34 armin d. baum
and ancient style, exuding as it were a bloom not touched by hand. Com-
posed perfectly with heaven-sent knowledge, they are full of most sagacious
conceptions, and especially varied and versatile in form and content, remark-
ably simple and, at the same time, not lacking style, and filled to the utmost
with clear and indisputable realities accompanied by scientific and full dem-
onstration, what is called ‘deductive argument.’ (all this) if someone goes
through them making use of the proper methods, and is not content with a
casual or careless perusal.
these commentaries, then, transmit knowledge about the intelligibles
and about the gods beginning from first principles.
158 then they explain all physical matters, and give a complete account
of both ethical and logical philosophy; and they provide all sorts of math-
ematical learning and the best sciences. In short, there is nothing concerned
with human knowledge about anything whatsoever, which has not been dis-
cussed minutely in these writings. If, then, it be agreed that some writings
now circulated are by Pythagoras, but others were composed on the basis of
his lectures, and on this account the authors did not give their own names,
but attributed them to Pythagoras as his work, it is clear from all these trea-
tises that Pythagoras was sufficiently experienced in all wisdom...
Iamblichus, de vita Pythagorica 31.198
according to Iamblichus, the Pythagoreans generally ascribed their own
books not to themselves but to their teacher.42
and they (the Pythagoreans) kept aloof from lamentations, tears, and all
such manifestations, nor did profit, desire, anger, ambition, or any such
things become a cause of disagreement. But all Pythagoreans were so dis-
posed to one another as a good father would be to his children.
It was a fine custom of theirs also to ascribe and assign everything to
Pythagoras, and only very seldom to claim personal fame for their discov-
eries, for there are very few of them indeed to whom works are ascribed
personally.
Jerome, de viris illustribus 4
In On Illustrious Men (392/3 ce), Jerome related that the canonicity of the
letter of Jude was disputed because it contains a quotation from First
Enoch. the problem these critics of the letter of Jude had with First Enoch
was its extra-canonical status or its pseudepigraphical attribution.43
Jude, the brother of James, left a short epistle which is reckoned among the
seven catholic epistles, and because in it he quotes from the apocryphal
42 trans. by dillon and hershbell, Iamblichus: On the Pythagorean Way of Life, 203.
43 trans. in NPNF 2 3:362.
