AS Pythagoras met with the immemorial fate of the world's great teachers, many fantastic distortions of his teachings were published; some of them, in his name by his enemies, for the express purpose of bringing his teachings into disrepute; and many things were imputed to him which he certainly never said or did. Probably he did not commit any of his teachings to writing, but it is certain that his disciples memorized his sayings and treasured them as the oracles of the Deity. He had two forms of teaching: one public or exoteric, and one private or esoteric. It is noteworthy that wherever his teachings prevailed, sobriety and temperance displaced licentiousness and luxury, for the distinguished Pythagoreans were men of great uprightness, conscientiousness, and self-control, capable of devoted and enduring friendships.
(a) exoteric teachings
The public teachings of Pythagoras consisted principally of practical morals of the purest and most spiritual type and emphasized the virtues of self-restraint, reverence, patriotism, sincerity, conscientiousness, uprightness, truth, justice, and purity of heart. He insisted upon the highest ideals of marriage and of parental duties, and always exerted his influence to suppress wars and dissensions. He was the first to apply the term philosopher or lover of wisdom to himself, as a substitute for the earlier term sage, for he said: "The Deity only is wise; men at their best are merely lovers of wisdom." He was also the first to use the word kosmos or "order," as applied to the universe. He used to say:
Drunkenness is synonymous with ruin.
No one ought to exceed the proper quantity of meat and drink.
Strength of mind depends upon sobriety, for this keeps the reason undiverted by passion.
In answer to the question, "When may I indulge in the pleasures of passion?" he replied: "Whenever you wish to be weaker than your Self."
Never say or do anything in anger.
Virtue is harmony; health, the Universal Good.
He urged his disciples not to kill animals, because he declared that they have a right to live, as well as men.
It is the part of a fool to attend to every opinion of all men, above all to that of the mob.
Do what you believe to be right, whatever people think of you. Despise alike their censure and their praise.
Add not unto your grief by discontent.
Do not speak few things in many words, but many things in a few words.
Either be silent, or speak words better than silence.
It is hard to take many paths in life at the same time.
Youth should be accustomed to obedience, for it will thus find it easy to obey the authority of reason.
Men should associate with one another in such a way as not to make their friends enemies, but to make their enemies friends.
We ought to wage war only against the ignorance of the mind, the passions of the heart, the distempers of the body, sedition in cities, and ill-will in families.
No man should deem anything exclusively his own.
Every man ought so to train himself as to be worthy of belief without an oath.
He used to call admonishing, "feeding storks."