The Golden Verses of Pythagoras · 26 of 122 · tr. Florence M. Firth

Section 12 (part 3)

75 words accord with their energies, to honour and reverence them with the greatest earnestness.

SYMBOL 9.

Cut not fire with a sword.

1 Explanation .--This Symbol exhorts to prudence.

For it excites in us an appropriate conception with the respect to the propriety of not opposing sharp words to a man full of fire and wrath, nor contending with him.

For frequently by words you will agitate and disturb an ignorant man, and will yourself suffer things dreadful and unpleasant.

Heraclitus also testifies to the truth of this Symbol, for he says, "It is difficult to fight with anger; for whatever is necessary to be done, benefits the soul." For many by gratifying anger have changed the condition of the soul, and have made death preferable to life.

But by governing the tongue and being quiet, friendship is produced from strife, the fire of anger being extinguished, and you yourself will not appear to be destitute of intellect.

p.

76 SYMBOL 10.

Remove yourself from every vinegar bottle.

Explanation .--The truth of the preceding is testified by the present Symbol.

For it exhorts to prudence and not to anger; since that which is sharp in the soul and which we call anger is deprived of reasoning and prudence.

For anger boils like a kettle heated by the fire, being attentive to nothing but its own emotions, and dividing the judgment into minute parts.

It is proper therefore that the soul being established in quiet should turn from anger, which frequently attacks itself as if it touched sounding brass.

Hence it is requisite to suppress this passion by the reasoning power.

SYMBOL 11.

Assist a man in raising a burden; but do not assist him in laying it down.

Explanation .--This Symbol exhorts to fortitude, for whoever takes up a burden signifies an action of labour and energy; but he who lays one down, of rest and remission.

So that the Symbol has the following p.

76 meaning.

Do not become either to yourself or another the cause of an indolent and effeminate mode of conduct; for every useful thing is acquired by labour.

But the Pythagoreans celebrate this Symbol as Herculean, thus denominating it from the labours of Hercules.

For, during his association with men, he frequently returned from fire and everything dreadful, indignantly rejecting indolence.

For rectitude of conduct is produced from acting and operating, but not from sluggishness.

SYMBOL 12.

When stretching forth your feet to have your sandals put on, first extend your right foot; but when about to use a foot-bath, first extend your left foot.

Explanation .--This Symbol exhorts to practical prudence, admonishing us to place worthy actions about us as right-handed; but entirely to lay aside and throw away such as are base, as being left-handed.

SYMBOL 13.

Speak not about Pythagorean concerns without light.

p.

78 Explanation .--This Symbol exhorts to the possession of intellect according to prudence.

For this is similar to the light of the soul, to which being indefinite it gives bound, and leads it, as it were, from darkness into light.

It is proper, therefore, to place intellect as the leader of everything beautiful in life, but especially in Pythagorean dogmas; for these cannot be known without light.

SYMBOL 14.

Step not beyond the beam of the balance.

Explanation .--This Symbol exhorts us to the exercise of justice, to the honouring equality and moderation in an admirable degree, and to the knowledge of justice as the most perfect virtue, to which the other virtues give completion, and without which none of the rest are of any advantage.

It also admonishes us that it is proper to know this virtue not in a careless manner, but through theorems 1 and scientific demonstrations.

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Themes

◆Body As Obstacleanthropology

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

The text exhorts separating from 'material nature' and abandoning a 'merely human life' to pursue the divine.

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◆Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

A clear distinction is drawn between 'material nature'/'human life' and 'intellectual gods'/'divine life'.

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◆Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis

Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.

The text exhorts abandoning 'popular and merely human life' and dismissing 'human manners'.

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◆Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

Divine dogmas are described as 'private and arcane' and found on 'unfrequented paths'.

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◆Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

The text distinguishes between 'terrestrial gods', 'intellectual gods', and 'primary gods'.

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◆Fasting And Prayerpraxis

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

The text commands to 'Abstain' and 'adore', implying ascetic and devotional practices.

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◆Hidden Sayingssoteriology

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

The text emphasizes 'private and arcane' teachings and 'Symbols' that are obscure to the uninitiated.

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◆Inner Silencepraxis

The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.

Symbol 7 explicitly commands to 'Govern your tongue before all other things'.

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◆Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

The text urges to 'conjoin ourselves to the intellectual gods' and follow Divinity.

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◆Pneumatic Electsoteriology

A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons.

The text distinguishes between the 'uninitiated' and those who acquire disciplines.

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◆Prayerpraxis

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

The text mentions 'worship of the gods' and commands to 'adore the wind' as divine acts.

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◆Renunciation Of Wealthethics

The spiritual danger of attachment to material possessions; wealth as a spiritual obstacle.

Abandoning a 'popular' life implies renouncing worldly status and attachments.

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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 goal is described as conjoining with 'intellectual gods' and pursuing a 'divine life'.

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◆Ritual Puritypraxis

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

The passage advocates for an 'immaterial and pure life' and commands to 'Abstain from Melanurus'.

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◆Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

The first work of wisdom is to 'convert reason to itself'.

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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 aim is to become separated from material nature and adhere to the 'divine will', implying transformation.

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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.

The text discusses 'Symbols', 'worship of the gods', and 'adoring' as means to conjoin with the divine, consistent with Neoplatonic ritual practice.

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◇Active Contemplationpraxis

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

[auto] It urges the reader to actively consider and survey the gods through scientific theory and discipline.

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◇Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

[auto] It states that disciplines produce light about all things for the one who intends to consider them.

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◇Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

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

[auto] The passage emphasizes acquiring a science and knowledge concerning the gods through discipline as the primary path to truth.

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◇Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

[auto] The text describes light being produced within the individual through participation in disciplines.

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◇Spiritual Ascentpraxis

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

[auto] The passage explicitly describes a 'celestial journey' and 'circular progression' away from popular life toward a divine life, making ascent the central theme.

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Related passages · 4 parallels

◆buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XVII, Section 1a

“p. 58 CHAPTER XVII. ANGER. 221. Let a man leave anger, let him forsake pride, let him overcome all bondage! No sufferings befall the man who is not attached to name and form, and who calls nothing his own. 222. He who holds back risi…”

Both passages emphasize the importance of controlling anger and other negative emotions, advocating for prudence, justice, and virtue. They share a common theme of self-discipline and moral conduct, though they come from different mystical traditions.

◆jewish_mysticism|The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation)|Chapter XCIV

“XCIV. 1-5. Admonitions to the Righteous . CHAPTER XCIV. 1. And now I say unto you, my sons, love righteousness and walk therein; For the paths of righteousness are worthy of acceptation, But the paths of unrighteousness shall suddenly be de…”

Both passages emphasize the importance of moral conduct and prudence. They advise against anger, violence, and unrighteousness, and encourage actions that promote peace, justice, and righteousness.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 656

“Section 17 17. But in what mode are these secondaries, and Intellectual-Principle itself, within the First? They are not in the Filling Principle; they are not in the filled since before that moment it did not contain them. Giving need not…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and the relationship between humans and the divine. They emphasize the importance of understanding and worshiping the divine, and they both explore the idea of different levels of existence and intelligence within the divine realm.

◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi)|8. Warning To The Imprudentb

“The milder and calmer you are, the more effective will be your anger; the more energetic you are, the more valuable will be your forbearance; the more skilful you are, the better will you profit by your intelligence and even by your virtues…”

Both passages emphasize the importance of prudence and self-control, particularly in managing anger and emotions. They share the conceptual insight that restraint and moderation lead to better outcomes, though they use different symbolic language and cultural references.