As long as Man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.
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"The wise man should be prepared for everything that does not lie within his power."
"Do not wear a ring."
"Do not cut your nails on holy days."
"Sooner throw a pearl at hazard than an idle or useless word; and do not say a little in many words, but a great deal in a few."
"Abstain from beans."
Greek philosopher and mathematician whose school in Croton combined geometry (the Pythagorean theorem), number-mysticism, and a religious-vegetarian way of life. Closely associated with Thales of Miletus (earlier pre-Socratic and the first philosopher). For an intellectual contrast, see Heraclitus, pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of flux — Heraclitus called Pythagoras 'the chief of swindlers' — among the founding insults of the philosophical-rivalry tradition. Their 'all is flux' vs 'all is number' poles still organize the philosophy of mathematics today (Platonist vs anti-realist).
Philosophical teaching, advocating vegetarianism and non-violence towards animals.
Date: c. 570–495 BCE (approximate)
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This quote argues that human violence toward animals is inseparable from violence toward other humans. Cruelty cannot coexist with peace — those who normalize killing lower creatures build habits and moral callousness that extend to people. The closing lines frame it as a cosmic principle of cause and effect: inflicting suffering produces suffering in return. True health, joy, and love require choosing nonviolence at every level of life.
Pythagoras founded a strict vegetarian brotherhood in Croton, Greece, with dietary rules rooted in his belief in metempsychosis — the soul's transmigration between humans and animals. He saw animals as kin, potentially housing former human souls. This quote embodies his core ethical teaching: that reverence for all living beings is the foundation of justice and inner peace. His community practiced these principles as daily discipline, not mere philosophy.
In 6th-century BCE Greece, animal sacrifice dominated religious practice — offering animals to gods was mandatory at festivals, temples, and civic events. Meat-eating was universal, and Pythagoras's vegetarianism was deeply radical and socially disruptive. Mediterranean city-states also warred constantly. His claim that animal slaughter and human warfare share a moral root challenged both religious orthodoxy and military culture simultaneously, making this statement genuinely subversive for its time.
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