Pythagoras: His Life and Teachings

PYTHAGORAS is known as the Father of Philosophy. He was one of the most influential figures of all time. While he lived some 2,600 years ago, he is as much a part of today’s world as he was of classical Greece. The contributions of “the Divine Pythagoras” (as he was called by his contemporaries) encompassed a wide spectrum of knowledge. Mathematics, in particular geometry, is perhaps the area in which he is best known today. However, he did much original work in such diverse fields as Religion, Mysticism, Symbolic Numbers, Philosophy, Music, Astronomy, Politics, Health, and Nutrition. He founded a spiritual academy in which an active intellectual curriculum was augmented by a highly disciplined program of character development—making it one of the true Mystery schools of the ancient world. He sought to develop a superior human being through the cultivation of morality, intellectual learning, self-discipline, spiritual sensitivity, and good citizenship. The timeless brilliance of Thomas Stanley’s study of Pythagoras is that it presents a survey of classical writers of antiquity that is as relevant today as it was when first published over three hundred years ago. Stanley's text and typography have been updated for a modern audience by editor and book designer James Wasserman. This edition also features a biographical sketch of Stanley by renowned esoteric philosopher Manly P. Hall, an in-depth overview of the teachings of Pythagoras by classical scholar Dr. Henry L. Drake, and a study of Greek and Latin sources by author J. Daniel Gunther. Illustrated with diagrams by Stanley, modern geometrical figures, and ancient coins from Pythagoras’ day, this book is an excellent introduction to a seminal figure of world history.