The Golden Verses of Pythagoras

God.

THE GOLDEN VERSES OF PYTHAGORAS

PREPARATION

ΑΘΑΝΑΤΟΥΣ

μὲν πρῶτα Δεοὺς, νόμῳ ὡς διάκεινται,

Τίμα· καὶ σέβου ὅρκον. ἔπειθ᾽ Ἥρωας ἀγαυούς.

Τοὺς τε κατα χθονίους σέβε Δαίμονας, ἔννομα ῥέζων.

Render to the Immortal Gods the consecrated cult;

Guard then thy faith (2): Revere the memory

Of the Illustrious Heroes, of Spirits demi-Gods (3).

ΚΆΘΑΡΣΙΣ

PURIFICATION

Τοὺς τε γονεῖς τίμα, τοὺς τ᾽ἄγχις᾽ ἐχγεγαῶτας.

Τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων ἀρετη ποιεὺ φίλον ὅςις 1 ἄριστος.

Πραέσι δ᾽ε̃ικε λόγοις, ἔργοισί τ᾽ επωφελίμοισι.

Μὴδ᾽ ἔχθαιρε φίλον σὸν ἁμαρτάδος εἵνεκα μικρῆς,

Ὄφρα δύνῃ δύναμις γὰρ ἀνάγχης ἐγγύθι ναίει.

Ταῦτα μὲν οὕτως ἴσθι.κρατεῖν δ᾽εἰθίζεο τῶν δε·

Γαστρὸς μὲν πρώπιστα, καὶ ὕπνου, λαγνείης τε,

Καὶ θυμοῦ. Πρήξεις δ᾽αἰσχρὸν ποτε μήτε μετ᾽ ἄλλου,

Μὴτ᾽ ἰδίη. Πάντων δὲ μάλιστα αἰσχύνεο σαυτόν.

Be a good son, just brother, spouse tender and good father (4)

Choose for thy friend, the friend of virtue;

Yield to his gentle counsels, profit by his life,

And for a trifling grievance never leave him (5);

If thou canst at least: for a most rigid law

Binds Power to Necessity (6).

Still it is given thee to fight and overcome

Thy foolish passions: learn thou to subdue them (7).

Be sober, diligent, and chaste; avoid all wrath.

In public or in secret ne’er permit thou

Any evil; and above all else respect thyself (8).

PRÉPARATION

Rends aux Dieux immortels le cult consacré;

Garde ensuite ta foi: Révère la mémoire

Des Héros bienfaiteurs, des Esprits demi-Dieux.

PURIFICATION

Sois bon fils, frère juste, epoux tendre et bon père.

Choisis pour ton ami, l’ami de la vertu;

Cède à ses doux conseils, instruis-toi par sa vie,

Et pour un tort léger ne le quitter jamais;

Si tu le peux du moins: car une loi sévère

Attache la Puissance à la Nécessité.

Il t’est donné pourtant de combattre et se vaincre

Tes folles passions: apprends à les dompter.

Sois sobre, actif et chaste; évite la colère.

En public, en secret ne te permets jamais

Rien de mal; surtout respecte-toi toi-même.

Εἶτα διχαιοσύνην ἀσκε̃ιν ἔργῳ τε, λόγῳ τε.

Μὴδ᾽ ἀλογίστως σαυτὸν ἔχειν περὶ μηδὲν ἔθιζε.

Ἀλλὰ γνῶθι μὲν ὡς θανέειν πέπρωται ἅπασι.

Χρήματα δ᾽ἄλλοτε μὲν κτᾶσθαι φιλε̃ι, ἄλλοτ᾽ ὀλέσθαι.

Ὅσσα τε δαιμονίησι τύχαις βροτοὶ ἄλγε ἔχουσιν,

Ὥν ἄν μοῖραν ἔχης πρᾴως φέρε, μήδ᾽ ἀγανάκτει.

Ἰᾶσθαι δὲ πρέπει καθόσον δυνὴ· Ὥδε δὲ φράζεν.

Οὐ πάνυ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς τουτῶν πολὺ μοῖρα δίδωσι.

Speak not nor act before thou hast reflected.

Be just (9). Remember that a power invincible

Ordains to die (10); that riches and the honours

Easily acquired, are easy thus to lose (11).

As to the evils which Destiny involves,

Judge them what they are: endure them all and strive,

As much as thou art able, to modify the traits:

The Gods, to the most cruel, have not exposed the Sage (12).

Πολλὸι δ᾽ἀνθρώποισι λόγοι δειλοὶ τε, καὶ ἐσθλοὶ

Πορσπίπτους, ὧν μήτ᾽ ἐκπλήσσεο, μήτ᾽ ἄῤ ἐάσης

Ἔιργεσθαι σαυτόν. Ψεῦδος δ᾽ ήν πὲρ τι λέγηται,

Πρᾴως εἶχ᾽· Ὅ δὲ τοι ἐρέω, επὶ παντὶ τελείσθω.

Μηδεὶς μήτε λόγῳ σε παρείπῃ, μήτε τι ἔργῳ

Πρῆξαι, μηδ᾽ ἐιπεῖν, ὅ τι τοὶ μὴ βέτερὸν ἐστί.

Βουλεύου δὲ πρὸ ἔργου, ὅπως μὴ μωρὰ πέληεται.

Δειλοῦ τοι πρήσσειν τε λέγειν τ᾽ἀνόητα πρὸς ἀνδρὸς.

Ἀλλὰ τάδ᾽ ἐκτελέειν, ἅ σε μὴ μετεπειτ᾽ ἀνιήση.

Even as Truth, does Error have its lovers:

With prudence the Philosopher approves or blames;

If Error triumph, he departs and waits (13).

Listen and in thine heart engrave my words;

Keep closed thine eye and ear ’gainst prejudice;

Of others the example fear; think always for thyself (14):

Consult, deliberate, and freely choose (15).

Let fools act aimlessly and without cause.

Thou shouldst, in the present, contemplate the future (16).

Ne parle et n’agis point sans avoir réfléchi.

Sois juste. Souviens-toi qu’un pouvoir invincible

Ordonne de mourir; que les biens, les honneurs

Facilement acquis, sont faciles à perdre.

Et quant aux maux qu’entraîne avec soi le Destin,

Juge-les ce qu’ils sont: supporte-les; et tâche,

Autant que tu pourras, d’en adoucir les traits

Les Dieux, aux plus cruels, n’ont pas livré les sages.

Comme la Vérité, l’Erreur a ses amants:

Le philosophe approuve, ou blâme avec prudence;

Et si Erreur triomphe, il s’éloigne; il attend.

Ecoute, et grave bien en ton cœur mes paroles:

Ferme l’oeil et l’oreille à la prévention;

Crains l’exemple d’autrui; pense d’après toi-même;

Consulte, délibère, et choisis librement.

Laisse les fous agir et sans but et sans cause.

Tu dois dans le présent, contempler l’avenir.

Πρῆσσε δὲ μηδὲν τὼν μὴ πίστασσι· ἀλλὰ διδάσκευ

Ὄσσα χρεὼν, καὶ τερπνότατον βίον ὧδε διάξεις.

Ὀυδ᾽ ὑγιείης της περὶ σῶμ᾽ ἀμέλειαν ἔχειν χρή.

Ἀλλὰ ποτοῦ τε μέτρον, καὶ σίτου, γυμνασίων τε

Ποιεῖσθαι. μέτρον δὲ λέγω τό δ᾽, δ μὴ σ᾽ ἀνιήσει.

Ἐιθίζου δε δίαιταν ἔχειν καθάρειον, ἄθφρυπτον.

Καὶ πεφύλαξὸ γε ταῦτα ποιεῖν, ὁπόσα φθόνον ἵσχει

Μη δαπανᾷν παρὰ καιρὸν, ὁποῖα καλῶν ἀδαήμων.

Μη δ᾽ ἀνελέυθερος ἴσθι· μέτρον δ᾽ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἄριστον.

Πρῆσσε δὲ ταῦθ᾽, ἃ σε μὴ βλὰψη· λόγισαι δὲ πρὸ έργου.

That which thou dost not know, pretend not that thou dost.

Instruct thyself: for time and patience favour all (17).

Neglect not thy health (18): dispense with moderation,

Food to the body and to the mind repose (19).

Too much attention or too little shun; for envy

Thus, to either excess is alike attached (20).

Luxury and avarice have similar results.

One must choose in all things a mean just and good (21).

ΤΕΛΕΑΌΤΗΣ.

PERFECTION

Μὴδ᾽ ὕπνον μαλακοῖσιν έπ᾽ ὄμμασι προσδέξασθαι,

Πρὶν τῶν ἡμερινῶν ἔργῶν τρὶς ἕκαστον ἐπελθεῖν·

Πῆ παρέβην; τὶ δ᾽ἔρεξα; τὶ μοι δέον οὐκ ἐτελέσθη;

Ἀρξάμενος δ᾽απὸ πρώτου ἐπέξιθι· καὶ μετέπειτα

Δεινὰ μὲν ἑκπρήξας ἐπιπλήσσεο· χρηστὰ δὲ, τέρπου.

Ταῦτα πόνει· ταῦτ᾽ ἐκμελέτα· τούτων χρὴ ἐρᾷν σε.

Ταῦτὰ σε τῆς θείης ἀρετῆς εἰς ἴχνια θήσει.

Let not sleep e’er close thy tired eyes

Without thou ask thyself: What have I omitted and what done? (22).

Abstain thou if ‘tis evil; persevere if good (23).

Meditate upon my counsels; love them; follow them;

To the divine virtues will they know how to lead thee (24).

I swear it by the one who in our hearts engraved

The sacred Tetrad, symbol immense and pure,

Source of Nature and model of the Gods (25).

But before all, thy soul to its faithful duty,

Invoke these Gods with fervour, they whose aid,

Thy work begun, alone can terminate (26).

Instructed by them, naught shall then deceive thee:

Ce que tu ne sais pas, ne prétends point le faire.

Instruis-toi: tout s’accorde à la constance, au temps.

Veille sur ta santé: dispense avec mesure,

Au corps les aliments, à l’esprit le repos.

Trop ou trop peu de soins sont à fuir; car l’envie,

A l’un et l’autre excès, s’attache également.

Le luxe et l’avarice ont des suites semblables.

Il faut choisir en tout, un milieu juste et bon.

PERFECTION

Que jamais le sommeil ne ferme ta paupière,

Sans t’être demandé: Qu’ai-je omis? qu’ai-je fait?

Si c’est mal, abstiens-toi; si c’est bien, persévère.

Médite mes conseils; aime-les; suis-les tous:

Aux divines vertus ils sauront te conduire.

J’en jure par celui qui grava dans nos cœurs,

La Tétrade sacrée, immense et pur symbole,

Source de la Nature, et modèle des Dieux.

Ναὶ μὰ τὸν ἡμετέρᾳ ψυχᾷ παραδόντα τετρακτὺν,

Παγὰν ἀενάοῦ φύσεως. Ἀλλ᾽ ἔρχευ ἐπ᾽ ἔργον

Θεοῖσιν ἐπευξάμενος τελέσαι. Τούτων δὲ κρατήσας,

Γνώση ἀθανάτων τε θεῶν, θνητῶν τ᾽ ἀνθρώτων

Σύστασιν, ἧ τε ἕκαστα διέρχεται, ἧ τε κρατεῖται.

Γνώσῃ δ᾽, ἧ θέμις ἐστὶ, φύσιν περὶ παντὸς ὁμοίην

Ὤστε σε μήτ᾽ ἄελπτ᾽ ελπίζεῖν, μήτε τι λήθειν.

Γνώσῃ δ᾽ ἀνθρώπους αὐθαίρετα πήματ᾽ ἔχοντας

Τλήμονας, οἵ τ᾽ἀγαθῶν πέλας ὄντων οὔτ᾽ ἐσορῶσιν.

Οὔτε κλύουσι· λύσιν δὲ κακῶν πᾶυροι συνίσασι.

Τοίη μοίρα βροτῶν βλάπτει φρένας· οἱ δὲ κυλίνδροις

Ἄλλοτ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἄλλα φέρονται ἀπείρονα πήματ᾽ ἔχοντες.

Λυγρὴ γὰρ συνοπαδὸς ἔρις βλάπτουσα λέληθε

Σύμφυτος· ἥ οῦ δεῖ προσάγειν, ἐίκοντα δὲ φεύγειν.

Of diverse beings thou shalt sound the essence;

And thou shalt know the principle and end of All (27).

If Heaven wills it, thou shalt know that Nature,

Alike in everything, is the same in every place (28):

So that, as to thy true rights enlightened,

Thine heart shall no more feed on vain desires (29).

Thou shalt see that the evils which devour men

Are of their choice the fruit (30); that these unfortunates

Seek afar the goodness whose source within they bear (31).

For few know happiness: playthings of the passions,

Hither, thither tossed by adverse waves,

Upon a shoreless sea, they blinded roll,

Unable to resist or to the tempest yield (32).

Ζεῦ πάτερ, ἤ πολλῶν τε κακῶν λύσειας ἅπαντας.

Ἤ πᾶσιν δείξαις 1 ὁίῳ τῷ δαίμονι χρῶνται.

Ἀλλὰ σὺ θάρσει· ἐπεὶ θεῖον γένος ἐστὶ βροτοῖσιν

Ὁις ἱερὰ προφέρουσα φύσις δείκνυσιν ἕκαστα.

Ὧν ἐὶ σοὶ τι μέτεστι, κρατήσεῖς ὧν σε κελεύω,

Ἐξακέσας, ψυχὴν δὲ πόνων ἀπὸ τῶν δὲ σαώσεις.

Ἀλλ᾽ ἐίεγου βρωτῶν, ὧ ἐίπομεν, ἔν τε καθάρμοῖς,

Ἔν τε λύσει ψυχῆς κρίνων·καὶ ψράζευ ἕκαστα,

Ἠνίοχον γνώμην στήσας καθύπερθεν ἀρίστην.

Ἠν δ᾽ἀπολείψας 1 σῶμα ἐς αἰθέρ ἐλεύθερον ἔλθης,

Ἔσσεαι ἀθάνατος θεος, αμβροτος, οὐκ ἔτι θνηός.

God! Thou couldst save them by opening their eyes (33).

But no: ‘tis for the humans of a race divine

To discern Error and to see the Truth (34).

Nature serves them (35). Thou who fathomed it,

O wise and happy man, rest in its haven.

But observe my laws, abstaining from the things

Which thy soul must fear, distinguishing them well;

Letting intelligence o’er thy body reign, (36);

So that, ascending into radiant Ether,

Midst the Immortals, thou shalt be thyself a God.

Mais qu’avant, ton âme, à son devoir fidèle,

Invoque avec ferveur ces Dieux, dont les secours

Peuvent seuls achever tes œuvres commencées.

Instruit par eux, alors rien ne t’abusera:

Des êtres différents tu sonderas l’essence;

Tu connaîtras de Tout le principe et la fin.

Tu sauras, si le Ciel le veut, que la Nature,

Semblable en toute chose, est la même en tout lieu:

En sorte qu’éclairé sur tes droits véritables,

Ton cœur de vains désirs ne se repaîtra plus.

Tu verras que les maux qui dévorent les hommes,

Sont le fruit de leur choix; et que ces malheureux

Cherchent loin d’eux biens dont ils portent la source.

Peu savent être heureux: jouets des passions,

Tour à tour ballotés par des vagues contraires,

Sur une mer sans rive, ils roulent, aveuglés,

Sans pouvoir résister ni céder à l’orage.

Dieu! vous les sauveriez en désillant leurs yeux. . . .

Mais non: c’est aux humains, dont la race est divine,

A discerner l’Erreur, à voir la Vérité.

La Nature les sert. Toi qui l’as pénétrée,

Homme sage, homme heureux, respire dans le port.

Mais observe mes lois, en t’abstenant des choses

Que ton âme doit craindre, en les distinguant bien;

En laissant sur le corps régner l’intelligence:

Afin que, t’élevant dans l’Ether radieux,

Au sein des Immortels, tu sois un Dieu toi-même!

EXAMINATIONS OF THE GOLDEN VERSES: EXPLANATIONS AND DEVELOPMENTS

1. THE GOLDEN VERSES OF THE PYTHAGOREANS

THE ancients had the habit of comparing with gold all that they deemed without defects and pre-eminently beautiful: thus, by the Golden Age they understood, the age of virtues and of happiness; and by the Golden Verses, the verses, wherein was concealed the most pure doctrine. a They constantly attributed these Verses to Pythagoras, not that they believed that this philosopher had himself composed them, but because they knew that his disciple, whose work they were, had revealed the exact doctrine of his master and had based them all upon maxims issued from his mouth! b This disciple, commendable through his learning, and especially through his devotion to the precepts of Pythagoras, was called Lysis. c After the death of this philosopher and while his enemies, momentarily triumphant, had raised at Crotona and at Metaponte that terrible persecution which cost the lives of so great a number of Pythagoreans, crushed beneath the débris of their burned school, or constrained to die of hunger in the temple of the Muses, d Lysis, happily escaped from these disasters, retired into Greece, where, wishing to spread the sect of Pythagoras, to whose principles calumnies had been attached, he felt it necessary to set up a sort of formulary which would contain the basis of morals and the principal rules of conduct given by this celebrated man. It is to this generous movement that we owe the philosophical verses that I have essayed to translate into French. These verses, called golden for the reason I have given, contain the sentiments of Pythagoras and are all that remain to us, really authentic, concerning one of the greatest men of antiquity. Hierocles, who has transmitted them to us with a long and masterly Commentary, assures us that they do not contain, as one might believe, the sentiment of one in particular, but the doctrine of all the sacred corps of Pythagoreans and the voice of all the assemblies. a He adds that there existed a law which prescribed that each one, every morning upon rising and every evening upon retiring, should read these verses as the oracles of the Pythagorean school. One sees, in reality, by many passages from Cicero, Horace, Seneca, and other writers worthy of belief, that this law was still vigorously executed in their time. b We know by the testimony of Galen in his treatise on The Understanding and the Cure of the Maladies of the Soul, that he himself read every day, morning and evening, the Verses of Pythagoras; and that, after having read them, he recited them by heart. However, I must not neglect to say that Lysis, who is the author of them, obtained so much celebrity in Greece that he was honoured as the master and friend of Epaminondas. c If his name has not been attached to this work, it is because at the epoch when he wrote it, the ancient custom still existed of considering things and not individuals: it was with the doctrine of Pythagoras that one was concerned, and not with the talent of Lysis which had made it known. The disciples of a great man had no of her name than his. All their works were attributed to him. This is an observation sufficiently important to make and which explains how Vyasa in India, Hermes in Egypt, Orpheus in Greece, have been the supposed authors of such a multitude of books that the lives of many men would not even suffice to read them.

In my translation, I have followed the Greek text, such as is cited at the head of the Commentary of Hierocles, commentated on by the son of Casaubon, and interpreted into Latin by J. Curterius; London edition, 1673. This work, like all those which remain to us of the ancients, has been the subject of a great many critical and grammatical discussions: in the first place one must before everything else be assured of the material part. This part is today as authentic and as correct as it is possible to be, and although there exists still. several different readings, they are of too little importance for me to dwell upon. It is not my affair and besides, chacun doit faire son métier. That of the grammarian has ended where it ought to end. For how can man ever expect to advance if he never is willing to try some new thing which is offered. I shall not therefore make any criticizing remarks concerning the text, for I consider this text sufficiently examined; neither will I make any notes concerning the Commentaries, properly so-called, on these seventy-one lines, for I think it is sufficient having those of Hierocles, of Vitus Amerbachius, Theodore Marcilius, Henri Brem, Michel Neander, Jean Straselius, Guilhaume Diezius, Magnus-Daniel Omeis, André Dacier, etc. As I stated, I shall make examinations rather than commentaries, and I will give, regarding the inner meaning of the Verses, all the explanations that I believe useful for their complete development.

Footnotes

125:a Hiérocl., Comment. in Aur. Carmin. Proem.

125:b Fabric., Bibl. græc., p. 460; Dacier, Remarq. sur les Comm. d’Hiéroclès.

125:c Jamblic., De Vitâ Pythag., c. 30 et 33; Plutarch., De Gen. Socrat.

125:d Plutarch, De Repug. stoïc.; Diog. Laërt., l. viii., § 39; Polyb., l. ii.; Justin., l. xx., c. 4; Vossius, De Phil. sect., c. 6.

126:a Hiérocl., Aur. Carm., v. 71.

126:b Voyez Dacier, Rem. sur le Comment. d’Hiérocl.

126:c Plut., De Gen. Socr.; Ælian., Var. Hist., l. ii., c. 7.

PREPARATION 2. Render to the Immortal Gods the consecrated cult; Guard then thy faith:

Pythagoras, of whom a modern savant, otherwise most estimable, has rather thoughtlessly reproached with being a fanatical and superstitious man, a begins his teaching, nevertheless, by laying down a principle of universal tolerance. He commands his disciples to follow the cult established by the laws, whatever this cult may be, and to adore the gods of their country, what ever these gods may be; enjoining them only, to guard afterwards their faith—that is, to remain inwardly faithful to his doctrine, and never to divulge the mysteries. Lysis, in writing these opening lines, adroitly conceals herein a double meaning. By the first he commended, as I have said, tolerance and reserve for the Pythagorean, and, following the example of the Egyptian priests, established two doctrines, the one apparent and vulgar, conformable to