Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden maonachi Cestrensis; together with the English translations of John Trevisa and of an unknown writer of the fifteenth century.

Capitulum undecimum.

PICTAGORAS the philosophre diede abowte this tyme. Tro|gus, libro secundo. This Pictagoras was borne in the yle callede Samos, son to Maratus, a ryche Merchaunte. This

Pictagoras wente to Egipte to lerne the cause and movenge of sterres and begynnenge of þe worlde, whiche, returnenge from Egipte and Babilon, come to that cuntre of Creta and of Lacedemonia to knowe the lawes of Minoys kynge, and of Ligurgus. After that he wente to the cite of Crotines, resolute moche in vertues and in honeste, techenge men, women, and childer vertuous life þer by the space of xx^ti yere. After that he departede to Methapontus, where he diede afterwarde. Policronicon, libro septimo, capitulo quarto. Mony women folowenge the doctrine of Pictagoras, [folio 135a] wolde do of theire clothes of golde and other raymentes of grete richesse as the instrumentes of lecchery, and conse|crate theyme in the howse of a goddesse callede Iuno. For Pictagoras was wonte to say that clennesse was the trewe clothenge of women. Then xxx^ti yonge men of the cite,

but more trewly ccc. men of that cite lyvenge after the pleasure of the flesche, and as departede from other peple, movede the peple of that cite ageyne Pictagoras, in so moche that the peple wolde haue brente the peple gedrede with Pictagoras in the howse. In whiche dede lx. men were pereschede, and other men were putte in to exile. This Pictagoras was of suche auctorite amonge olde men, that hit hade be sufficiaunte to the roboracion of a sentence if [Valerius, libro 3^o, capitulo 7^o.] hit hade be seide 'Pictagoras seide so.' Isidorus, libro primo. That clerke Pictagoras was hade so in veneracion of his disciples, that thei thouȝhte hit was wronge vtterly to make eny dowte of that thynge whiche thei hade herde by his disputacion. Isidorus, eodem libro. Pictagoras putte to other letters this letter Y, to the exemple of the lyfe of a man. Agellius, libro octauo, capitulo octauo. This Picta|goras laborede diligentely of the habite, contenaunce, and of

the nature and disposicion of men commenge to here his doctrine and lecture. ℞. After Seneca in his Epistoles, the lv^ti epistole, and also after Ambrosius, libro primo, De Offi|ciis, capitulo v^o, the disciples of Pictagoras scholde be stille and kepe silence by v. yere. Hugo, capitulo Didascalus. This nowble clerke Pictagoras hade this maner and consue|tude, that noon of his disciples scholde aske eny reason of the þinges that were seide by the space of vij. yere after the nowmbre of the vij. science and artes, but the disciple scholde ȝiffe credence to the wordes of his maister, and vij. year ypaste, to move by his awne reason dubitaciones to his maister. Polichronicon, libro septimo. The auctorite of Pictagoras was suche after his dethe, that men made the howse where he dwellede a temple, and honorede hym as

for a god. The peple toke occasion of þat perauenture by the seyenge of Pictagoras, in that he seide in his life, the howse of a philosophre to be the holy place of sapience and the trewe temple of God. Also men reherse that [folio 135b] Pictagoras seide to men that the sawles of theyme were immortalle, and scholde receyve merites and rewarde after the actes of hit in this presente life. Ieronimus contra Rufinum. Pictagoras putte sawles after this dethe corpo|realle to goe from body to body. After the seyenge of Virgilius, v^to libro Enoydis, the sawles begynne ageyne after dethe to wylle to be reuertede in to theire bodies. Tullius, de Natura Deorum, libro 30^o. Pictagoras offrede an ox to his goddes when he founde eny newe thynge in geometrye, whiche thynge scholde not appere to be trewe, for he wolde not offre to Appollo Delphicus, leste that he scholde contaminate the autere with bloode. Polichronicon,

libro quinto, capitulo 4^o. The bookes of Pictagoras were brente by men of Athenes, and he was putte in to exile in that he made dowte wheder those thynges were trewe whiche were seide of other men. Agellius, libro quinto. This Pictagoras in his yowthe, compellede as by necessite to labore for his exhibicion, wente to the woode, whiche makenge a fagotte, toke hit on his backe. Demetrius, the philosophre, metenge hym, seenge the beaute of þe childe, and his fagotte to be made and bownde as by geometry, inquirede of the childe who made that fagotte and bownde hit. The childe answerede and seide, "Y made hit." Then the philosophre causede hym to vnlose hit and to bynde hit ageyne, whiche perceyvenge the sapience of the childe, seide to hym: "Sythe that thow hase witte to do welle, folowe me, and thou schalle do better thynges." The childe makenge a promisse to goo with hym, lernede of hym philosophy. Polichronicon, libro 5^o. A ryche yonge man,

Enallius by name, come to Pictagoras for cause of his con|nynge, promisenge to hym a grete summe of moneye in that day he scholde be a proctor a fore a iuge and haue þe victory in his causes, ȝiffenge to hym a certeyne summe of moneye in the begynnenge of his informacion. This yonge man, nowbly instructe, wolde not be a proctor for [folio 136a] other men, leste that he scholde haue payede a grete summe of goode to his maister for his labore and doctrine. Where|fore Pictagoras callede hym a fore a Iugge, seyenge to hym: "Lerne, þow foole, thow schalle vnderstonde the summe of moneye to be paiede to me by ij. weies. For if the sen|tence procede on my parte, I schalle haue the seide summe by iuggemente. And if thow haue the victory in this cause, thow schalle pay the seide summe of dewte." The seide yonge man, Enallius by name, seide to his maister: "Lerne, maister, thow schal vnderstonde that y awe not to pay that

summe of money, for if the sentence procede with me, þow schalle haue noo thynge of that summe, and if the sentence procede ageyne me, y schalle not pay þat summe, sithe that y hade not the victory." The Iugges herenge this, lefte hit as a dowte inexplicable, differrenge þe sentence in to a longe season folowenge. Isidorus, libro 2^o, capitulo 24^o. Thauȝhe Tubal, off the kynde of Cayn, afore the grete floode of Noe, be redde to haue be the firste fynder of musike, that is to say, the firste mover of consonancy, neuerthelesse Grekes reherse Pictagoras to haue beene the firste fynder of musike, thro þe sownde of malles and extension of wyres other strynges. Macrobius, libro secundo. As Pictagoras wente in a season in the hie weye, he herde smyȝhtes strykenge

yrne ybrente with homers, corespondente in a certeyne ordre and proporcion of consonancy in whom the scharpenes was consonaunte to the gretenesse. Then Pictagoras causede the smyhtes to chaunge theire homers, but the same con|formite of the sownde remaynede stille. Whiche, takenge the measure of euery homer, causede theyme to make gretter homers, chaungenge that weiȝhte in to wires and in to strynges of the bowelles of bestes, and of the senowes of theyme, whiche, streynenge the strynges, founde the same consonancy in theyme whiche he founde afore in the homers. And after that he laborede to knowe the nowmbres and [folio 136b] acordes, and so he profite moche to the fyndenge of musike. ℞. Tullius rehersethe of Pictagoras, de Tusculanis Quæstionibus, libro 4^o, that his disciples cowthe reduce theire myndes from wickede thouȝhtes thro musike and songe. Augustinus in Epistola 5^ta, contra Julianum. When

yonge men, ouercommen with wyne and drunke, wolde breke the durres of chaste women, Pictagoras wolde commaunde men to synge slawely, that the hasty luste and brennenge scholde passe aweye thro that slawe syngenge Seneca, libro 3^o, de ira. Pictagoras constreynede and removede pertur|baciones of the sawle with an harpe. ℞. Discrete men reherse that Pictagoras goenge in a tyme by the places of smythes herde a swete sownde and consonante thro the ofte strykenges of the homers. Wherefore he takenge the measure and weiȝhtes of the homers, founde oon of theyme to weye that other twies, and that other to weie alle that other and the ["Thrydde" has been erased, and "halfe" written above it.] halfe parte moore, and that other homer to weie alle the other and the thrydde parte moore. As the thrydde homer

of viij weiȝhtes and the iiij^the of ix. weiȝhtes, as this figure presente schewethe:

[figure]

These cordes yfounde, Pictagoras ȝave names to theyme, callenge hit in sowndes diapason, whiche is callede in nowmbres dupla proporcio, other a dowble proporcion. And that corde in nowmbres called sequal|tera is diapente in sowndes. And that corde whiche is callede sequitercia proportio in nowmbres is made diates|seron in sowndes. And that

acorde whiche is in nowmbre a proporcion callede quadrupla, is in musike bis diapason, twies diapason. As hit may be schewed in the monocorde, when the wire extendede on a holowe body is distreynede diametrally by an instrumente restreynenge the wyre to a certeyne acorde callede magada, whiche is in [folio 157a] to ij. egalle thynges, then diapason resultethe on either parte of the wire. And if the wire be distreynede in to thre equalites, and the seide instrumente be putte under the oon extremalle diuision other departenge, the longer parte of the wyre ytowchede yeldethe diapente. And if the corde other wire be distreynede in to iiij. equalites, and that instrumente magada be putte under the oon extremalle diuision, the longer parte of the wire ytowchede yeldethe diatesseron. And if the wire be distreynede in to ix. partes, and that instrumente magada putte under hit in the oon extremalle diuision, the longer parte of the wire ytowchede yeldethe tonus, for ix. to viij. yeldeth a proportion sequioctaua, as hit schalle be schewede clerely in this presente figure.

[figure]

Ieronimus contra Ruffinum. Mony men and disciples of Pictagoras, holdenge his preceptes in theire myndes, vsede theyme as for bookes, vsenge myche these prouerbes folowenge in his lyfe. Langor is to be departede from the body, lecchery from the bely, treason from a cite, discorde from a howse, and intemperaunce from alle thynges; seynge also trawthe to be luffedde after God, whiche oonly makethe men as neiȝhebores to Godde.