The society seems to have been divided into two classes: the more advanced, or . 3oterical, and the neo- phytes, or cxoterieal. < n her di\ isions .are also mention- ed, as into Pyihagorici, Pytkagort t, and Pytkagm ista . ac- cording to their pro-res- in the studies of the sect, and the intimacy of their communion with their common superior.
The candidates for admission were carefully scruti- nized, and great attention was paid to physiognomy and the external indications of moral and mental qual- ities. If accepted, they had to pass through a long pe- riod of probation. It was credited in after-times that they had to maintain silence for live years; that, dur- ing this period, they were not allowed to 1m hold the face of the master; and that they wen- required to undergo other tests of titness for membership. Silence, or the government of the tongue ^nir;in i, was prescribed as earnestly as by St. .lames: but the length and t he siknee required were not uniform in all cases. The fellows of the guild received instruction in all the knowl- edge then existent, either directly from the scholarch himself, or through the intervention of his more instruct- ed pupils. The esoteric .studies have been differently supposed to have been the political theories and the po- litical projects of Pythagoras, and the mystic religious rites, or orgies, which rendered the society a theosophic sect : they were probably the latter.
The publication of the characteristic Pythagorean doctrines was absolutely prohibited; and when these were published by Philolaus, in a later ape the proced- ure was regarded as a grave infraction of Pythagorean proprii lies. Daily self-examination, which pr< supposes habitual meditation, was a constant requirement '• They Bumni'd the actyonns of the daie Ecue nyghte before they slept." Such reverence was paid to the declaration- of the master that all contradiction, cavil, and doubt were unknown, livery difference of opinion was promptly settled by the autocratic dictum. A/rec i'pa.
In the midst ot the luxury, sensuality, idli ness, and extravagance tor which Crotona. like other cities of Magna Graecia, was noted, the greatest restraint was
imposed on the elect in regard to all those vices which
undermine or fritter away morality. .Modesty and sim- plicity in dress, decorum in behavior, absb miousni — in fond, abstinence from meats, beans, and other articles of food, and moderation in all things, were earnestly incul- cated. The institutions of Pythagoras appear to have been, in many respects, an anticipation ot the monastic life of the early mediae al Benedit tint -. Heall bful rec- reations lor mind and body, music and gymnasl of which embraced a large and varied sphere, B ou.l\ prosecuted.
I he members of the association were si gregated from ••tin' vulgar herd." not merely by their seen t organiza- tion and higher culture, but also l,\ the pride ol l' arn- ing, of creed, of power, and by the haughty a rapt for
inferiors which usually attends such pride. I lie mys- tic secrecy and the careful separation from the multi- tude were maintained by signs and enigmatic symbols, which enabled Pythagoreans to recognise each other with certainty and without display.
The best and the latest investigators of the perplex-
PYTHAGORAS
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PYTHAGORAS
eel subject of Pythagoreanism agree in rejecting the opinion that Pythagoras intended to found a distinct political organization for the purpose of maintaining aristocratic authority. Nevertheless, if any weight is to he given to concurrent testimony, or to the natural tendencies of an aristocratic organization held together by secret bonds, or to the existing condition of Greek communities, the Pythagorean fraternity did secure the control of Crotona, and instituted affiliated societies in Metapontum and other neighboring cities. The influ- ence exercised by the Pythagoreans may well have been favorable to private morals, to public virtues, and to general prosperity. But the power of an exclusive, arbitrary, and haughty section of the community, and the constraint imposed by it on the free action as well as on the accustomed passions, the sensual gratifica- tions, and the avidity of license, which is the first man- ifestation of the spirit of progressive freedom, would be certain to provoke reaction. It would thus be in per- fect consonance with the natural order of events that the story should be true which related that, after Py- thagoras had taught at Crotona for twenty years, the people made a combined attack upon the ccenobitic as- sociation assembled in the house of Milo the athlete. Cylon, a noble who had been refused admission into the society, and Ninon were the reputed leaders. Tire as- sailants are sometimes said to have been only Crotoni- ates; at other times they are reputed to have consisted also of deputations from the other cities in which Py- thagorean clubs had been established. The canaculum was burned to the ground, and most of the congregation lost their lives. According to some accounts, Pythago- ras himself perished in the flames; according to others, he escaped, retired to Metapontum, and soon after died, or was slain. This calamity is calculated to have hap- pened about B.C. 510, when Pythagoras was ninety- eight years of age, if the earliest date of his nativity be accepted. The same story, however, with the requisite modifications, is told in regard to the Pythagoreans of a later generation. But there are so many and such in- consistent narratives of the end of the philosopher, and of the suppression or dispersion of the Pythagorean or- ganization, that no greater certainty can be expected in these matters than is attainable in regard to other points in his career. The whole story is as mythical as the fable of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, though unquestionably encrusting a large sub- stratum of fact. "The stories told of him," says Cox, " must be classed along with the tales which related the exploits of the Messenian Aristomenes."