Vat.lat.5953

The exercises of the Pythagoreans. Their daily routines were concluded in this manner: after they had arisen from their contemplation in sacred places and temples, they would walk together in groups, discussing matters of physics as they went. Afterward, they would engage in running. original: "Καὶ ἀλήμμοσι" (and with ointments) Most of them used oils for anointing, while some practiced original: "πάλαισι" (palaisi) wrestling in the gardens. original: "Καὶ ἔψαλετοι" (and they sang to the lyre) And they sang to the lyre. The Pythagoreans gave credit to all religious traditions and all the miracles that were attributed to divine beings. They themselves also recorded many miracles performed by Pythagoras, Philolaus, and Empedocles. They say, moreover, that God is not merely capable of doing some or many things, but that he is capable of all things. They also frequently use certain verses in their common proverbs which they say belong to Linus A mythical hero and master of song in Greek mythology, often considered the inventor of rhythm and melody, though perhaps they actually belong to the Pythagoreans.

By what arguments the Pythagoreans prove that Pythagoras was a god. The Pythagoreans claimed that they did not receive their philosophy from human sources, but from divinity itself. They held that Pythagoras was not a man, but actually Hyperborean Apollo Apollo in his aspect as a god of the "Far North" (Hyperborea), a land of perpetual sunshine and peace; this identification emphasized Pythagoras's supernatural origins. For this reason, they observe whatever Pythagoras said or did through faith alone, without requiring a rational explanation. They believed this because his thigh appeared to be made of gold; because he predicted earthquakes and plagues; because he established certain sacrifices by which cities were liberated from ancient pestilences; and because there never appeared in him even the slightest sign of human agitation. From these clues, they concluded that he was a god, especially since he did not nourish himself with the same foods that we humans use. He also predicted the deaths of men and, with his words, he brought peace to those dying as they stood upon the very threshold of death. They said, furthermore, that nothing should be attributed to chance, but that all things are governed by divine providence. There is no doubt among the Pythagoreans that Pythagoras took the theology of Orpheus The legendary poet and prophet whose mystery religion influenced early Greek philosophy as the cause and model for his own theology; for this reason, the discourse of Pythagoras concerning the gods is called the "Sacred Discourse," because it descended from the most holy form of Orpheus. In the books of the Pythagoreans concerning the gods, which they call the Sacred Discourses original: "sacros sermones" or "Hieroi Logoi", he reveals who it was that taught him the Pythagorean way of divine things.