The Golden Verses of Pythagoras — with commentary (1917)

This application of the number 12 to the Universe is not at all an arbitrary invention of Pythagoras; it was common to the Chaldeans, to the Egyptians from whom he had received it, and to the principal peoples of the earth"*: it gave rise to the institution of the zodiac, whose division into twelve asterisms has been found everywhere existent from time immemorial." The distinction of the three worlds and their development into a number, more or less great, of concentric spheres inhabited by intelligences of o Vie de Pythag. par Dacier.

* Hi^rocl., Aurea Carmin., v. i.

« Ci-devant, p. 8 1.

<* Tim6e de Locres, ch. 3; Edit, de Batteux, §8; Diod. Sicul., 1. ii., p. 83; Herod., 1. ii., c. 4; Hyde, De vet. Pers. Relig., c. 19; Plato, In Tim., In Phccd., In Legib., etc.

« Bailly, Hist, de I'Astr. anc, 1. iii., § 10.

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different degrees of purity, were also known before Pythagoras, who in this only spread the doctrine which he had received at Tyre, at Memphis, and at Babylon. This doctrine was that of the Indians.

One finds still today among the Burmans, the division of all the created beings established in three classes, each of which contains a certain number of species, from the material beings to the spiritual, from the sentient to the intelligible.* The Brahmans, who coimt fifteen spheres in the universe," appear to unite the three primordial worlds with the twelve concentric spheres which result from their development.

Zoroaster, who admitted the dogma of the three worlds, limited the inferior world to the vortex of the moon.

There, according to him, the empire of evil and of matter comes to an end."* This idea thus conceived has been general; it was that of all the ancient philosophers'; and what is very remarkable, is that it has been adopted by the Christian theosophists who certainly were not sufficiently learned to act through imitation.^ The followers of Basil, those of Valentine, and all the gnostics have imbibed from this source the system of emanations which has enjoyed such a great renown in the school of Alexandria.

According to this system, the Absolute Unity, or God, was conceived as the spiritual Soul of the Universe, the Principle of existence, the Light

- Ps^thagoras, at an early age, was taken to Tyre by Mnesarchus, his father, in order to study there the doctrine of the Phoenicians; later he visited Egypt, Arabia, and Babylon, in which last city he remained twelve years. It was while there that he had frequent conferences concerning the principle of things with a very learned magian whom Porphyry names Zabratos; Plutarch, Zaratas; and Theodoret, Zaradas. (Porphyr., VitA Pythag.) Plutarch is inclined to believe that this magian is the same as Zardusht, or Zoroaster, and the chronology is not here entirely contrary. (Plutar., De Procreat. anim.; Hyde, De Relig. vet. Pers., c. 24, o. 309 et c. 31, p. 379.)

* Asiat. Research., t. vi., p. 174.

« Holwell's, Histor. Interest. Events, ch. iv., § 5.

^ Beausobre, Hist, du Manich., t. i., p. 164.

' Macrob., Somn. Scip., 1. i., c. 11.

f Bohme, Les Six Points, ch. 2.

136 The Golden Verses of Pythagoras