδος, καὶ γὰρ ἂν ὄναιο ἄγαν τῶν ἐμῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, εἰ μάρτυσιν αὐτοῖς τοῦ εἶναι χρήσαιο. ἐπὶ τούτοις
ὅσιον προσφθέγξασθαι τὸν ἐν τῷ αἵματι, κέλευσον αὐτόν, ὦ μειράκιον, θαρρεῖν, ὡς αὐτίκα δὴ καθαρεύσοντα, εἰ βαδίσειεν οὗ καταλύω. ἀφικομένῳ δὲ ἐπιδράσας ὅσα Ἐμπεδοκλῆς τε καὶ Πυθαγόρας ὑπὲρ καθαρσίων νομίζουσιν, ἐκέλευσεν ἐς ἤθη στείχειν ὡς καθαρὸν ἤδη τῆς αἰτίας. ἐντεῦθεν ἐξελάσαντες ἡλίου ἀνίσχοντος ἀφίκοντο πρὸ μεσημβρίας ἐς τὸ τῶν Γυμνῶν φροντιστήριον.
καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα πάθη ξυνεχωρεῖτο, μία δὲ αὐτῶν ἴσχειν μὲν τῶν τοιούτων ἐκόμπαζε, θρασεῖα δὲ ἦν καὶ φιλολοίδορος καὶ ἀπηγκωνισμένη πάντα, εἶδον σοφίας εἶδος ἄρρητον, οὗ καὶ Πυθαγόρας ποτὲ ἡττήθη, καὶ εἱστήκει δὲ ἄρα οὐκ ἐν ταῖς πολλαῖς, ἀλλʼ ἀπετέτακτο αὐτῶν καὶ ἐσιώπα, ξυνεῖσα δέ, ὡς ταῖς μὲν ἄλλαις οὐ ξυντίθεμαι, τὰ δὲ ἐκείνης οὔπω οἶδα
καὶ ἐνίκα ἐκ καινῆς· καίτοι τραγῳδίας μὲν εὖ κεκοσμημένης ὀλίγη χάρις, εὐφραίνει γὰρ ἐν σμικρῷ τῆς ἡμέρας, ὥσπερ ἡ τῶν Διονυσίων ὥρα, φιλοσοφίας δὲ ξυγκειμένης μέν, ὡς Πυθαγόρας ἐδικαίωσεν, ὑποθειαζούσης δέ, ὡς πρὸ Πυθαγόρου Ἰνδοί, οὐκ ἐς βραχὺν χρόνον ἡ χάρις, ἀλλʼ ἐς ἄπειρόν τε καὶ ἀριθμοῦ πλείω. οὐ δὴ ἀπεικός τι παθεῖν μοι δοκῶ φιλοσοφίας
αὐτὰ ἔθηξαν ὑπὲρ ἐσθῆτός τε καὶ βρώσεως. Ἰνδοὶ τοίνυν Βραχμᾶνες αὐτοί τε οὐκ ἐπῄνουν ταῦτα καὶ τοὺς Γυμνοὺς Αἰγυπτίων ἐδίδασκον μὴ ἐπαινεῖν αὐτά· ἔνθεν Πυθαγόρας ἑλών, Ἑλλήνων δὲ πρῶτος ἐπέμιξεν Αἰγυπτίοις, τὰ μὲν ἔμψυχα τῇ γῇ ἀνῆκεν, ἃ δʼ αὐτὴ φύει, ἀκήρατα εἶναι φάσκων ἐσιτεῖτο, ἐπιτήδεια γὰρ σῶμα καὶ νοῦν τρέφειν, ἐσθῆτά
ἐπὶ τῇ θαλάττῃ οἰκουμένην, μεγάλην καὶ εὐδαίμονα. ἐνταῦθα ἔμειναν ἡμέρας τρεῖς· καὶ Κύρῳ παρῆσαν αἱ ἐκ Πελοποννήσου νῆες τριάκοντα καὶ πέντε καὶ ἐπʼ αὐταῖς ναύαρχος Πυθαγόρας Λακεδαιμόνιος. ἡγεῖτο δʼ αὐταῖς Ταμὼς Αἰγύπτιος ἐξ Ἐφέσου, ἔχων ναῦς ἑτέρας Κύρου πέντε καὶ εἴκοσιν, αἷς ἐπολιόρκει Μίλητον, ὅτε Τισσαφέρνει φίλη ἦν, καὶ συνεπολέμει Κύρῳ πρὸς
In Greek Pythagoras appears as Πυθαγόρας in Ancient Greek and Πυθαγόρης in Ionic Greek. So double click on Πυθαγόρας to highlight the word. Then use ‘Ctrl c’ to copy the text into your clipboard. Then use ‘Ctrl f’ to bring up the search box. Then use ‘Ctrl v’ to paste the term into the search box. Hit enter and you will find many references to Pythagoras within the text. The material below is sourced from: https://artflsrv03.uchicago.edu/philologic4/Greek/
