Hence, those who afterwards violated this law, being compelled by great necessity, and involuntary errors, fell, as we have shown, into this custom of slaughtering and eating animals. See also endnote 2. And who is ignorant how much the use of fumigations, and the exhalations of sweet odours, with which lovers supply the objects of their love, fatten the irrational part of the soul? Read PDF Porphyry on Abstinence from Animal Food Online Hence, the 39. And farther still, the Egyptian priests, from their transcendent wisdom and association with divinity, discovered what animals are more acceptable to the Gods [when dedicated to them] than man. For a certain deity was represented by them in a human shape as far as to the neck, but the face was that of a bird, or a lion, or of some other animal. For virtue is the perfection of He added, that as he had therefore expelled luxury from Sparta, it would be requisite also to annul the use of money, both golden and silver, and to introduce iron alone, as its substitute, and this of a great bulk and weight, and of little value; so that as much of it as should be worth ten minae should require a large receptacle to hold it, and a cart drawn by two oxen to carry it. This, therefore, is the cause why the multitude err in words and deeds, in desire and anger, and why, on the contrary, good men act with rectitude, viz. 2. passage is, "Vel igitur deceptione inductus, quod sive hoc sive But if they established their laws, looking to a life according to nature, and which is said to rank as a medium, [between the irrational and the intellectual life,] and to what the vulgar admit, who conceive externals, and things which pertain to the body to be good or evil, why should anyone, adducing their laws, endeavour to subvert a life, which is more excellent than every law which is written and ordained for the multitude, and which is especially conformable to an unwritten and divine law? Get FREE 7-day instant eTextbook access! They bore therefore many burdens in the performance of sacred operations, and accomplished many ministrant works, which required more than common strength. |31 measures called choes the sea contains. And what will husbandmen do? 19. |114 said, that in Sparta alone, Plutus was seen to be blind, and lying like an inanimate and immoveable picture. that of the citizens eating and drinking together publicly; so that they might partake of the same prescribed food in common, and might not be fed at home, reclining on sumptuous couches, and placed before elegant tables, through the hands of artificers and cooks, being fattened in darkness, like voracious animals, and corrupting their bodies, together with their morals, by falling into every kind of luxury and repletion; as such a mode of living would require much sleep, hot baths, and abundant quiet, and such attentions as are paid to the diseased. 19. An ox, and likewise a camel, are subject to fever and insanity; a raven becomes scabby, and has the leprosy; and also a dog, who, besides this, is afflicted with the gout, and madness: but a hog is subject to hoarseness, and in a still greater degree a dog; whence this disease in a man is denominated from the dog, cynanche. Nevertheless, this is not to be omitted, that the Egyptians, when they buried those that were of noble birth, privately took away the belly and placed it in a chest, and together with other things which they performed for the sake of the dead body, they elevated the chest towards the sun, whom they invoked as a witness; an oration for the deceased being at the same time made by one of those to whose care the funeral was committed. The fertile earth for them spontaneous bore Of fruits a copious and unenvy'd store; In blissful quiet then, unknown to strife, The worthy with the worthy passed their life Why should we not, at the same time, liberate ourselves from many inconveniences by abandoning a fleshly diet? Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. that the soul of every animal, when liberated from the body, was discovered by them to be rational, to be prescient of futurity, to possess an oracular power, and to be effective of every thing which man It is likewise said, that those first men did not live prosperously; for this superstition did not stop at animals, but compelled its votaries even to spare plants. But Zeno and his followers assert, that alliance is the principle of justice. $8.78 $ 8. For to whom is it not manifest that justice is increased through abstinence? Hence they endeavoured still more firmly to restrain those who readily destroyed each other, and who, through an oblivion of past But the magnitude of the lascivious insolence and intemperance of men in these things, is evident. , as, with Platonic writers, 14. Porphyry's On Abstinence from Killing Animals is one of the most interesting books from Greek antiquity for both philosophers and historians.In it, Porphyry relates the arguments for eating or sacrificing animals and then goes on to argue that an understanding of humans and gods shows such sacrifice to be inappropriate, that an understanding of animals shows it to be unjust, and that a . After this manner, they thought an apology ought to be made to divinity for what they had eaten and drank, and for the insolent conduct which they had been led to through the belly. + In the original , , , . For every beetle is a male, and emitting its genital seed in a muddy place, and having made it spherical, it turns round the seminal sphere in a way similar to that of the sun in the heavens. 13. Moreover, the law does not prohibit a man from spending the whole of his life in a tavern, yet at the same time this is most disgraceful even to a man of moderate worth. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. 14. Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. Nevertheless, each of them freely imparts to others of their sect what they may be in want of, without any remuneration. And our conception of the just man must be formed according to the latter, and not according to the former mode. Nevertheless, to whatever part of me you directed your view, you might see that I was remarkable by the animals which were painted round my vestment, in various colours. And hence the poets denominate to see , drakein: but an eagle, from a great height, sees a hare. Finally available, On Benefits by Lucius Annaeus Seneca, on a freshly published and beautifully edited paperback ed. For the wealth, say they, of nature is definite, and easily obtained; but that which proceeds from vain opinions, is indefinite, and procured with difficulty. But the name of the pleasure which is received through the ears is Essenes giving them a rake, a girdle, and a white garment. But neither tame nor savage animals are to be eaten; as neither are unjust men. If, therefore, legislators had ordained laws for cities, with a view to a contemplative and intellectual life, it would certainly be requisite to be Porphyry, On abstinence from animal food (1823) Book 1. pp.11-44 Hence, at that period there was no war, because injustice was exterminated. To this we reply, that neither do men perform all things well. as improper in this place. For, as possessions were now of such a magnitude as to merit attention, some ambitiously endeavoured to obtain them, by collecting them [for their own use], and calling on others to do the same, but others directed their attention to the preservation of them when collected. Please try again. Telemachus, also, when Minerva was his guest, placed before her not raw, but roasted flesh. Since, however, a prolongation of time in cooking and digesting food, and together with this the co-operation of sleep and rest, are requisite, and, after these, a certain temperament from digestion, and a separation of excrements, it is necessary that the tutor of the boy within us should be present, who, selecting things of a light nature, and which will be no impediment to him, may concede these to nature, in consequence of foreseeing the future, and the impediment which will be produced by his permitting the desires to introduce to us a burden not easily to be borne, through the trifling pleasure arising from the deglutition of food. 17. I. v. 275, &c. 6. 24. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. But they neither With respect to priests, therefore, the eating of all animals is prohibited to some, but of certain animals to others, whether you consider the customs of the Greeks or of the barbarians, which are different in different nations. La Noumenia tambin est considerada como la segunda fiesta del mes lunar, que comienza con las cenas de Hcate (la noche antes) y que termina con el da que rinde honores al . But if many priests of the Gods, and many kings of the barbarians, being attentive to purity, and if, likewise, infinite species of animals never taste food of this kind, yet live, and obtain their proper end according to nature, is not he absurd who orders us, because we are compelled to wage war with certain animals, not to live peaceably with those with whom it is possible to do so, but thinks, either that we ought to live without Minor modifications have been made to the text. 9. Porphyry's On Abstinence from Killing Animals is one of the most interesting books from Greek antiquity for both philosophers and historians.In it, Porphyry relates the arguments for eating or sacrificing animals and then goes on to argue that an understanding of humans and gods shows such sacrifice to be inappropriate, that an understanding of animals shows it to be unjust, and that a . Hence, we hear one sound when they are terrified, but another, of a different kind, when they call their associates, another when they summon their young to food, another when they lovingly embrace each other, and another when they incite to battle. But Corruption also will be produced from the putridity of those that will die. Hence ix. So that those who assert, that every thing beautiful and just subsists conformably to the peculiar opinions of men respecting those who establish the laws, are full of a certain most profound stupidity. Vid. For the sanctuary was inaccessible to those who were not purified, and they dwelt in holy places for the purpose of performing divine works; but at all other times they associated more freely with those who lived like themselves. For they neither assumed such food as was stronger than the nature of the body could bear, but such as could be vanquished by the corporeal nature, nor more than was moderate, on account of the facility of procuring it, but for the most part less than was sufficient, on account of its paucity. nature 12 and life. + . Moreover, the vices of brutes are manifest, from which especially their rationality is demonstrated. The second class use some animals indeed [for food], but do not slay any that are tame. Dead bodies, therefore, and things deprived of life, the slaying of animals, and the consumption of victims, and, in short, the mutation of the matter which is offered, pertain to these Gods, not by themselves, but on account of the matter over which they preside. For we are allowed to injure other things to a certain extent, in order to procure the necessary means of subsistence (if to take any thing from plants, even while they are living, is an injury to them); but to destroy other things through luxury, and for the enjoyment of pleasure, is perfectly savage and unjust. 1. For none of those legal institutes which were established from the 7. Since, therefore, reason is two-fold, one kind consisting in external speech, but the other in the disposition of the soul, we shall begin from that which is external, and which is arranged according to the voice. etina (cs) Deutsch (de) English (en) Espaol (es) . Chaldeans; for, according to that theology, the first monad of the vivific triad beget the furies in the subterranean regions. Thus, also, aliments vanquish the pusillanimous; but where there is an immense liberty with respect to food, all things are received for nutriment, and no defilement is produced." But they abstained from all the fish that was caught in Egypt, and from such quadrupeds as had solid, or many-fissured hoofs, and from such as were not horned; and likewise from all such birds as were carnivorous. , Dimensions Moreover, we do not say that one tree is more ignorant than another, as we say that a sheep is more stupid than a dog. 6. And the abstinence from these neither diminishes our life nor our living happily. 15. when they rose from their bed, before dinner, and when they betook themselves to sleep. Hence, to worthy men, abstinence in food, and in corporeal enjoyments and actions, is more appropriate than abstinence in what pertains to the touch; because though, while we touch bodies, it is necessary we should descend from our proper manners to the instruction of that which is most irrational in us; yet this is still more necessary in the assumption of food. Hence, the Greeks do not feed either on dogs, or horses, or asses, because of these, those that are tame are of the same species as the wild. And each person brought every month, for the purpose of furnishing the table, a medimnus of flour, eight * See the first book of Herodotus, chap. That, however, which happened at Cyzicus, is still more celebrated than this Porphyry's on the Abstinence from Animal Food by Lane, David - See Book II. i.e. The Hence also, the Gods obtained their surnames, as Bacchus But the Egyptians conceive them to be Gods, whether they, in reality, thought them to be so, or whether they intentionally represented the Gods in the forms of oxen, birds, and other animals, in order that these animals might be no less abstained from than from men, or whether they did this through other more mystical causes What Porphyry here says of the Coryphaean philosopher, is derived from the Theaetus of Plato. But water, which is diffluent, and runs with tumultuous rapidity, leaves behind in its course the earth which it carries in its stream. Publisher: Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010. By a discursive perception, however, I mean the perception produced by the silent discourse which takes place in the soul. When by intemperance led of fish they eat, Far from the throes of pregnancy, 18. This is a slightly edited version of Porphyry's treatise on vegetarianism. Hence, preventing their dearest friends from dying naturally, they slay them when they are old, and eat them. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! As we are also informed by Proclus (in Cratylum), "She is the paradigm of Ceres. 57. But they exercised themselves in the endurance of hunger and thirst, and were accustomed to paucity of food through the whole of their life.
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