PYTHAGORAS, SYMBOLS OF. The esoteric or secret instructions of Pythagoras were explained with the aid of symbols, as the readiest and most efficient method of im pressing upon the mind of the candidate for the mysteries the sublime truths and moral lessons for which the school of that justly celebrated philosopher was distinguished. A few of the most important symbols are here explained. The Equilateral Triangle, a perfect figure, was adopted among the ancient nations as a symbol of Deity, the principle And author of all sublunary things; the essence of Light and Truth, who was, and is, and shall be. The Square compre hends the union of the celestial and terrestrial elements of power; and was the emblem of Morality and Justice. The Tetraclys was a sacred emblem, which was expressed by ten jods disposed in the form of a triangle, each side containing four. This was the most expressive symbol of Pythagoras.
On it the obligation to the aspirant was propounded; and it was denominated the Trigonon mysticism, because it was the conservator of many awful and important truths, which are explained as follows: The one point represented the Monad, or active principle; the two points the Dead, or passive principle; the three points the Triad, or the world proceeding from their union; the four, the Quarternary, or the liberal sciences. The Cube was the symbol of the mind of man,
after a well-spent life in acts of piety and devotion, and thus prepared by virtue for translation into the society of the celestial gods. The Point within a Circle was the symbol of the universe. The use of this emblem is coeval with the first created man—the creation was the circle and himself the center. The Dodeccedron, or figure of twelve sides, was also a symbol of the universe. The Triple Triangle—a unity 41i of perfectness—was a symbol of health, and was called Hygeia. The Forty-seventh proposition of Euclid was in c Iuted and explained by Pythagoras, and is so extensively useful that it has been adopted in all Lodges as a significant symbol of Freemasonry. The letter Y was a symbolical rep resentation of the course of human life. Youth, arriving at manhood, sees two roads before him, and deliberates which he shall pursue. If he meet .with a guide that directs him to pursue philosophy, and he procures initiation, his life shall be honorable and his death happy. But if he omits to do this, and takes the left hand path, which appears broader and better, it will lead to sloth and luxury; will waste his estate, impair his health, and bring on an old age of infamy and misery.*