Him, tho’ he’s absent, yet I fear, O guest, To name; such is the greatness of my love and care.
Conformably likewise to the precepts of their master,
the Pythagoreans always rose from bed before the
rising of the sun; and never wore a ring in which the
image of God was engraved. They also carefully
observed to adore the rising sun, and avoided wearing
a ring of the above mentioned description, lest they
should have it about them at funerals, or in some
impure place. In a similar manner, they were
attentive to the mandate of Pythagoras, not to do any
thing without previous deliberation and disquisition;
but to form a plan in the morning of what ought to be
done [in the course of the day,] and at night to call to
mind the actions of the day, by this means at one and
the same time exploring their conduct, and exercising
their memory. ‘Thus too, they observed the precept,
that if any one of their associates appointed to meet
them at a certain place, they should stay there till he
came, through the day and the night; in this again,
the Pythagoreans being accustomed to remember what
was said, and not tospeak casually. In short Pythagoras
ordered them to be attentive to order and method as
long as they lived, and not to blaspheme at the time of
death, but to die with propitious words, such as are
used by those who are sailing out of port into the
Adriatic sea.1
The kindred of the Pythagoreans however, were
indignant that the Pythagoreans gave their right hand
to those of their own sect alone, their parents excepted;
and that they shared their possessions with each other
in common, but excluded their relations from this
fellowship, as if they were strangers. These, therefore,
becoming the sources of the dissension, the rest readily
fell into hostility against the Pythagoreans. Hippasus,
also, Diodorus and Theages said at the same time, that
every citizen ought to be a partaker of the magistracy
and the assembly, and that the rulers should give an
account of their conduct, to those who were elected
by lot for this purpose from the multitude. But the
1 The whole of this paragraph, the greater part of which is a
repetition of what has been said elsewhere, does not certainly belong to this place.
Pythagoreans, Alcimachus, Dimachus, Meton and
Democedes opposed this, and persevered in prohibiting
the dissolution of the polity derived from their ancestors.
Those however, who patronized the multitude, sub-
dued the other party. The multitude therefore, being
assembled together, Cylon and Ninon who were
thetoricians accused the Pythagoreans. And of these,
one belonged to the class of the rich, but the other was
a plebeian. They also divided their harangues between
themselves. But of these harangues, the longer being
delivered by Cylon, Ninon concluded, pretending that
he had explored the arcana of the Pythagoreans, and
that he had connected and committed to writing such
particulars as were especially calculated to criminate
the Pythagoreans, and giving a book to ascribe, he
ordered him to read it. But the book was inscribed
the Sacred Discourse. And the following is a specimen
of what it contained: Friends are to be venerated in
the same manner as the Gods; but others are to be
treated as brutes. ‘This very sentence also is ascribed
to Pythagoras by his disciples, and is by them expressed
in verse as follows:
He like the blessed Gods his friends rever’d, But reckon’d other men of no account.
Homer, too, especially deserves to be praised for calling a king the shepherd of the people. For being a friend to that government in which the rulers are few, he evinced by this epithet that the rest of men are cattle. To beans it is requisite to be hostile, as being the leaders of decision by lot; for by these men were allotted the administration of affairs. Again, empire should be the object of desire: for they proclaim that it is better to be one day a bull, than to be an ox for ever. That the legal institutes of others are laudable; but that they should be exhorted to use those which are known to themselves. In one word, Ninon showed that their philosophy was a conspiracy against the multitude, and
therefore exhorted them not to hear the counsellors, but to consider that they would never have been admitted into the assembly, if the council of the Pythagoreans had been approved by the session of a thousand men; so that it was not fit to suffer those to speak, who pre- vented to the utmost of their power others from being heard. He observed, therefore, that they should con- sider the right hand which was rejected by the Pythago- reans, as hostile to them, when they gave their suffrages by an extension of the hands, or calculated the number of the votes. That they should also consider it to be a disgraceful circumstance, that they who conquered thirty myriads of men at the river Tracis, should be vanquished by a thousandth part of the same number through sedition in the city itself. In short Ninon so exasperated his hearers by his calumnies, that in a few days after, a great multitude assembled together intend- ing to attack the Pythagoreans as they were sacrificing to the Muses in a house near to the temple of Apollo. ' The Pythagoreans, however, foreseeing that this would take place, fled to an inn; but Democedes, with those that had arrived at puberty, withdrew to Platea. And those that had dissolved the laws made a decree in which they accused Democedes of compelling the younger part of the community to the possession of empire, and proclaimed by a cryer that thirty talents should be given to any one who destroyed him. An engagement also taking place, and Theages having vanquished Democedes in that contest, they distributed to him the thirty talents which the city had promised. But as the city, and the whole region were involved in many evils, the exiles were brought to judgment, and the power of decision being given to three cities, viz. to the Tarentines, Metapontines, and the Caulonians, those that were sent by them to determine the cause were corrupted by money, as we learn from the chronicles of the Crotonians. Hence the Crotonians condemned by their own decision those that were
accused, toexile. In consequence, too, of this decision,
and the authority which it conferred on them, they
expelled all those from the city, who were dissatisfied
with the existing state of affairs, and at the same time
banished all their families, asserting that it was not
fit to be impious, and that children ought not to be
divulsed from their parents. They likewise abolished
loans, and made the land to be undivided.!
Many years after this, when Dinarchus and his
associates were slain in another battle, and Litagus also
was dead, who had been the greatest leader of the
seditious, a certain pity and repentance induced the
citizens to recall those Pythagoreans that were left,
from exile. For this purpose, they sent ambassadors
from Achaia, and through them became amicable with
the exiles, and consecrated their oaths at Delphi. But
the Pythagoreans who returned from exile were about
sixty in number, except those who were of a more
advanced age, among which were some who applied
themselves to medicine, and restored health to those
that were sick by a certain diet; of which method of
cure they were themselves the authors. It happened
however, that those Pythagoreans who were saved, and
who were particularly celebrated by the multitude, at
that time in which it was said to the lawless, This ts
not the condttion of things which was under Ninon ;—
these same Pythagoreans having left the city in order
to procure assistance against the Thurians who invaded
the country, perished in battle, mutually defending
each other. But the city was so changed into a con-
trary opinion [of the Eager | that besides the
praise which it bestowed on them, it apprehended that
it would gratify the Muses in a still greater degree, if
it performed a public sacrifice in the temple of the
Muses, which at the request of the Pythagoreans, they
had before constructed in honor of those Goddesses.
1 In the original, xat tiv ynv avdSacrov éroincav, which Obrechtus erroneously translates, “ et agrorum divisionem introduxerunt.”
And thus much concerning the attack which was made on the Pythagoreans.
CHAP. XXXVI.
THE successor, however, of Pythagoras, is acknow-
ledged by all men to have been Aristzus, the son of
Damophon the Crotonian, who existing at the same
time as Pythagoras, was seven ages prior to Plato.
Aristzeus likewise, was not only thought worthy to
succeed Pythagoras in his school, but also to educate
his children, and marry his wife Theano, because he
was eminently skilled in the Pythagoric dogmas. For
Pythagoras himself is said to have taught in his school,
forty years wanting one, and to have lived nearly one
hundred years. But Aristeus, when much advanced
in years, relinquished the school; and after him
Mnhesarchus succeeded, who was the son of Pythagoras.
Bulagoras succeeded Mnesarchus, in whose time it
happened that the city of the Crotonians was plundered.
Gartydas the Crotonian succeeded Bulagoras, on his
return from a journey which he had undertaken prior
to the war. Nevertheless on account of the calamity
of his country, he suffered so much anxiety, as to die
prematurely through grief. But it was the custom
with the rest of the Pythagoreans, when they became
very old, to liberate themselves from the body as from
a prison.
Moreover, some time after, Aresas Lucanus, being
saved through certain strangers, undertook the manage-
ment of the school; and to him came Diodorus
Aspendius, who was received into the school, on
account of the paucity of the Pythagoreans it contained.
And in Heraclea, indeed, were Clinias and Philolaus;
but at Metapontum, Theorides and Eurytus; and at
Tarentum Archytas. It is also said that Epicharmus
was one of the foreign auditors; but that he was not
one of theschool. Having however arrived at Syracuse,
he abstained from philosophizing openly, on account of
the tyranny of Hiero. But he inserted the conceptions
of the men in metre, and published in comedies the
occult dogmas of Pythagoras.
Of all the Pythagoreans, however, it is probable that
many are unknown and anonymous. But the following
are the names of those that are known and celebrated:
Of the Crotonians, Hippostratus, Dymas, gon, mon,
Sillus, Cleosthenes, Agelas, Episylus, Phyciadas, Ecphan-
tus, Timzus, Buthius, Eratus, Itmzus, Rhodippus,
Bryas, Evandrus, Myllias, Antimedon, Ageas, Leophron,
Agylus, Onatus, Hipposthenes, Cleophron, Alcmzon,
Damocles, Milon, Menon. Of the Metapontines,
Brontinus, Parmiseus, Orestadas, Leon, Damarmenus,
Aéneas, Chilas, Melisias, Aristeas, Laphion, Evandrus,
Agesidamus, Xenocades, Euryphemus, Aristomenes,
Agesarchus, Alceas, Xenophantes, Thraseus, Arytus,
Epiphron, Eiriscus, Megistias, Leocydes, ‘Thrasymedes,
Euphemus, Procles, Antimenes, Lacritus, Damotages,
Pyrrho, Rhexibius, Alopecus, Astylus, Dacidas, Alio-
chus, Lacrates, Glycinus. Of the Agrigentines, Empe-
docles. Of the Eleatz, Parmenides. Of the Taren-
tines, Philolaus, Eurytus, Archytas, Theodorus, Aris-
tippus, Lycon, Hestizus, Polemarchus, Asteas, Clinias,
Cleon, Eurymedon, Arceas, Clinagoras, Archippus,
Zopyrus, Euthynus, Diczarchus, Philonidas, Phron-
tidas, Lysis, Lysibius, Dinocrates, Echecrates, Paction,
Acusiladas, Icmus, Pisicrates, Clearatus.
Of the Leontines, Phrynichus, Smichias, Aristoclidas,
Clinias, Abroteles, Pisyrrhydus, Bryas, Evandrus, Arche-
machus, Mimnomachus, Achmonidas, Dicas, Caro-
phantidas. Of the Sybarites, Metopus, Hippasus,
Proxenus, Evanor, Deanax, Menestor, Diocles, Empe-
dus, Timasius, Polemeus, Eveus, Tyrsenus. Of the
Carthaginians, Miltiades, Anthen, Odius, Leocritus.
Of the Parians, A‘etius, Phenecles, Dexitheus, Alci-
machus, Dinarchus, Meton, Timzus, Timesianax,
Amerus, Thymaridas. Of the Locrians, Gyptius,
Xenon, Philodamus, Evetes, Adicus, Sthenonidas,
Sosistratus, Euthynus, Zaleucus, Timares. Of the
Posidonians, Athamas, Simus, Proxenus, Cranous, Myes,
Bathylaus, Phedon. Of the Lucani, Ocellus and
Occillus who were brothers, Oresandrus, Cerambus,
Dardaneus, Malion. Of the Aigeans, Hippomedon,
Timosthenes, Euelthon, Thrasydamus, Crito, Polyctor.
Of the Lacones, Autocharidas, Cleanor, Eurycrates.
Of the Hyperboreans, Abaris. Of the Rheginenses,
Aristides, Demosthenes, Aristocrates, Phytius, Heli-
caon, Mnesibulus, Hipparchides, Athosion, Euthycles,
Opsimus. Of the Selinuntians, Calais. Of the Syra-
cusans, Leptines, Phintias, Damon. Of the Samians,
Melissus, Lacon, Archippus, Glorippus, Heloris, Hippon.
Of the Caulonienses, Callibrotus, Dicon, Nastas, Dry-
mon, Xentas. Of the Phliasians, Diocles, Echecrates,
Polymnastus, Phanton. Of the Sicyonians, Poliades,
Demon, Sostratius, Sosthenes. Of the Cyrenzans,
Prorus, Melanippus, Aristangelus, Theodorus. Of the
Cyziceni, Pythodorus, Hipposthenes, Butherus, Xeno-
philus. Of the Catanzi, Charondas, Lysiades. Of the
Corinthians, Chrysippus. Of the Tyrrhenians, Nau-
sitheus. Ofthe Athenians, Neocritus. And of Pontus,
Lyramnus. In all, two hundred and eighteen. [And
these, indeed, are not all the Pythagoreans, but of all
of them they are the most famous.!]
But the most illustrious Pythagorean women are
Timycha, the wife of Myllias the Crotonian. Philtis,
the daughter of Theophrius the Crotonian. Byndacis,
the sister of Ocellus and Occillus, Lucanians. Chilonis,
the daughter of Chilon the Lacedemonian. Cratesiclea
the Lacedemonian, the wife of Cleanor the Lace-
demonian. ‘Theano, the wife of Brontinus of Meta-
pontum. Mya, the wife of Milon the Crotonian.
1 The words within the brackets are from a Latin Manuscript, which was in the possession of Fabricius.