Pythagoras: His Life and Teaching, a Compendium of Classical Sources (66 page)

In Suidas'
Lexicon
, the entry describing this Symbol omits the word
and reads:

“Do not hasten to offer the right hand.” In Plutarch's Morals, “On Education,” Chapter 17, it is written as:
“Do not offer everyone your right hand,” omitting the word
from the account of Pythagoras' Symbol. This Symbol is recounted in full by Diogenes Laertius in his
Lives of Eminent Philosophers
, Chapter VIII, 17, which Hicks translated liberally, “don't shake hands too eagerly,” but which effectively sums up the actual meaning of the sentence. (Cf. Pistelli,
Iamblichi Protrepticus Ad Fidem Codicis Florentini
, p. 108, Bekker,
Suidae Lexicon
, p. 910a., Vernardakis,
Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia
, Vol. 1, p. 28, Shilleto,
Plutarch's Morals, Ethical Essays
, p. 18., and Hicks,
Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
, Vol. 2, p. 337.)

p. 289 This last reason is confirmed by Plutarch, who explains this Symbol: Abstain from Suffrages; which of old were given by Beans.

In
Liberis Educandis
(On the training of children), Plutarch wrote, “Abstain from beans”; means that a man should keep out of politics, for beans were used in earlier times for voting upon the removal of magistrates from office.” (Babbitt,
Plutarch, Moralia
, Vol. 1., Chap. 17) This process is described by Robert Bateman Paul as follows:

“when [the assembly] deprived the magistrates of their power for maladministration, they gave their votes in private. The manner of voting privately was by casting pebbles (
) into vessels, (
) which the prytanes [i.e. officers in the Senate] were obliged to place in the assembly for this purpose. Before the use of pebbles, they voted with beans (
) As soon as the people had done voting, the proëdri [i.e. other officers of the Senate], having carefully examined the number of suffrages, pronounced the decree ratified or thrown out, according as the majority part approved or rejected it.” (R.B. Paul,
The Antiquities of Greece
, p.228.) Beans were also used in this manner for casting judgments against defendants on trial, as well as voting for Senators.

“The Senators were elected by lots in the following manner: on a certain day, before the beginning of the month Hecatombæon, the president of every tribe gave in the names of all the persons within his district who were capable of this dignity, and chose to be candidates for it. These were engraven on tables of brass, called
and cast into a vessel set there for that purpose. Into another vessel were cast the same number of beans, fifty of which were white, and all the rest black. Then the names of the candidates and the beans were drawn out one by one; and those whose names were drawn out together with the white beans were elected for that tribe.” (Ibid, p. 229)

p. 291.
[“testicles (and) genitals”]

Read,
From Porphyry's
Life of Pythagoras
, Chapter 43. (Cf. Kiessling,
Iamblichi Chalcidensis Ex Coele-Suria De Vita Pythagorica
, Vol. 2, p. 76, and Guthrie,
The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library
, p. 132.)

p. 291
Generation