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Golden Verses

Pythagoras

Seventy-one lines of moral and religious precepts: honour the gods, the heroes and one's parents; choose the virtuous as a friend; master the belly, sleep, desire and anger; respect oneself above all; examine each night what was done during the day. The final section promises whoever perseveres knowledge of the nature of gods and men and, on leaving the body, the condition of an immortal god. The Neoplatonist Hierocles of Alexandria (5th century) wrote a commentary on it, and in the modern age it was one of the most translated Greek texts.