His Mode of Life
We
will now present the reader with some general indications of the mode
of life of Apollonius, and the manner of his teaching, of which already
something has been said under the heading “Early Life.”Our philosopher
was an enthusiastic follower of the Pythagorean discipline; nay,
Philostratus would have us believe that he made more super-human efforts
to reach wisdom than even the great Samian (i 2).The outer forms of
this discipline as exemplified in Pythagoras are thus summed up by our
author.“Naught would he wear that came from a dead beast, nor touch a
morsel of a thing that once had life, nor offer it in sacrifice; not for
him to stain with blood the altars; but honey-cakes and incense, and
the service of his song went upward from the man unto the Gods, for well
he knew that they would take such gifts far rather than the oxen in
their hundreds with the knife. For he, in sooth, held converse with the
Gods and learned from them how they were pleased with men and how
displeased, and thence as well he drew his nature-lore. As for the rest,
he said, they guessed at the divine, and held opinions on the Gods
which proved each other false; but unto him Apollo’s self did come,
confessed, without disguise,[That is to say not in a “form,” but in his
own nature.] and there did come as well, though unconfessed,Athena and
the Muses, and other Gods whose forms and names mankind did not yet
know.Hence his disciples regarded Pythagoras as an inspired teacher, and
received his rules as laws. “In particular did they keep the rule of
silence regarding the divine science. For they heard within them many
divine and unspeakable things on which it would have been difficult for
them to keep silence, had they not first learned that it was just this
silence which spoke to them” (i I).
Such was the
general declaration of the nature of the Pythagorean discipline by its
disciples. But, says Apollonius in his address to the Gymnosphists,
Pythagoras was not the inventor of it. It was the immemorial wisdom,and
Pythagoras himself had learnt it from the Indians. [See in this
connection L. v. Schroeder, Pythagoras und die Inder, eine Untersuchung
über Herkunft und Abstammung der pythagoreischen Lehren (Leipzig 1884).]
This wisdom, he continued, had spoken to him in his youth; she had
said:“For sense, young sir, I have no charms; my cup is filled with
toils unto the brim. Would anyone embrace my way of life, he must
resolve to banish from his board all food that once bore life, to lose
the memory of wine, and thus no more to wisdom's cup befoul— the cup
that doth consist of wine-untainted souls. Nor shall wool warm him, nor
aught that’s made from any beast. I give my servants shoes of bast and
as they can to sleep. And if I find them overcome with love’s delights,
I’ve ready pits down into which that justice which doth follow hard on
wisdom's foot, doth drag and thrust them; indeed, so stern am I to those
who choose my way,that e’en upon their tongues I bind a chain. Now hear
from me what things thou’lt gain, if thou endure.An innate sense of
fitness and of right,and ne’er to feel that any’s lot is better than
they own; tyrants to strike with fear instead of being a fearsome slave
to tyranny; to have the Gods more greatly bless thy scanty gifts than
those who pour before them blood of bulls. If thou are pure,I’ll give
thee how to know what things will be as well, and fill thy eyes so full
of light, that thou may’st recognise the Gods, the heroes know, and
prove and try the shadowy forms that feign the shapes of men “ (vi
II).The whole life of Apollonius shows that he tried to carry out
consistently this rule of life, and the repeated statements that he
would never join in the blood-sacrifices of the popular cults (see
especially i 24, 31; iv 11;
v 25), but openly condemned them, show not only that the Pythagorean
school had ever set the example of the higher way of purer offerings,
but that they were not only not condemned and persecuted as heretics on
this account, but were rather regarded as being of peculiar sanctity,
and as following a life superior to that of ordinary mortals.The
refraining from the flesh of animals, however, was not simply based upon
ideas of purity, it found additional sanction in the positive love of
the lower kingdoms and the horror of inflicting pain on any living
creature.Thus Apollonius bluntly refused to take any part in the chase,
when invited to do so by his royal host at Babylon. “Sire,” he replied,
“have you forgotten that even when you sacrifice I will not be
present?Much less then would I do these beasts to death, and all the
more when their spirit is broken and they are penned in contrary to
their nature” (i 38). [This has reference to the preserved hunting
parks, or “paradises,” of the Babylonian monarchs.]But though
Apollonius was an unflinching task-master unto himself, he did not wish
to impose his mode of life on others, even on his personal friends and
companions (provided of course they did not adopt it of their own free
will). Thus he tells Damis that he has no wish to prohibit him from
eating flesh and drinking wine, he simply demands the right of
refraining himself and of defending his conduct if called on to do so
(ii 7).This is an additional indication that Damis was not a member of
the inner circle of discipline, and the latter fact explains why so
faithful a follower of the person of Apollonius was nevertheless so much
in the dark.Not only so, but Apollonius even dissuades the Râjâh
Phraotes, his first host in India, who desired to adopt his strict rule,
from doing so, on the ground that it would estrange him too much from
his subjects(ii 37).
Three times a day Apollonius
prayed and meditated; at daybreak (vi 10, 18; vii 31), at midday (vii
10),and at sun-down (viii 13). This seems to have been his invariable
custom; no matter where he was he seems to have devoted at least a few
moments to silent meditation at these times. The object of his worship
is always said to have been the “Sun,” that is to say the Lord of our
world and its sister worlds,whose glamorous symbol is the orb of day.We
have already seen in the short sketch devoted to his “Early Life” how he
divided the day and portioned out his time among his different classes
of hearers and inquirers. His style of teaching and speaking was the
opposite of that of a rhetorician or professional orator. There was no
art in his sentences, no striving after effect, no affectation. But he
spoke “as from a tripod,” with such words as “I know,” “Methinks,” “Why
do ye,” “Ye should know.” His sentences were short and compact, and his
words carried conviction with them and fitted the facts.His task, he
declared, was no longer to seek and to question as he had done in his
youth, but to teach what he knew (i 17). He did not use the dialectic of
the Socratic school,but would have his hearers turn from all else and
give ear to the inner voice of philosophy alone (iv 2). He drew his
illustrations from any chance occurrence or homely happening (iv 3;vi 3,
38), and pressed all into service for the improvement of his listeners.When
put on his trial, he would make no preparation for his defence. He had
lived his life as it came from day to day, prepared for death, and would
continue to do so (viii 30). Moreover it was now his deliberate choice
to challenge death in the cause of philosophy. And so to his old
friend’s repeated solicitations to prepare his defence, he
replied:“Damis, you seem to lose your wits in face of death, though you
have been so long with me and I have loved philosophy e’en from my
youth; [Reading φιλοσοφω for φιλοσοφων ] I thought that you were both
yourself prepared for death and knew full well my generalship in this.
For just as warriors in the field have need not only of good courage but
also of that generalship which tells them when to fight, so too must
they who wisdom love make careful study of good times to die, that they
may choose the best and not be done to death all unprepared. That I have
chosen best and picked the moment which suits wisdom best to give death
battle—if so it be that any one should wish to slay me - I' ve proved
to other friends when you were by, nor ever ceased to teach you it
alone” (vii 31).The above are some few indications of how our
philosopher lived, in fear of nothing but disloyalty to his high ideal.
We will now make mention of some of his more personal traits, and of
some of the names of his followers.
Apollonius of Tyana
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- Apollonius Of Tyana Introduction
- The Religious Associations and Communities of the ...
- India and Greece
- The Apollonius of Early Opinion
- Texts, Translations, and Literature
- The Biographer of Apollonius
- Apollonius of Tyana Early Life
- The Travels of Apollonius
- In the Shrines of the Temples and the Retreats of ...
- The Gymnosophists of Upper Egypt
- Apollonius and the Rulers of the Empire
- Apollonius The Prophet and Wonder-Worker
- Apollonius of Tyana Mode of Life
- Himself and His Circle
- Apollonius Of Tyana Sayings and Sermons
- From His Letters
- The Writings of Apollonius
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