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Pythagoras Studies
#1
This thread was created for discussing all matters Pythagorean...

Pharos and the Pythagorean Principles of Urban Planning
https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=cla...zik=277088

Pharos, one of the oldest cities on the eastern coast of the Adriatic, was founded by Parians
in 385/4 BC on the site of Stari Grad on the island of Hvar. In spite of the considerable resist­
ance of the Illyrian indigenous people while the city was being founded, the Greek colony was
nevertheless established, with the support and assistance of Dionysius of Syracuse. Since the
Parians were inclined to Pythagorean philosophy, and since the contact was probably made
with Dionysius the Elder via the Pythagoreans, it is essential to look at the planning of the
urban space of Pharos in this light. It is known that Hippodamus was Pythagorean and that
he introduced Pythagorean number theory into the town planning. This can be seen primarily
from an analysis of the plans of the cities organised according to the Pythagorean–Hippodam­
ian principles (Miletus, Piraeus). The characteristically Pythagorean system of town planning,
well­adjusted to the tetractys diagram, can be recognised in a rather well explored archaeologi­
cal sites (Priene). Recent archaeological research in Pharos discovered how urban structure is
articulated. The application of numerical principles can be observed in how Pharian residential
blocks were conceptualized, revealed in the south­east part of the city. The city, organised ac­
cording to Pythagorean numerical, became important for accomplishing harmonious system.
By construing the urban texture on the basis of the rectangular plots and insula, the harmony
based on the principle of proportion and numbers – typical of Greek urban planning and design
– was achieved in Pharos.

By translating this article we can read for example:
“An exceptional example of the conception of the whole city is provided by the Hellenistic Priene, where from the beginning is determined every construction with all the details, both for public areas and residential districts. The characteristic Pythagorean planning system is adapted to the scheme of tetraktys. There is a rectangular scheme that has certain proportions mutually harmonized, and all parts of the city are linked to a cosmic work. Housing blocks in the ratio are 3: 4, public agora 2: 3, and Temple of Athens 1: 2. This integral work of art was accomplished by architect Pythius, who had to be a pitagorian. “

One more thing, many years ago I believe I read something which stated that the Hagia Sophia was also build according to Pythagorean principles? Perhaps someone else knows more about this and can tell if this is correct or not.
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#2
On Numbers and Ages

Ambrose (LETTER XLIV. [A.D.389.])
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/ambros...m#Letter44

3. Wherefore in six days He created the world, on the seventh day He rested from His works. The number seven is good, and we treat it not according to the manner of Pythagoras and other philosophers, but according to the form and divisions of spiritual grace, for the prophet Isaiah has set forth the seven principal virtues of the Holy Spirit. This sacred seven, like the venerable Trinity of the Father Son and Holy Ghost, knows neither time nor order, and is the origin of number, not bound by any of its laws. Wherefore as the heaven the earth and the sea were formed in honour of the eternal Trinity, and also the sun moon and stars, so in like manner we observe that it is according to this sevenfold circle of spiritual virtues, and this swiftly |297 revolving orbit of Divine operation, that a certain sevenfold ministry of planets, whereby this world is illuminated, has been created. And their service is said to agree with the number of these stars, which are fixed, or, as they are called in Greek, a)planei=j 15. The North has likewise received its Latin name (Septemtrio) from being irradiated by seven stars, upon the brightness of which as their guide pilots are said specially to fix their gaze.
12. Let then this number seven be observed by us, seeing that the life of man passes through seven stages to old age, as Hippocrates the teacher of medicine has explained in his writings. The first age is infancy, the second boyhood, the third youth, the fourth adult age, the fifth manhood, the sixth fulness of years, the seventh old age. Thus we have the infant, the boy, the youth, the young man, the man, the elder, the aged.
13. Solon however made ten periods of life, each of seven years; so that the first period, or infancy, should extend to the growth of the teeth, to chew its food, and utter articulate words so as to seem intelligible; boyhood again extends to the time of puberty and of carnal temptation; youth to the growth of the beard; adult age lasts until virtue has attained its perfection; the fifth is the age of manhood, fitted, during its whole course, for marriage; the sixth belongs also to manhood, in that it is adapted to the combat of prudence, and is strenuous in action; the seventh and eighth period also exhibit man ripe in years, vigourous in faculties, and his discourse endowed with a grace of utterance not unpleasing; the ninth period has still some strength remaining, and it speech and wisdom are of a chastened kind; the tenth period fills up the measure, and he who has strength to reach it, will after a full period of years knock late at the gate of death.
14. Thus Hippocrates and Solon recognized either seven ages, or periods of age consisting of seven years. In this then let the number seven prevail;…
*
A. Klotz , Das Geschichtswerk des Alteren Seneca, in Rh, Mus, für
Theologie, I/VI (1901), 429-442, says:

Unter den gelehrten Prunkstücken, mit denen
Vopiscus seine Kaiserbiographien ausgestattet hat, findet sich
auch der Vergleich der römischen Geschichte mit den Lebens-altern.

Among the learned showpieces with which Vopiscus has furnished his emperor biographies, finds himself also the comparison of Roman history with the aging of life.

Vita Cari
Nam si volumus ab ortu Urbis repetere, quas varietates sit passa Roma
respublica, inveniemus nullam magis vel bonis floruisse, vel malis
laborasse. Et, ut a Romulo incipiam, vero patre ac parenti reipublicae,
quae illius félicitas ? qui fundavit, constituit, roboravitque rempu-
blicam, atque turns omnium conditorum perfectam Urbem reliquit ?
Quid deinde Nurnarn loquar ? qui frequentem bellis, et gravidamtrium-
phis, civitatem religione munivit. Viguit igitur usque ad Tarquinii
Superbi tempora nostra respublica, sed passa tempestatem de moribus
regiis, non sine gravi exitio semel ulta est, Adolevit deinde usque ad tem­
pora Gallicani belli ; sed, quasi quodam mersa naufragio, capta praeter
arcem Urbe, plus paene mali sensit quam tunc boni liabuerat. Reddidit
se deinde in integrum ; sed eousque gravata est Punicis bellis, ac
terrore Pyrrhi, ut mortalitatis mala praecordium timoré sentiret.
Crevit deinde, victa Carthagine, traus maria missis imperiis ; sed
socialibus affecta discordiis, extenuato felicitatis sensu, usque ad
Augustum bellis civilibus confecta, consenuit Per Augustum deinde
reparata : si reparata dici potest, libertate deposita…

Translation from French:
http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/historiens/.../carus.htm
If we wish to recapitulate the various revolutions undergone by the Roman republic since the foundation of Rome, we shall find that no state can boast or complain of having had a greater number of good or bad princes. And to begin with Romulus, who is the real father and creator of the republic, what happiness does he not enjoy under him, who, after having founded it, ordained and strengthens his power, and who, among all the founders, is the only one who left a perfect city? Shall I then speak of Numa, who fortified by religion this belligerent and triumphant city? Our republic was thus flourishing until the reign of Tarquin the Superb; but if she had to suffer from the tyranny of that prince, she knew how to punish him, at whatever price vengeance was. It then grew until the time of the war against the Gauls; but, submerged as if by shipwreck, Rome being taken, with the exception of the citadel, she felt then perhaps more ills than hitherto she had had no happiness. Subsequently she recovered all her splendor; but the Punic wars, and the terror with which Pyrrhus inspired him, affected him so much that his discouragement reduced him to the last extremities. III. Carthage conquered, it increased still more, and extended its empire beyond the seas; but, weakened by the Social War, having lost to the feeling of well-being, exhausted by civil wars until the reign of Augustus, it was no more than a body worn out by old age. Auguste, however, restores her, if it can be said that he restores her by depriving her of her liberty. Be that as it may, though afflicted within, it flourished outside.

It seems that the French (and English Loeb translation) did not correctly reproduce the symbolic meaning of the latin text.
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#3
Julien wrote:

One more thing, many years ago I believe I read something which stated that the Hagia Sophia was also build according to Pythagorean principles? Perhaps someone else knows more about this and can tell if this is correct or not.
 
The Pantheon is based on the Pythagorean tetraktys. The Roman military are based on the ratio 3:2. The 35 tribes are built on the Pythagorean tetraktys. The Latins are Pythagorean and are part of the ratio 3:2. During the reign of Tarquinius Superbus, the Latins have 30 cities, the Romans 20 tribes, which produce the ratio 3:2. Of the 11 sacred tetraktys, the Romans are allocated six and the Latins, five. The Roman fiscal system as found in the description of the Servian constitution are based on the 11 sacred tetraktys, and that is why the Roman fiscal system is divided into 44 units.
 
The Romans describe their history in the growth of a man, as do the Jews. The reason why this came about is because Pythagoras had studied with the Jews in Egypt and plagiarised their beliefs. When Pythagoras went to Rome to design their constitution, he simply copied the Jewish system, and partially altered it to Roman sensibilities. Therefore, Rome is Pythagorean, and Christianity is Pythagorean.
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#4
(04-11-2019, 11:36 AM)Steven James Wrote: Therefore, Rome is Pythagorean, and Christianity is Pythagorean.


If both were developed ('plagiarised') from Jewish origins, I'd say that rather than Pythagorean, Rome and Christianity were Jewish. Wink
Robert Vermaat
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
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#5
Robert wrote:

If both were developed ('plagiarised') from Jewish origins, I'd say that rather than Pythagorean, Rome and Christianity were Jewish.
 
Thanks for correcting me. The Book of Revelations contains a lot of the data that Pythagoras copied.
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#6
The BC Pythagoras? Maybe St. John (writing after Christ) borrowed from the Pythagoreans...
Cheryl Boeckmann
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#7
On Pythagorean Astronomy

Eudemos Fragm. 51 = Simplikios, Komm. Zur Physik (ed. Diels) p. 732 (aus dem dritten Buch der Physika des Eudemos):

Wenn man den Pythagoreern glauben soll, so werde auch ich künftig, ebenso wie bei der Zahl dasselbe wiederkehrt, Euch hier wieder Märchen erzählen, dieses Stöckchen in der Hand haltend, während Ihr ebenso vor mir sitzen werdet. Und da alles andere sich ebenso verhalten wird, ist es logisch, dass auch die Zeit dieselbe sein wird. Denn da die Bewegung dieselbe ist, so sind auch die vorangehenden und späteren Geschehnisse dieselben und ihre Anzahlen auch. Da das alles dasselbe ist, wird auch die Zeit dieselbe sein.

If one is to believe the Pythagoreans, I too will tell you fairy tales in the future, just as the number returns, holding this little stick in my hand, while you will also sit before me. And since everything else will behave the same way, it is logical that time will also be the same. For since the movement is the same, the preceding and later events are the same and their numbers are the same. Since all these things are the same, time will also be the same.
*
Alexander von Aphrodisias zu Aristoteles, Metaphysik A 5, 985 b, ed. Hayduk S. 39, unter Berufung auf die Aristotelische Schrift von den Lehren der Pythagoreer:

Da die Körper, die sich um die Mitte bewegen, von dieser in ganz bestimmten Zahlverhältnissen entfernt sind, so verursachen die langsameren von ihnen durch ihre Bewegung einen tieferen, die schnelleren einen hohen Ton, und diese Töne, die entsprechend dem Zahlenverhältnis ihrer Entfernungen erfolgen, bringen infolge dieser ein Geräusch hervor, das eine musikalische Harmonie ist.

Since the bodies that move around the centre are distant from it in very specific proportions, the slower of them, by their movement, produce a deeper tone, the faster a high tone, and these tones, which are produced according to the proportions of their distances, produce as a result a sound that is a musical harmony.
*
Hyginus, Poeticon astronomicon IV 14:

Der Mond ist also von der Erde einen Ton entfernt… Von diesem Kreis ist um einen Halbton entfernt der Kreis, in dem der Stern Merkurs sich bewegt… Von diesem Kreis ist derjenige um einen Halbton entfernt, in welchem der Stern der Venus seinen Weg geht… Über der Bahn dieses Sternes ist die der Sonne, die von Hesperus, dem Stern der Venus, einen Halbton entfernt ist… Über der Sonne und ihrem Kreis ist der des Mars, der von der Sonne um einen Halbton entfernt ist… Über diesen Kreis steht der Stern des Jupiter, der von Mars um einen Halbton entfernt ist… Der letzte ist der Stern des Saturn, der den größten Kreis durchläuft; dieser ist einen Ton von Jupiter entfernt. Von den Körpern der Sterne ist Saturn 1½ Ton entfernt.

So the moon is one note away from the earth ... From this circle is the circle in which the star of Mercury moves by a semitone ... From this circle, the one is a half tone away, in which the star of Venus goes its way ... Above the orbit of this star is that of the sun, which is one semitone away from Hesperus, the star of Venus ... Above the sun and its circle is that of Mars, which is a half tone away from the sun ... Above this circle stands the Star of Jupiter, which is one semitone away from Mars ... The last is the star of Saturn, which traverses the largest circle; this one is a tone removed from Jupiter. From the bodies of the stars Saturn is 1½ tone away.
*
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#8
Hyginus, Poeticon astronomicon IV 14:

So the moon is one note away from the earth ... From this circle is the circle in which the star of Mercury moves by a semitone ... From this circle, the one is a half tone away, in which the star of Venus goes its way ... Above the orbit of this star is that of the sun, which is one semitone away from Hesperus, the star of Venus ... Above the sun and its circle is that of Mars, which is a half tone away from the sun ... Above this circle stands the Star of Jupiter, which is one semitone away from Mars ... The last is the star of Saturn, which traverses the largest circle; this one is a tone removed from Jupiter. From the bodies of the stars Saturn is 1½ tone away.
 
In the above, Hyginus is following Pliny. Censorinus and Pliny give the distance of a tone as measuring 126,000 stadia, and a half tone measuring 63,000 stadia. Therefore, the Pythagorean cosmos of six tones amounted to 756,000 stadia.
 
Earth to Moon              1 tone              126,000 stadia
Earth to Mercury           1½ tones         189,000 stadia
Earth to Venus              2 tones            252,000 stadia
Earth to Sun                  3½ tones         441,000 stadia
Earth to Mars                4½ tones         567,000 stadia
Earth to Jupiter             5 tones            630,000 stadia
Earth to Saturn             5½ tones         693,000 stadia
Earth to Zodiac            6 tones            756,000 stadia
 
The six tones that make up the cosmos represent the octave (the ratio two to one), which was made up of the perfect fourth (the ratio four to three), and the perfect fifth (the ratio three to two). The perfect fourth measured 315,000 stadia (two and a half tones) and the perfect fifth measured 441,000 stadia (three and a half tones). Although Censorinus allocated the Pythagorean cosmos a total of six tones, Pliny further notes that during his life time (23 AD to 79 AD) there were seven tones.  Pliny’s seventh tone was located between the interval of Saturn and the zodiac (one and a half tones instead of a half tone as stated by Censorinus).
 
Censorinus described the Pythagorean cosmos as consisting of five tones and two half tones. According to Clement of Alexandria, when discussing the mystic meaning of the Hebrew tabernacle, after describing the 12 stones set in four rows (the tetrad) that represent the circle of the zodiac, the seven planets are described as being represented by five stones and two carbuncles (precious gems) for Saturn and the Moon. Although the objects are different, both the Pythagorean cosmos of five tones plus two half tones as given by Censorinus and the Hebrew temple of five parts plus two parts authenticates the belief among the ancients that Pythagoras derived his knowledge from the Egyptians and the Jews.
 
During the reign of Augustus, the Romans believed the Golden Age was upon them, which herald the return of Saturn. The Pythagorean cosmos shows this to be one hundred percent correct. Manilius writes that when Augustus died, he went to the stars and expanded the heavens. And that is why Pliny and Hyginus have seven tones, and not six tones. They are using a reference to the new and expanded Pythagorean cosmos, while Censorinus was referring to the old Pythagorean cosmos.
 
Cheryl Boeckmann wrote:
The BC Pythagoras? Maybe St. John (writing after Christ) borrowed from the Pythagoreans...
 
The majority of the early Christian writers did borrow from the BC Pythagoreans. And literally.
 
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#9
On the Pythagorean Basilica at the Porta Maggiore

Steven James wrote:
The Pantheon is based on the Pythagorean tetraktys.

Christiane L. Joost-Gaugier, Measuring heaven. Pythagoras and his influence on thought and art in antiquity and the middle ages p.161:

Carcopino’s reconstruction of the connection between Pythagorean liturgy and the archaeological evidence of the basilica strongly supports the thesis that number symbolism was an important part of its planning and function. He notes that the large marble tables installed in the sanctuary were four in number, echoing the many fourfold subdivisions of the universe that are encapsulated in the tetraktys. (The important number four, the tetrad, also shows up as the number of cradled vaults in the atrium.) Each table seated seven persons, another extremely important Pythagorean number, which symbolized the celestial harmonies of the cosmos. Carcopino notes that according to Iamblichus, Pythagoreans honored the number ten by never arranging themselves in groups (for example, at table) larger than that number. The sanctuary thus provided seating for twenty-eight senior members of the sect, a number especially important because it was the sum of all the integers up to and including seven. Fragments of three portraits, possibly depicting the founding disciples of the sect in Rome, survive on the interior piers of the basilica. On the basis of their location on the piers, archaeologists have determined that there were originally twelve portraits. Twelve was another important number for Pythagoreans, being the number of signs in the zodiac and the number of pentagons constituting the dodecahedron, which, according to Plato, outlined the celestial sphere.

In addition to these manifestations of the numbers four, seven, twelve, and twenty-eight noted by Carcopino, the structure of the basilica also incorporates emphasis on other important Pythagorean numbers. The monad appears in the form of the single oculus, which, representing the light of the sun, was the symbol of Apollo. The three aisles leading to the oneness of Apollo (the altar) suggest the three parts of the soul defined by Pythagoras and the paternal relation of Apollo, who rescues souls, to the congregation. Three is also the number of interior piers on each side of the nave. The total number of piers is six, the hexad, the first perfect number (equal to the product of its factors), which represents reconciliation and serves as the basis of all concord. The decorations around the square holy water pool consist in four palmette motifs, each of which has six leaves.
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#10
Julien wrote:

Carcopino notes that according to Iamblichus, Pythagoreans honored the number ten by never arranging themselves in groups (for example, at table) larger than that number.
 
And that is why there are ten cohorts to a legion. Each century in a legion represents two zodiacs, each maniple a tetrad of zodiacs.
 
Julien wrote:
The sanctuary thus provided seating for twenty-eight senior members of the sect, a number especially important because it was the sum of all the integers up to and including seven.
 
The number seven is the Pythagorean hebdomad system. Augustus claimed that the gods had punished the Romans with civil wars for abandoning the old religion. What he is saying is the Romans had abandoned the Pythagorean religion of numbers. The Roman Pythagorean system dictates how many legions can be levied. The Romans, even though they have the manpower, cannot levy more legions than allowed by the system. Up to the early republic, the Roman obedience to this system was crippling them. This can be found in the primary source where freedmen are enlisted to man the walls of Rome so every iuniores can be put into the field. Before the Second Punic War, the Romans switched from the Pythagorean tonal system to the Pythagorean zodiac system. This meant instead of being limited to only raising eight Roman legions in a given year, the Romans could levy a maximum of 35 Roman legions. The Romans had done this intentionally because they knew they would be fighting the Carthaginians again, as the Romans would be provoking the war. The Second Punic War was undertaken during Rome’s period of manhood, and it involved the religious philosophy of the hebdomad system, and that is during the fifth hebdomad. Hippocrates has this to say about the fifth hebdomad:
 
“In the fifth hebdomad, thanks to the manifestation of the harmonic 35, all increases as regards strength is checked, and after these years it is no longer possible for people to become stronger than they are.”
 
It is during the fifth hebdomad that the Romans believe they will reach their peak and therefore, must conquer as much of the known would as possible. The princeps in each legion are related to the fifth hebdomad, and the triarii to the sixth hebdomad.
 
Returning to Augustus, because the Romans during the civil wars levied more legions than the system allowed, Augustus believed that is why the gods punished them. Augustus came to power at the end of the fourth Pythagorean age. Florus has Augustus born in the fourth age, which is correct. The number of Pythagorean ages that had past when multiplied by the Pythagorean hebdomad system, determines the number of legions that can be levied. So the fourth age multiplied by seven means Augustus could only create 28 legions. In order to create a larger army, the auxiliary system was created, and in doing so, this did not violate the religion of numbers. The number of legions levied, also determined the number of Praetorians able to be levied.
 
After Augustus, there are a number of legions bearing the same name. These all appear after the Pythagorean zodiac of Gemini (the twins), has passed the apex. At present, if the Pythagorean system was still active, we would be living in the 54th Pythagorean zodiac. The 54th zodiac began in 1977. This shows that the movement of the Pythagorean zodiac is very slow. So by moving past the zodiac of Gemini, the Romans found a religious loophole for creating a few more legions, instead of having to wait till the end of another Pythagorean age to be completed.
 
The early history of Rome has been made to conform to the Pythagorean ages. The founding date of Rome (753 BC), is the start of a new Pythagorean age. Pythagoras believed in reincarnation and that he fought with the Greeks at Troy. This told me his age system must align with the time frame for the Trojan War. After examining the various dates for the Trojan War I found the date and source Pythagoras had used. Pythagoras date for the Trojan War fits into his tetrad system.

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#11
On Numbers and Ages 2

https://archive.org/details/ocelluslucan...ch/page/54

It may not be altogether foreign to the purpose to adduce in
this place, what is said by Hermes in his Treatise de Revolut.
Nativit. lib. i. p. 215. A Latin translation only is extant of
this work, and it is uncertain whether the author of it was the
celebrated Hermes Trismegistus, or a Hermes of more modern
times. This author says, that " the dominion of the planets over
the ages of man is as follows : The Moon governs the first age,
which consists of four years. Mercury governs the second, which
consists of ten years. Venus the third, and this extends to eight
years. The Sun the fourth, and this age consists of nineteen
years. Mars the fifth, and this consists of fifteen years. Jupiter,
the sixth, consists of twelve years : and Saturn governs the seventh
age, and this extends to the remaining years of human life."

Proclus, also, in his admirable Commentary on the First Alci-
biades of Plato, observes, that the different ages of our life on the
earth, correspond to the order of the universe. " For our first
age (says he)"partakes in an eminent degree of the Lunar energies,
as we then live according to a nutritive and physical power. But
our second age participates of Mercurial prerogatives, because we
then apply ourselves to letters, music, and wrestling. The third
age is governed by Venus, because then we begin to produce seed,
and the generative powers of nature are put in motion. The fourth
age is Solar, for then our youth is in its vigour and full perfection,
subsisting as a medium between generation and decay ; for such is
the order which vigour is allotted. But the fifth age is governed
by Mars, in which we principally aspire after power and superio-
rity over others. The sixth age is governed by Jupiter, for in this we
give ourselves up to prudence, and pursue an active and political life. And the seventh age is Saturnian, in which it is natural to
separate ourselves from generation, and transfer ourselves to an
incorporeal life. And thus much we have discussed, in order to
procure belief that letters, and the whole education of youth, are
suspended from the Mercurial series."

Ocellus Lucanus On the Nature of the Universe:
https://archive.org/details/ocelluslucan...ich/page/8

But men and other animals, in a subordinate de-
gree, change the universal boundary of nature ; for
in these there is no periodical return to the first
age, nor is there an antiperistasis of mutation into
each other, as there is in fire and air, water and
earth ; but the mutations of their ages being ac-
complished in a four-fold circle*,…

Phillip Horky Monte Johnson, On Law and Justice Attributed to Archytas of Tarentum' (accepted version, for D. Wolfsdorf, ed. Early Greek Ethics. Oxford, 2019.)
https://www.academia.edu/202382/On_Law_a...xford_2019._

And what follows in this quotation in Aristoxenus Pythagorean Precepts may indicate a further line of argument now missing from On Law and Justice they thought that it was necessary to show concern for every age group. Aristoxenus goes on to describe precepts according to which young children should be educated; young men trained in the customs and laws of the state; men should apply themselves to actions on behalf of the public; and old men should serve as judges and give counsel. Attention to these matters will facilitate order and due proportion.

Steven James wrote:
Augustus came to power at the end of the fourth Pythagorean age.

Servius Auctus
http://www.attalus.org/translate/extracts.html#augustus

7] When Augustus Caesar was holding the funeral games for his father, a star appeared in the middle of the day, and Augustus declared that it was [the star] of his father. Baebius Macer said that a large star rose up in about the eighth hour of the day, and it was crowned with rays, like (?) ribbons. Some people thought that the star was an omen foretelling the [future] glory of the young Caesar but Caesar himself interpreted it as the soul of his father, and he placed a statue of him on the Capitol, with a golden crown on his head and this inscription on the base: Καίσαρι ἡμιθέῳ ["to Caesar the demi-god"]. Vulcatius the haruspex said in an assembly that it was a comet, which portended the end of the ninth saeculum and the start of the tenth saeculum. But because he had revealed this secret against the will of the gods, he would die immediately; and he collapsed in the midst of the assembly, before he had completed his speech. This is mentioned by Augustus in the second book of his Memoirs about his life.
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#12
Servius Auctus

7] Vulcatius the haruspex said in an assembly that it was a comet, which portended the end of the ninth saeculum and the start of the tenth saeculum.
 
This is in reference to the Etruscan saeculum and the end of the Etruscan race and not the Pythagorean saeculum. A Pythagorean saeculum ends and another begins in 17 BC.

Julian, you keep providing Pythagorean information, but with no discussion. So what is the point?
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