bly meant was, get busy and fill the measure with
grain rather than use it for a seat.

"Eat not the heart"--do not act so as to harrow the feelings of your
friends, and do not be morbid.

"Never stir the fire with a sword"--do not inflame people who are
wrathful.

"Wear not the image of God upon your jewelry"--do not make religion a
proud or boastful thing.

"Help men to a burden, but never unburden them." This saying was used by
Saint Francis to prove that the pagan philosophers had no tenderness,
and that the humanities came at a later date. We can now easily
understand that to relieve men of responsibilities is no help; rather do
we grow strong by carrying burdens.

"Leave not the mark of the pot upon the ashes"--wipe out the past,
forget it, look to the future.

"Feed no animal that has crooked claws"--do not encourage rogues by
supplying them a living.

"Eat no fish whose fins are black"--have nothing to do with men whose
deeds are dark.

"Always have salt upon your table"--this seems the original of "cum
grano salis" of the Romans.

"Leave the vinegar at a distance"--keep sweet.

"Speak not in the face of the sun"--even Erasmus thought this referred
to magic. To us it is quite reasonable to suppose that it meant, "do not
talk too much in public places."

"Pick not up what falls from the table"--Plutarch calls this
superstition, but we can just as easily suppose it was out of
consideration for cats, dogs or hungry men. The Bible has a command
against gleaning too closely, and leaving nothing for the traveler.

"When making sacrifice, never pare your nails"--that is to say, do one
thing at a time: wind not the clock at an inopportune time.

"Eat not in the chariot"--when you travel, travel.

"Feed not yourself with your left hand"--get your living openly and
avoid all left-handed dealings.

And so there are hundreds of these Pythagorean sayings that have vexed
our classic friends for over two thousand years. All Greek scholars who
really pride themselves on their scholarship have taken a hand at them,
and agitated the ether just as the members of the Kokomo Woman's Club
discuss obscure passages in Bliss Carman or Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Learned
people are apt to comprehend anything but the obvious.

* * * * *

The School of Pythagoras grew until it became the chief attraction of
Crotona. The size of the town was doubled through the pilgrims who came
to study music,