Page 54 - STOLEN LEGACY By George G. M. James

2. The Doctrine of Harmony, as a union of opposites, after being expounded by Pythagoras,
appears also in the systems of (a) Heraclitus, who explains the phenomena of nature as passing
successively through their opposites; (b) Socrates, who also defines harmony as the union of
opposites; (c) Plato, who defines the harmony of the soul as the proper subordination of its parts,
i.e., the higher and lower natures. (Turner's Hist. of Phil. p. 41; 56; Zeller's Hist. of Phil. p. 51;
69; Plato Phaedo C 15; Plato Republic); also (d) Aristotle, who defines the soul as a harmony in
his de animo I. 2.

3. The Central and Peripheral Fires. Here Pythagoras attempts to show that fire under-lies
creation, and this same notion is expressed by (a) Heraclitus, who speaks of the origin of the
universe through the transformation of fire. Then we have (b) Anaxagoras (c) Democritus (d)
Socrates and (e) Plato, each using the term mind (nous) as responsible for creation. Anaxagoras
and Socrates who speak directly of mind (nous) as an Intelligence and purpose behind nature;
while Democritus and Plato speak of mind (nous) indirectly as the World Soul, but further
describe it as being composed of fire atoms floating throughout space. Clearly then, Mind (nous),
no matter what other name or function we give it, is fire, since it is composed of fire atoms; and
fire according to Pythagoras underlies creation. (Wm. Turner's Hist. of Phil. p. 42, 55, 63, 82;
Zeller's Hist. of Phil. p. 53, 67, 76–83; Aristotle: Metaphysics I, 3, 984b, 17; Diogenes Laertius:
Bk. X. p. 443–453; Xenophon Memorabilia I, 4, 2; Plato Timaeus: 30, 35; Roger's Student Hist.
of Phil. p. 40–42; B. D. Alexander's Hist. of Phil. p. 43).

4. Immortality of the Soul. According to Pythagoras, the doctrine of the immortality of the Soul
is implied in the doctrine of the Transmigration of the Soul:

A. Socrates: The purpose of philosophy is the salvation of the Soul, whereby it feeds upon the
truth congenial to its divine nature and thus escapes from the wheel of rebirth, and finally attains
the consummation of unity with God. (Zeller's Hist. of Phil. p. 50–56; Roger's Hist. of Phil. p. 29
and 60; William Turner's Hist. of Phil. p. 41 and 48).

B. Plato's doctrines (1) Transmigration and (2) Recollection: (1) Transmigration: the souls of
men go to the place of reward or punishment, and after one thousand years they are permitted to
choose a new lot of life. He who has thrice chosen the higher life, gains after three thousand
years, the home of the Gods in the kingdom of thought. Others wander about for thousands of
years in various bodies; and many are destined to pursue their earthly life in lower animal forms.
It is necessary to point out that in this doctrine of Transmigration; Plato describes the judgment
scene in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. (2) Recollection: although the sense perceived world
cannot lead us to a knowledge of Ideas, yet it reminds us of the Ideas which we saw in a previous
existence. (The allegory of the Subterranean Cavern; Plato's Republic C. X; The Allegory of the
slave boy; Plato's Meno; Timaeus of Plato: 31B, 33B; 38E; The Phaedo of Plato: C 15; 29; 57;
Wm. Turner's Hist. of Phil. P. 105–112; B. D. Alexander's Hist. of Phil. p. 55; 152–153).

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Stolen Legacy: Greek Philosophy is Stolen Egyptian Philosophy by George G. M. James
The Journal of Pan African Studies 2009 eBook