PORPHYRY

...row This completes the word "sorrow" from the previous page., nor was he ever seen to be possessed by joy or pain. Indeed, no one ever saw him laughing or weeping. When he sacrificed to the Gods, it was not with a burdensome or envious lavishness, but he appeased the Gods with meal, cakes, incense, and myrrh, and by no means with animals—except perhaps with roosters and the tenderest of piglets. Furthermore, as the more accurate authors affirm, he even sacrificed an ox made of flour A bloodless substitute for animal sacrifice, reflecting the Pythagorean tenet of reincarnation and respect for life. when he discovered that the side subtending a right-angled triangle The hypotenuse. is equal in power to the sides that contain it This refers to the Pythagorean Theorem ($a^2 + b^2 = c^2$). In ancient Greek geometry, "equal in power" refers to the area of the squares built on those sides.. Whatever he discussed among his listeners, he taught either with clear and abundant speech, or obscurely through the veils of riddles; for his method of instruction was twofold. Among his disciples, some were called Mathematicians From the Greek mathematikoi, meaning "those who study" or "the learned.", and others were called Listeners From the Latin auscultatores or Greek akousmatikoi, meaning "those who hear.". The Mathematicians were those who grasped the fuller and more elaborate account of scientific reason; the Listeners, however, were those who heard only the summary headings and precepts of the writings without more detailed explanation. He gave instructions, moreover, concerning the race of Gods, Daemons, and heroes...

...possessed by grief; indeed, no one ever saw him laughing or weeping. When he sacrificed to the Gods, he was not burdensome, but appeased the Gods with
5 barley meal, cakes, incense, and myrrh, and least of all with living things—unless perhaps with roosters and
10 the softest of piglets. It is said by those who are more precise that he once sacrificed an ox made of dough when he discovered that
15 the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal in power to the sides containing it. As for the things he discussed with
20 those who came to him, he advised them either in a detailed way or through symbols. For the form of his teaching was twofold. Of those who came to him, some were called
25 Mathematici and others Akousmatikoi. The Mathematici original Greek: μαθηματικοί were those who had thoroughly learned the
30 more advanced and precisely labored account of knowledge; the Akousmatikoi original Greek: ἀκουσματικοί were those who had heard only the summary
35 points of the instructions without more precise narration. He advised that regarding the race of the divine, of daemons, and of heroes, one should speak with reverence and have a good mind; and to be well-disposed toward parents and benefactors. To the...