Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and has been credited as the founder of the movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him. He was born on the island of Samos, and traveled, visiting Egypt and Greece, and maybe India, and in 520 BC returned to Samos. Around 530 BC, he moved to Croton, in Magna Graecia, and there established...
NationalityGreek
ProfessionMathematician
stranger ifs countrymen
A stranger, if just, is not only to be preferred before a countryman, but a kinsman.
body want despise
Despise all those things which when liberated from the body you will not want; invoke the Gods to become your helpers.
men
Remind yourself that all men assert that wisdom is the greatest good, but that there are few who strenuously seek out that greatest good.
house departed turns
Having departed from your house, turn not back; for the furies will be your attendants.
wisdom know-thyself knows
Know thyself and thou wilt know the universe.
mean excess cases
Do not spend in excess like one who is careless of what is good, nor be miserly; the mean is best in every case.
heart youth cherish
Dear youths, I warn you cherish peace divine, And in your hearts lay deep these words of mine.
men use manners
Let a man use great reverence and manners to himself.
choices lovers fame
So in life, some enter the services of fame and others money, but the best choice is that of those few who spend their time in the contemplation of nature, and as lovers of wisdom.
philosophy ambition discovery
Some are slaves of ambition or money, but others are interested in understanding life itself. These give themselves the name of philosophers , and they value the contemplation and discovery of nature beyond all other pursuits.
mean men noble
Many words befall men, mean and noble alike; do not be astonished by them, nor allow yourself to be constrained.
war ignorance passion
It is only necessary to make war with five things; with the maladies of the body, the ignorances of the mind, with the passions of the body, with the seditions of the city and the discords of families.
teaching writing flaws
Write in the sand the flaws of your friend.
demise reason immortal
Reason is immortal, all else mortal.