Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum 11

PIctagoras the philosopher dyed that tyme. Trogus li / 22 This was of the naciō of samia a rich marchaūtes sone cal¦l••d 〈◊〉〈◊〉 but pictagoras was wel richer than his fader for he might forsake more than his fader might gete. this wēt first in to egipt & aft in to babilō to lerne the cours of the sterres & to kno¦we the beginning of the world / Thens he torned agayn in •• creta and lacedomonia for to knowe mynoys and ligurgus lawe ¶Than he torned to the Cyte called Ciuitas Croconiorum that was all out of rule And there he was twenty yere and taught there vertues and thewes and taught their fader and moder chil¦dre and old women euery by hym self and atte laste he wente to Mechapontus and dyed there Th•••• same sentence is wryten of hym pol libro septimo capitulo quarto ¶ But there is more putto in this maner pyctagoras with ofte disputynge bro••••hte aboute that olde moders put away her noble aray of gold and of other royalte as thaugh suche 〈◊〉〈◊〉 were Instrumnet to leche∣rye and therfor they dyde hem away and offred hem in the tem∣ple of Iuno Pyctagoras sayd that chastyte is veray ••oble a∣ray of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 modree•• Thre honderd yongmen were sworn to ge∣der and lyued in a felawship by hem self as it were a company of pryuy conspyracy ayēst hym & tornned the Cyte ayenst hem self So that the people of the Cyte gadred hem in to one hows / and wold haue brent 〈◊〉〈◊〉 and in that stryf were sixty dede and the other were exyled This pyctagoras was of greet auctoryte in old tyme 〈◊〉〈◊〉 his oppynyon passed al other mennes sentences Also it was y••ow to conferme ony sentence yf pyctagoras sayd soo Val̄ libro tercio capitulo sep••••mo ¶ They that herd hym dide hym so greete worship that they sayd It is not lawful to make neyther doute ne question of loore that he had taught And me axed hem ony reason of sawes that me sayde they yafe none other answer but that pyctagoras sayd so Isidorus libro pri∣mo sayth that pyctagoras founde firste this letter / Y· to the lyke∣nesse of mannes lyf Agel libro octauo capitulo octauo

Alle the money that ony of Pyctagoras company had it was openly put forth among hem and soo the company was stydfast and true / ¶ Also they that came to his loore axed besyly of thewes and of kynde of castyng of mouth and of semblaunt of aray and shape of body ¶Also he ordeyned couenable tyme to be stylle and to speke / Hugo didascolus Pyctagoras had this maner by the seuen sciences / none of his scolers shold bifore se∣uen yere ax•••• reason ne skylle but besyly herkynge what he sayde· And he sholde byleue what the mayster sayde til that he had said and soo than he myght hym self fynde skylle and reason Poē. libro septimo This Pyctagoras vsed so grete contynence and abstynence that he ete neyther fisshe ne flessh ¶ Also after his deth men wonderd so moche of hym and his Auctoryte was so grete that men made a temple of his hows and worshipped hym in stede of god and in caas toke occasion of his sawe· For he sa¦yde whyle he was on lyue that a philosophres hows is an holy place of wytte and of wysedome and veray temple of god Also he taught men to byleue that mennes sowle shal neuer dye but lyue for euermore and for to haue mede or peyne after the deseruyng in theyr lyf netheles me sayth that he brought wicked¦ly the fable of a thousand yere after the deth ¶Ieronimus con¦tra Ruf Pyctagoras sayth that sowles after the deth passe frō body to body And virgilius sexto eueydis sayth ofte they begyn to wylle to torne to body Tullius de natura deorum libro tercio / Whan Pyctagoras fonde newe conclusion in geometrye he wol∣offre an ••xe to the muses and that I trowe was done for he wol¦de not offre to Appolyn delphicus. for he wolde not sprynge the Aucter with blood ¶Treuisa ¶ 〈◊〉〈◊〉 is wonder to speke of the muses for som̄e poetes feyne that the muses were 〈◊〉〈◊〉 doughters of Iupyter and of mynde And somme seyn that they were the doughters of meno and of tesbia ¶Pol̄ li 5 capitulo quarto Men of Athene brente Pyctagoras bookes and exyled hem al∣so for they doubted of her goddes whether 〈◊〉〈◊〉 were soth or noo / of somwhat that me spak of her goddes ¶Agellus libro quinto Whan that Pyctagoras was yong and was besy to gete spede∣ful man beryng of byrthens to gete his lyuelode with / he bare a byrthen of many Iuy stalkes bounden in a short roop Demo¦critus the philosopher mette hym· and sawe the yonglynge doo spedyly his dedes and hadde his byrthen bounden as it were by craft of geometrye and axed hym who had bounden that fagott

I sayde Pyctagoras· than he made hym vndoo the byrthen and bynde it agayne. And sayth syth thou hast wytte for to doo wel yf thou wold folowe me thou shalt doo wel better dedes and he graunted and lerned of hym philosophye Pol̄ libro quinto One Auallius riche and yong come to Pyctagoras for to lerne parfyght maner of spekyng and payd hym half his moneye be¦fore er be lerned and that other half he shuld pay that day that he made plee bifore a Iugge and had the maystrye ¶Atte laste whan he had connynge of speche he forsoke his facunde and his connyng bifore pleders as me troweth for he wold not pay that he owed to his mayster Pyctagoras toke counseyll and som∣moned hym bifore Iugges and began in this maner lerne thou yong foole that that I axe is dette to me by either wey for yf I ou{er}come the in this cause than by right it is dette to me / And yf the dome is yeuen for the than is it dette to me by couenaunte / for than thou ouercomest and haste the maystrye / Naye sayd Auallius but lerne wyse mayster that by nether waye I shall pay the that thou axist· for yif it be demed ayenst me than shal I not paye by dome / and yf it be demed ayenst me than shal I not by couenaunt for I haue not the maystrye ¶Than the Iugges sawe that the cause was brygous as it were an insoluble & con∣tinued the sentente of Iuggement to a long day ¶So it is red∣de amonge the men of Athene that a woman poysened hir hus∣band and hir owne sonne / for they had wickedly slayne hir sone and her heyr that she had by hir fyrst husbande ¶The old Iug∣ges respyted theyr Iuggement till an honderd yere ¶ For on that one side was grete sorowe to assoylle and in that otherside a cruel dede to be dampned ¶Ysidorus libro secundo capitulo vise∣simo quarto ¶Though men rede that tubal of caimes lygnage was fynder of consonancye and of music bifore Noes flode Netheles me redeth among the Grekes that Pyctagoras founde the craft of musik̄ by sowne of hamers and by stretchyng of cor¦des and of strenges ¶Marian̄ libro secundo ¶It happed that Pyctagoras passed forth openly and herd smythes bete with ha¦mers / on hote yron & acorde eueryche to other in certayne ordre of sowne / For the sharpe sowne acorded to the grete and made the smythes to chaunge hamers / but the same acorde of sownyng fo¦lowed alway Than he toke hede that the hamers were of dyuse weyght and bade hym make greter hamers And from hamers he tornede hym to examyne strenges and streyned guttes· and

senewes of shepe and of beestes fastned to dyuerse weyghtes such weyghtes as he founden in the hamer and hadde suche song and acorde as the rather acordynge of hamers made with swetnesse of kyndly sowne of strenges Than whan he was connyng of so gret pryuete he began to fynde nombres by the whiche sownes acorde and so he spedde to make the craft of musik R ¶Ther∣for Tullius de tusculis questio libro quarto speketh of hym and sayth that Pyctagoras scolers couth brynge her mynde oute of strif of thoughte•• to reste by song and sowne of strenges ¶Augustinus ep̄ h contra Rut / Whan yonglynges were wyn dronken and wold breke the yates of chast women Pyctagoras bade pipers pipe a songe made by thendytyng of spondeus and whan they did soo / tho the bestyalyte of moeuyng of lechery ces∣sed by the slouth of the maner of tewnes· Seneca libro tercio de lira Pyctagoras with harpe and strenges cessed the distourban¦ce of wyttes ¶R Here wyse men I tell that Pyctagoras pas¦sed sōtyme by a smythes hows & herde a swete sown & acordyng in the smytyng of four hamers vpon an anueld and therfore he lette wey the hamers and founde that one of the hamers weyed twey so moche as another / Another weyed other half so moche as another And another weyed so moch as an other & the third dele of another· As though the first hamer were of vjl••̄ / the se∣cond of twelue / the thyrd of eycht· the fourth of nyne / As this figure sheweth / ¶ Whan these acordes were founden Pyctagoras yaf hem names and so that he cleped in nombre double. he clepede in sownes Dyapason / And that he clepeth in nombre other half he clepeth in sow¦nes Dyapente. & that that in nombre is called al & the thyrd dele hete in sownes dyatesseron / and that that in nombres is called al and the eyghteth dele heete in tewnes double dyapason as in me¦lodye of one strenge yf the stryng be streyned endlonge vpon the holownesse of a tree· and departed euen a two by a brydge sette ther vnder in eyther party of the streng the sowne shal be dyapa¦son yf the streng be streyned and touched▪ And if the strynge be departed euen in thre and the brygge sette vnder / So that it de∣parte bytwene the twey deles and the thyrdde than the lenger de¦le of the stryng yf it be touched shal yeue a sowne callyd dyates¦seron. And yf it be departed in nyne and the brigge sette vnder bytwene the laste parte and the other dele· than the lenger dele of the streng yf it be touched shal yeue a sowne that hete tonus

for nyne conteyneth echt and the eyght part of eyght as in this figure that foloweth

¶ Ieronimus contra rufū Many of Pyctagoras disciples kept her mais¦tres heestes in mynde and vsede her wytte & mynde in studye of bookes & taught that many suche prouerbes shal kytte & depar∣te sorowe from the body vnconnyng from the wytte lechery from the wombe / treson oute of the cyte / stryf oute of the hows Incon∣tynence and hastynesse oute of alle thynges ¶Also al that fren¦des haue shal be comyn A frende is the other of tweyne ¶ Me¦mot take hede of tymes ¶After god sothnesse shal be worshiped that maketh men be next god ¶Ysidorus libro octauo capitulo sexto