Pythagorean philosophy and maintaining a positive mental attitude

Dear Diary,

That... place does not bear thinking about. Yesterday the family of the thugs from Eastern Europe swung by. They are... precisely as I had expected (think Borat). The simpleton from the village is also growing increasingly weary. He has switched from doing a (bad) Jamaican yardy accent to a poor imitation of a Chinaman now (many of our colleagues are half-Malaysian, therefore this is in incredibly poor taste). He also pretends to be funny by yelling at the other staff to complete tasks in impossibly small amounts of time. It should be remembered that this person is the slowest at work, but expects people to do tasks in a far shorter time frame than he himself is capable of doing. Last night I caught him - again - sweeping up using only one hand. I confess, I detest this person, but say nothing except only kind words - for it is best to try and be on amicable terms with everyone.

I was reading one of my absolute favourite books yesterday. It really is superb. Heretical? Yes. Of course. But curious nontheless. It is one of the titles from the Prometheus Trust (an outstanding publisher). Thomas Taylor's translations of: Iamblichus, On the Mysteries, Life of Pythagoras and many fragments and testimonia. I have only really looked at On the Mysteries and The Life of Pythagoras before. In doing so, it becomes really quite obvious that this is only one interpretation of Iamblichus' works (when compared to the original ancient Greek). Even so, it is eminently readable. Yesterday, however, I decided to read some of the fragments and testimonia, and there is some really quite excellent advice given on how to live an upstanding and virtuous life. It is a crying shame that none of my colleagues at that... place have not read this work, or works like this, or indeed read any books whatsoever. Anyway: this is the Dark Age. Therefore one cannot expect literature to be among the habits of really quite ordinary and indeed most boring people (that is, my 'noble' and 'learned' colleagues and 'peers' at that... place - as I refer to them satirically to the customers over the telephone).

In his preliminary remarks to his translation of the testimonia, the late (great) Thomas Taylor records an excellent anecdote found in the Suda - a 10th century Byzantine text which is actually crucial to classical studies. This particular anecdote is not actually very pleasant and records a time when there was little religious toleration (and there should be in more enlightened societies).

A commentator on the Golden Verses of Pythagoras, Hierocles, offended the 'prevailers' (probably religious fanatics, fundamentalists). As he was being scourged by in front of a kangeroo 'court' for his 'transgressions' (i.e. being interested in Pythagorean philosophy - hardly a crime in this day and age), Hierocles cupped some of the blood from his whipped back in the small of his hand and flung it at the judge, sprinkling him. Hierocles then said:

Κύκλωψ, τῆ, πίε οἶνον, ἐπεὶ φάγες ἀνδρόμεα κρέα

Cyclops, since human flesh is your delight, now drink this wine. (Homer, Odyssey 9.347 trans. Taylor, 2006 [1822], p.332)

Beyond such anecdotes, there is much wisdom to be found in this book. Here are just a few examples, some of my absolute favourite little aphorisms from the Pythagorean Ethical Sentences preserved by the voluminous (but very important) author Stobaeus (quoted in [trans.] Taylor, 2006 [1822], pp.366-370).

"Be persuaded that things of a laborious nature contribute more than pleasures to virtue."

"It is difficult to walk at one and the same time in many paths of life."

"Neither will the horse be judged to be generous, that is sumptuously adorned, but the horse whose nature is illustrious; nor is the man worthy who possess great wealth, be he whose soul is generous."

"It is better to live lying on the grass, confiding in divinity and yourself, than to lie on a golden bed with perturbation."

"Pythagoras [said that] it is impossible that he can be free who is a slave to his passions."

"Pythagoras said, that it was either requisite to be silent, or to say something better than silence."

Pythagoras being asked, how a lover of wine might be cured of intoxication, answered, if he frequently surveys what his actions were when he was intoxicated."

"Pythagoras being asked, how a man ought to conduct himself towards his country, when it had acted iniquitously with respect to him, replied, as to a mother."

"Travelling teaches a man frugality, and the way in which he may be sufficient to himself. For bread made of milk and flour, and a bed of grass, are the sweetest remedies of hunger and labour."

(This last one is especially relevent to these taxing times...)

"It is the province of a wise man to bear poverty with equinamity."

The weekend (or rather, the absence of)

Dear Diary,

Their impatience reached new heights yesterday at that... place. One driver, a conscientious young man, well educated, softly spoken, from good family, phoned the store to tell them that there was a fire in the middle of the road. That was all the information I received. As it turns out, from the scraps of gossip which fly around, there had - seemingly - been a road accident or collision of some sort, perhaps a biker had come off at speed. I am unsure if anyone was hurt (badly) or not. Possibly the same accident caused the roads intersecting three main villages to stop.

The older thug was astounded that this driver even bothered to call, more so that the young man did as the Fire Brigade had told him: to stay put until they arrive. This orc, this thug, this impatient Eastern European born of the meanest stock, was only concerned with getting deliveries made on time. Not humanity. Not safety. Not well-being or concern for life. Now, had this happened in the mud-splattered village where this plump Pol Pot had grown up in, surely the thug may have been concerned if everyone was alright (after all, these are the people he grew up with, his friends and family), but he isn't in the backwoods and swamps of Eastern Europe any more. He's in Britain, therefore he doesn't care about the people here (unlike native born Englishmen).

I distinctly recall the time I was ordered to stand still at my post when a fire had started. I remember thinking: is this a reasonable order? Or, is this like Grenfell?

I also recall the time when another member of staff had a heart condition, and was working so hard that he began to get heart trouble. The thug barked that he must continuing working. Is this reasonable? What of compassion? What if the man had suffered a heart attack and died?

Since then that same person has left. He told me once that in another store nearby where he was working, a fire had broken out when a piece of machinery had burst into flames. The bosses, as soon as they heard what happened had only one question: when can you start making money again? They did not ask, "Is everybody okay?" This is the way these people operate. They are dictators, unconcerned with human life (except their own).

Is it reasonable that a Latin scholar that holds a master's degree, should have to put up with the orders of these foreign little brutes? Of course not. But this isn't Elizabethan England: it's Dark Age Britain. Here, ignorance is strength. Here, there is no reason. Here, there is only slavery.

Hades and beyond (a new possibility, part time, maybe full time) potentially a good omen

Dear Diary,

Let's not faff about. It's like having been kidnapped by orcs, and goblins, and hobgoblins. That's what it's like, at that... place - the Infernal Regions. D'ya ever see that Lord of the Rings movie, with the Uruk-hai? (I used to play Middle Earth RP btw, and some Role Master). That's what it's like in Hades. There is the oompa loompa, today, a goblin slave girl of Bligh, the orc, her master (he is from Mordor, she is from the East). Today she barks, 'You do not put the gluten free stickers there because of residue. I will have to clean it up.' (quietly forgetting, of course, that it is my duty to clean the cut table, because that is my post at work). I clean it as best I can, cleaning as I go. Anyway.

Bligh was there, as usual, barking like an orc. He's like Joe Pesci from Goodfellas, only half Mickey Rourke in that movie with his oompa loompa Jessica Alba in Sin City.

It's as though heaven's usual order is inverted. Reason. Knowledge. Wisdom. These things are for the misguided. Here, ignorance is strength.

As the lowliest, most meanest, basest slave that ever set foot on this ancient, hallowed and most redoubt of all islands in Neptune's fair maine. It is true, that there has never been so baser slave than me. Nay, not since Julius Caesar (45 B.C.E.) or Aulus Plautius (47 C.E.) dared to set foot on this great island, this demi-paradise, this other heaven, remote, populated by giants, hyperboreans, beyond the north (should Diododorus Siculus be belived) was there any such man so lowly as I, the basest most meanest creature that ever graced these once proud shores.

In any case, work matters ('shop talk') aside, I have been chipping away at little bits of Latin translation. Some Narses the Fourth here (12 century), a little Seneca there, even revisiting Suetonius. It's business as usual. Remaining at peace, and endeavouring to do the very best one can.

The first course ends, new beginnings, old trends

Dear Diary,

It is with some regret that I have arbitrarily decided to jack in the law course (‘module’ as they call it at my alma mater). I have never, ever deferred a single course in my entire 13 years’ history of studying. Not one. However, there is something which must be borne in mind: reason. It is unreasonable for me to study simply for studying’s sake. I admit, I am addicted to studying. I could have a much worse addiction, so on the scale of things, having an addiction to studying is not that bad (comparative degree), but it is still unreasonable, and a passion (the regular noun passio in Latin principally means ‘suffering’). I ought to be ruled by reason, not passion.

I have learnt a little, and one might say just enough, from this module, to be able to write prosaic fiction set in the early 20th century, and I am considering writing a dystopian novel set in the future, based around the way the law system in this (formerly) great nation is headed. I thought perhaps that acquiring a university education (several degrees, I might add…) might actually lead somewhere. But this is not the heyday of the Medici in Florence during the 15th-16th centuries, nor is it Elizabethan England: it’s Dark Age Britain. Naturally, the reason behind my decision to quit the course is pecuniary concerns. I earn a measly 850 bucks a month, though I work six days a week. So couple that with rent and transport (not to mention looking after little Ronulus and indeed thinking about what I should get my daughter for Christmas) I simply can’t afford to shell out 300 bucks a month just to feed an addiction to studying.

In Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (which is a great book, by the way), it is stated that a reasonable amount for a person to live on is to have two-thirds of their income as disposable. I cannot subsist on less than 50 bucks a month. I just can’t. It’s simply too much.

Never having deferred a module before, I don’t know what to expect (other than being booted off the course). There may even be some clause in my loan contract making me still liable to pay the fee. Fortunately, the very subject of my course was law, so this works to my advantage. I will make a strong case (should a trial arise against me) whereby I can use what I have learnt to my benefit. Is £1,614 plus interest good value for a book worth only £30? That’s just for starters, without even looking at statutes and case law.

I will miss the university’s databases (of course), but fortunately, I have a magnificent little library, with very many rare books. Who needs the university’s databases when you have a considerably ample book collection? I lived in Cambridge, and bought absolutely every single classics book I could find (and afford), and ordered many more than that. The law, although it’s a nice little hobby and everything, is not my academic specialism. I am a classicist at heart, and that is an area of learning I have expert knowledge in. In fact, my tutor said that she would find it difficult to study any other branch of learning. I almost typed in the tutorial ‘You would make a great classicist’ but deleted it. She has learnt her Latin, so would (probably) enjoy learning ancient Greek.

Leaving the law course will mean that I have more time to enjoy studying ancient Greek. Once I have mastered that language (which will take me a few years), I can then move on to my next ancient language. I have books on how to learn Arabic (not classical Arabic - which comes after learning modern Arabic), books on how to learn to read Egyptian hieroglyphs, and even a lexicon of ancient Hebrew. I have not decided which I will learn next, after ancient Greek, but I am thinking that Aramaic (Hebrew) might be the best option. Thereby I can learn Arabic with relative ease. Egyptian hieroglyphs are… something of an acquired taste. Biblical Hebrew is more important to me, as a Christian. Were I a Muslim or a ‘pagan’ I would most certainly study either of those other two (excellent) languages. It is said that the Al’Quran is the most poetic of the Abrahamic religious texts. It is also said that Egyptian is a most magical language.

The next assignment (should you choose to accept it, as they say) is all about reflection. I reflect a lot on what I have learnt, always. Every single time I discover something I could have done better or find a primary source I may have missed, I make a note of it on the Cloud. I reflect naturally, so no formal academic reflection is necessary. I’ve come too far to change tack now. I have expert knowledge in one particular field (the subject of my master’s degree dissertation was δαίμονες id est ‘spirits’). There would be little to be gained by wasting my time on a subject which - while laudable - is actually for poor people. Criminal law is a subject for people that wish only to be extremely poor. Did you know that a newly made criminal barrister earns less than someone that cleans toilets for living? (In Dark Age Britain, at least. One cannot speak of civilised countries, where studying criminal law actually means something). So, cui bono? The government, is who. It’s a guinea pig project, this current module (first cohort). Even the tutors can’t read the students’ responses. What do you imagine the second part of the current assignment is? The rubric begins with ‘Imagine you are working for the UK government, under a Member of Parliament…’ Now tell me this is not a pet project for the government. I am not about to be just another guinea pig in a thankless and servile society, which, on the one hand pretends to be somehow ‘honourable’ and ‘civilised’, when, in actual fact, the machinery of the executive is actually engaged - for the most part - in two areas of business (both are shady). One: offshore tax havens for the super rich, and two: arms deals. All the while, the rest of us are as poor as church mice. Did you know that in France (a most excellent and indeed civilised country), commoners such as myself earn 25% more than in Britain? And that middle class earners earn 20% more than in Britain? Moreover, if you held a master’s degree in classical Latin in France, you can be damn sure, that that actually means something (unlike here, now, in Dark Age Britain).