sensation. And that the infant first becomes a solid body at the
end of forty days; but, according to the principles of harmony,
it is not perfect till seven, or perhaps nine, or at most ten
months, and then it is brought forth. And that it contains in
itself all the principles of life, which are all connected
together, and by their union and combination form a harmonious
whole, each of them developing itself at the appointed time.

"The senses in general, and especially the sight, are a vapor of
excessive warmth, and on this account a man is said to see
through air and through water. For the hot principle is opposed
by the cold one; since, if the vapor in the eyes were cold, it
would have the same temperature as the air, and so would be
dissipated. As it is, in some passages he calls the eyes the
gates of the sun; and he speaks in a similar manner of hearing
and of the other senses.

"He also says that the soul of man is divided into three parts:
into intuition and reason and mind, and that the first and last
divisions are found also in other animals, but that the middle
one, reason, is only found in man. And that the chief abode of
the soul is in those parts of the body which are between the
heart and the brain. And that that portion of it which is in the
heart is the mind; but that deliberation and reason reside in the
brain.

Moreover, that the senses are drops from them; and that the
reasoning sense is immortal, but the others are mortal. And that
the soul is nourished by the blood; and that reasons are the
winds of the soul. That it is invisible, and so are its reasons,
since the aether itself is invisible. That the links of the soul
are the veins and the arteries and the nerves. But that when it
is vigorous, and is by itself in a quiescent state, then its
links are words and actions. That when it is cast forth upon the
earth it wanders about, resembling the body. Moreover, that
Mercury is the steward of the souls, and that on this account he
has the name of Conductor, and Commercial, and Infernal, since it
is he who conducts the souls from their bodies, and from earth
and sea; and that he conducts the pure souls to the highest
region, and that he does not allow the impure ones to approach
them, nor to come near one another, but commits them to be bound
in indissoluble fetters by the Furies. The Pythagoreans also
assert that the whole air is full of souls, and that these are
those which are accounted daemons and heroes. Also, that it is by
them that dreams are sent among men, and also the tokens of
disease and health; these last, too, being sent not only to men,
but to sheep also, and other cattle. Also that it is they who are
concerned with purifications and expiations and all kinds of
divination and oracular predictions, and things of that kind."[5]


A brief consideration of this summary of the doctrines of
Pythagoras will show that it at least outlines a most
extraordinary variety of scientific ideas. (1) There is suggested
a theory of monads and the conception of the development from
simple to more complex bodies, passing through the stages of
lines, plain figures, and solids to sensible bodies. (2) The
doctrine of the four elements--fire, water, earth, and air--as
the basis of all organisms is put forward. (3) The idea, not
merely of the sphericity of the earth, but an explicit conception
of the antipodes, is expressed. (4) A conception of the sanitary
influence of the air is clearly expressed. (5) An idea of the
problems of generation and heredity is shown, together with a
distinct disavowal of the doctrine of spontaneous generation-- a
doctrine which, it may be added, remained in vogue, nevertheless,
for some twenty-four hundred years after the time of Pythagoras.
(6) A remarkable analysis of mind is made, and a distinction
between animal minds and the human mind is based on this
analysis. The physiological doctrine that the heart is the organ
of one department of mind is offset by the clear statement that
the remaining factors of mind reside in the brain. This early
recognition of brain as the organ of mind must not be forgotten
in our later studies. It should be recalled, however, that a
Crotonian physician, Alemaean, a younger contemporary of
Pythagoras, is also credited with the same theory. (7) A
knowledge of anatomy is at least vaguely foreshadowed in the
assertion that veins, arteries, and nerves are the links of the
soul. In this connection it should be recalled that Pythagoras
was a practical physician.

As against these scientific doctrines, however, some of them
being at least remarkable guesses at the truth, attention must be
called to the concluding paragraph of our quotation, in which the
old familiar daemonology is outlined, quite after the Oriental
fashion. We shall have occasion to say more as to this phase of
the subject later on. Meantime, before leaving Pythagoras, let us
note that his practical studies of humanity led him to assert the
doctrine that "the property of friends is common, and that
friendship is equality." His disciples, we are told, used to put
all their possessions together in one store and use them in
common. Here, then, seemingly, is the doctrine of communism put
to the test of experiment at this early day. If it seem that
reference to this carries us beyond the bounds of science, it may
be replied that questions such as this will not lie beyond the
bounds of the science of the near future.


XENOPHANES AND PARMENIDES

There is a whimsical tale about Pythagoras, according to which


<< previous page | next page >>

Jump to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 |