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Mythological Doubt • “There were those in the ancient world whose experience of life made them unable to accept the comfortable old belief that the gods rewarded virtue and punished vice, and led them to seek solutions outside the cultic framework of polytheistic religion. They had begun to ask questions which myth could not answer.”
Philosophical Thought • “Ultimate, universal questions were being asked, and answers were being sought from a new quarter - the human mind’s critical analysis of material phenomena.” This means that answers were no longer sought in revelation and divination, but through the methodical use of one’s intelligence.
Plato • It is difficult to separate what Pythagoras may have taught from the Platonic interpretation it has been given over the years.
Studies in Egypt? • It was believed by most in the ancient world that Pythagoras spent a great deal of his young adulthood in Egypt.
Counsels • “To regard the state as a common pledge, which the leaders have received from the mass of citizens.”
Counsels • “To be like one’s fellow citizens in every way, and to be superior to them only in justice.”
Counsels • “Not to abuse any of the gods by swearing oaths by them, but rather to speak in such a way that what is said is credible without oaths.”
Counsels • “To manage one’s own household in an exemplary way, so that it is possible to draw conclusions from this regarding one’s political attitude.”
Counsels • “To strive to make children love their parents not because of the blood-bond (which is not in their responsibility) but rather by free choice.”
Counsels • “Not to carry on any extramarital affairs.”
Counsels • “To be a model of discipline and temperance for all, and to avoid sluggishness in action.”
Counsels • “Not to tear asunder children and parents.”
Counsels • “To seek honor by emulating the successful runner who does his opponents no harm, but only strives to win himself.”
Counsels • “To cling to the truly good repute and be as he wants to appear to others.”
A Final Counsel • “We ought to the best of our ability avoid, and even eradicate from the body, sickness; from the soul, ignorance; from the belly, luxury; from a city, sedition; from a family, discord; and from all things, excess.”
