The Commentary of Hierocles upon the Golden Verses of Pythagoras

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4

The sacred nature is to man a guide,
But to thy soul her mystic rules reveal'd;
And if to know them happily thou'rt call'd,
Then shalt thou perfect health from all obtain,
And free'd from evil, shall thy soul remain.
But from such meats abstain as are forbid,
And thy body guide as in the law is bid.
In every state thy reason let maintain,
Its empire, and the reins of pride restrain.
The following three lines are grouped by a large closing brace on the right (appearing on the left in this mirrored view):
Then if this body thou shalt leave, and fly
To the pure regions of the ether; then,
Among the gods exalted shalt thou shine,
Immortal, incorruptible, divine:
The tyrant death shall surely then be brav'd,
And find the dark dominion of the grave.