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The Golden Verses of Pythagoras · 5 of 122 · tr. Florence M. Firth

Section 4 (part 2)

Wherein have I done amiss? What have I done? What have I omitted that I ought to have done? 43. If in this examination thou find that thou hast done amiss, reprimand thyself severely for it; 44. And if thou hast done any good, rejoice. 45. Practise thoroughly all these things; meditate on them well; thou oughtest to love them with all thy heart. 46. 'Tis they that will put thee in the way of divine virtue. 47. I swear it by him who has transmitted into our souls the Sacred Quaternion, the source of nature, whose cause is eternal. 48. But never begin to set thy hand to any work, till thou hast first prayed the gods to accomplish what thou art going to begin. 49. When thou hast made this habit familiar to thee, 50. Thou wilt know the constitution of the Immortal Gods and of men. p. 6 51. Even how far the different beings extend, and what contains and binds them together. 52. Thou shalt likewise know that according to Law, the nature of this universe is in all things alike, 53. So that thou shalt not hope what thou ought'st not to hope; and nothing in this world shall be hid from thee. 54. Thou wilt likewise know, that men draw upon themselves their own misfortunes voluntarily, and of their own free choice. 55. Unhappy that they are! They neither see nor understand that their good is near them. 56. Few know how to deliver themselves out of their misfortunes. 57. Such is the fate that blinds mankind, and takes away his senses. 58. Like huge cylinders they roll to and fro, and always oppressed with ills innumerable. 59. For fatal strife, innate, pursues them everywhere, tossing them up and down; nor do they perceive it. 60. Instead of provoking and stirring it up, they ought, by yielding, to avoid it. p. 7 61. Oh! Jupiter, our Father! if Thou would'st deliver men from all the evils that oppress them, 62. Show them of what dæmon they make use. 63. But take courage; the race of man is divine. 64. Sacred nature reveals to them the most hidden mysteries. 65. If she impart to thee her secrets, thou wilt easily perform all the things which I have ordained thee. 66. And by the healing of thy soul, thou wilt deliver it from all evils, from all afflictions. 67. But abstain thou from the meats, which we have forbidden in the purifications and in the deliverance of the soul; 68. Make a just distinction of them, and examine all things well. 69. Leaving thyself always to be guided and directed by the understanding that comes from above, and that ought to hold the reins. 70. And when, after having divested thyself of thy mortal body, thou arrivest at the most pure Æther, p. 8 71. Thou shalt be a God, immortal, incorruptible, and Death shall have no more dominion over thee.
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Themes
Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

The practitioner is told to examine actions by reason and meditate thoroughly on these things.

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Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

Immortality is achieved only after divesting oneself of the mortal body.

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Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

Knowing the constitution of gods and men implies a structural link between human and divine realms.

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Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

Practitioners are instructed to pray the gods to accomplish what they are going to begin.

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Divine Sparkscosmology

Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.

The text states that the race of man is divine and sacred nature reveals mysteries to them.

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Evil As Privationtheology

Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.

Misfortunes are drawn upon voluntarily by free choice rather than being an external ontological force.

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Fasting And Prayerpraxis

Ascetic disciplines that prepare the body and mind for spiritual receptivity or purification.

The text mandates abstaining from certain meats and praying to the gods before beginning any work.

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Funerary Navigationpraxis

Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.

The text describes the state of the soul after death when it arrives at the pure Æther.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

Salvation comes through knowing the constitution of gods and men and receiving secrets from sacred nature.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

Sacred nature reveals the most hidden mysteries to those who receive her secrets.

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Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

The text states that good is near men, though they do not see or understand it.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

Jupiter is addressed as 'our Father' who can deliver men from evils.

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Mechanical Humanityanthropology

Gurdjieff and Ouspensky's claim that ordinary human beings live in a state of waking sleep, reacting mechanically without unified will or consciousness, and that the spiritual path begins with recognising this condition.

Men are described as rolling like huge cylinders, oppressed with ills and not perceiving their condition.

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Meditationpraxis

Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.

The text explicitly instructs to meditate well on the ordained things.

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Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

The practitioner is told to know the constitution of gods and men, noting the nature of the universe is alike in all things.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

The ultimate goal described is becoming a God where death has no dominion, implying union with the divine nature.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The text invokes the 'Sacred Quaternion' as the source of nature and eternal cause.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

Direct address to Jupiter and prayer to the gods for accomplishment of work are central instructions.

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Psychopomp Journeycosmology

Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms.

The text outlines the soul's passage to the pure Æther after death.

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Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The soul is delivered from evils and arrives at the pure Æther to become divine, reversing its mortal condition.

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Ritual Puritypraxis

The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.

The text commands abstention from forbidden meats in the purifications and deliverance of the soul.

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Self Examinationpraxis

Daily review of thought and action as spiritual practice.

The passage explicitly commands daily review of actions by reason to identify errors and omissions.

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Separation From Sourcesoteriology

The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.

Mankind is described as blind and oppressed by ills, unaware that their good is near them.

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Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

The soul ascends to the most pure Æther after divesting itself of the mortal body.

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Theosis Deificationsoteriology

The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.

The text promises that upon leaving the mortal body, the practitioner shall become a God, immortal and incorruptible.

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Theurgypraxis

Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.

Prayer is used as a ritual action to engage the gods to accomplish human work.

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Tripartite Soulanthropology

Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma).

The text distinguishes between the mortal body, the soul to be healed, and the understanding from above.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

The text states that according to Law, the nature of the universe is in all things alike.

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