Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

3 IO THE FORMATION OF CHRISTENDOMing iii man must according to its nature seek for arestoration of order, first in the little universe of thedividual, secondly in the larger one of the comwealth. This is put forth in the person of an idealPythagoras, which lamblichus dressed up in a pretendedlife of that sage, at the beginning of thth century. In it he attributed to his hero thhingFirst he communicated to men a higher religand speculative knowledge. Secondly, he sought tbring them by the religious and moral principlehe set up for their everyday life into a relatwith the deity which should correspond to theirkinship with it. Thirdly, the idea of order was thecentral point and main substance of the religious andphilosophical knowledge which he communicated. Torealise this in human society was his purpose, and theunion of disciples which Pythagoras set up was themeans thereto. As the Christian Church was to pit a visible appearance of the kingdom of hthe Pythagorean union was have an orgwhich should incorporate its founder's idea of ordIts members had certain reciprocal engagementseach other, and all were in subjection to the foundewhose person was so sacred that no one uttered hname. During his life thev termed him " the Dand after his death spoke only of " him," or " thaman." Thus the influence exercised by Pythagoraswas not only religious and moral, but political. Byit he sought to banish the two greatest evils,anarchy and tyranny, and to give a constitution to1 society in which law alone, as the expression of1 I take these remarks on the Pythagoras of lamblichus from Baur'sreview of the Life of Apollonius by Philostratus.