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The Golden Verses of Pythagoras · 38 of 122 · tr. Florence M. Firth

Section 13 (part 5)

Δεύτερον αὖτε Ζῆνα, θεῶν πατέρ᾽ ἠδὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν, ἀρχόμεναί θ᾽ ὑμνεῦσι θεαὶ λήγουσαί τ' ἀοιδῆς, ὅσσον φέρτατός ἐστι θεῶν κράτεΐ τε μέγιστος. Αὖτις δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων τε γένος κρατερῶν τε Γιγάντων 50 ὑμνεῦσαι τέρπουσι Διὸς νόον ἐντὸς Ὀλύμπου Μοῦσαι Ὀλυμπιάδες, κοῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο. Τὰς ἐν Πιερίῃ Κρονίδῃ τέκε πατρὶ μιγεῖσα Μνημοσύνη, γουνοῖσιν Ἐλευθῆρος μεδέουσα, λησμοσύνην τε κακῶν ἄμπαυμά τε μερμηράων.
Themes
Prayerpraxis

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

The passage explicitly calls for hymning Zeus and the Muses, constituting a direct address to the divine.

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Active Contemplationpraxis

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

[auto] The text instructs the reader to meditate upon death and employ intellect in the apprehension of truth as a disciplined practice.

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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.

[auto] The passage explicitly commands separating from corporeal things and defines death as the separation of the soul from the body, viewing the material as a hindrance to truth.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

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

[auto] A clear opposition is drawn between the corporeal/sensible realm and the intelligible/truth realm as fundamental categories of existence.

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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] Wisdom is defined as knowledge acquired through pure intellect apprehending the truth of things rather than sensible energies.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

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

[auto] The passage presents a 'Symbol' with an 'Explanation,' revealing an inner philosophical meaning behind an outward instruction.

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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.

[auto] The soul is urged to proceed to things intelligible which always subsist, implying a return to the eternal divine origin.

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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 text describes journeying from corporeal natures to things intelligible and subsistent as a change of place toward higher reality.

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Related passages · 1 parallel
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 172 (part 2)
Now, if the sight of Beauty excellently reproduced upon a face hurries the mind to that other Sphere, surely no one seeing the loveliness lavish in the world of sense- this vast orderliness, the Form which the stars even in their remoteness…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of philosophical and spiritual pursuits over worldly and corporeal concerns. They advocate for a higher understanding and virtue, urging individuals to rise above mere animalistic or pleasure-seeking behaviors.