Pythagoras
Overview
 
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian
Ionians
The Ionians were one of the four major tribes into which the Classical Greeks considered the population of Hellenes to have been divided...

 Greek philosopher
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BCE and continued through the Hellenistic period, at which point Ancient Greece was incorporated in the Roman Empire...

, mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....

, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism was the system of esoteric and metaphysical beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans, who were considerably influenced by mathematics. Pythagoreanism originated in the 5th century BCE and greatly influenced Platonism...

. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him. He was born on the island of Samos
Samoš
Samoš is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Kovačica municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,247 people .-See also:...

, and might have travelled widely in his youth, visiting Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 and other places seeking knowledge. He had a teacher named Themistoclea
Themistoclea
Themistoclea was a priestess, philosopher and mathematician at Delphi.. According to surviving sources she was Pythagoras’ teacher, although she may also have been his sister...

, who introduced him to the principles of ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

.
Quotations

I was Euphorbus|Euphorbus at the siege of Troy.

As reported by Heraclides Ponticus|Heraclides Ponticus (c. 360 B.C), and Diogenes Laërtius, and quoted in Cosmic Optimism : A Study of the Interpretation of Evolution (1949) by Frederick William Conner

By the air which I breathe, and by the water which I drink, I will not endure to be blamed on account of this discourse.

As reported by Heraclides Ponticus|Heraclides Ponticus (c. 360 B.C), and Diogenes Laërtius, in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers|Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, "Pythagoras", Sect.5, in the translation of C. D. Yonge (1853)

Dear youths, I warn you cherish peace divine, And in your hearts lay deep these words of mine.

As reported by Heraclides, son of Sarapion, and Diogenes Laërtius, in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers|Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, "Pythagoras", Sect. 6, in the translation of C. D. Yonge (1853)

The soul of man is divided into three parts, intelligence, reason, and passion. Intelligence and passion are possessed by other animals, but reason by man alone.

As reported by Alexander Polyhistor|Alexander Polyhistor, and Diogenes Laërtius in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers|Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, "Pythagoras", Sect. 8, in the translation of C. D. Yonge (1853)

We ought so to behave to one another as to avoid making enemies of our friends, and at the same time to make friends of our enemies.

As quoted in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers|Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, by Diogenes Laërtius, "Pythagoras", Sect. 8, as translated in Dictionary of Quotations (1906) by Thomas Benfield Harbottle, p. 320

In anger we should refrain both from speech and action.

As quoted in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, by Diogenes Laërtius, "Pythagoras", Sect. 8, as translated in Dictionary of Quotations (1906) by Thomas Benfield Harbottle, p. 370

Reason is immortal, all else mortal.

As quoted in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius, as translated by Robert Drew Hicks (1925); also in The Demon and the Quantum : From the Pythagorean Mystics to Maxwell's Demon (2007) by Robert J. Scully, Marlan O. Scully, p. 11

The most momentous thing in human life is the art of winning the soul to good or to evil.

As quoted in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius, as translated by Robert Drew Hicks (1925)

Friends share all things.

As quoted in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers|Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, by Diogenes Laërtius, "Pythagoras", Sect. 10

Power is the near neighbour of necessity.

As quoted in Aurea Carmina by Hierocles of Alexandria|Hierocles of Alexandria, as translated in Dictionary of Quotations (1906) by Thomas Benfield Harbottle, p. 356

 
x
OK