The Golden Verses of Pythagoras, by Fabre d'Olivet, [1917], at sacred-texts.com

19. . . . Dispense with moderation,
Food to the body, and to the mind repose.

The body, being the instrument of the soul, Pythagoras desired that one should take reasonable and necessary care of it in order to hold it always in condition to execute the

p. 195

behests of the soul. He regarded its preservation as a part of the purgative virtue. a

Footnotes

195:a Hierocles, Aur. Carm., v. 33.