16 Pythagoras Quotes on Anger and the Calm Mind
Old wisdom from a Greek thinker who treated a quiet temper as a daily discipline.
These Pythagoras quotes on anger come from a man who built a whole way of life around self-control and inner silence. Pythagoras taught in the 6th century BC, and much of what survives reaches us through his followers, so think of these as the heart of his teaching rather than courtroom transcripts. Read slowly. A few of these lines have outlasted empires for a reason.
Anger begins in folly, and ends in repentance.
No man is free who cannot command himself.
For Pythagoras, a man ruled by his temper is the opposite of free. The chains are just invisible.
Be silent, or let thy words be worth more than silence.
A simple test for any angry reply. If it does not beat saying nothing, swallow it.
Do not even think of doing what ought not to be done.
Anger usually starts as a thought you entertain too long. He says guard the door earlier than that.
Let no one persuade you by word or deed to do or say whatever is not best for you.
Provocation is just persuasion in disguise. Someone wants you to lose your footing, and you do not owe them the favor.
The Golden Verses of Pythagoras
Above all things, reverence yourself.
Hard to stay self-respecting while shouting. He puts dignity ahead of winning the argument.
Choose rather to be strong of soul than strong of body.
Real strength shows up as the restraint to not strike back. The body wants to react; the soul decides whether to.
Do not allow sleep to close your eyes until you have gone over the events of the day three times.
His version of an anger journal. Replay where you slipped, and the next day you slip a little less.
It is better either to be silent, or to say things of more value than silence.
He repeats this idea because it is the cheapest cure for a hot moment. Most arguments die without an audience.
Rest satisfied with doing well, and leave others to talk of you as they will.
Much anger is just wounded reputation. He hands you the off switch: stop chasing other people's opinions.
As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom.
The same logic applies inside one person. If you need constant rules to hold your temper, you have not yet mastered it.
The Life of Pythagoras by Iamblichus
The most momentous thing in human life is the art of winning the soul to good or evil.
Every angry reaction is a small lesson the soul takes to heart. Repeat it enough and it becomes who you are.
Reason is immortal, all else mortal.
Rage is the most mortal thing about us, gone in minutes. He bets on the part that lasts.
Silence is better than unmeaning words.
Angry words are almost always unmeaning, said to wound rather than to say anything true. He would have you keep them in.
Educate the children and it won't be necessary to punish the men.
He treats temper as something you teach, not something you discover. Calm is a habit planted early.
Friends are as companions on a journey, who ought to aid each other to persevere in the road to a happier life.
A reminder that the people you snap at are usually fellow travelers, not enemies. Anger forgets that fast.
Anger fades. The habits you build around it stay. Pick one line here and carry it through your next hard hour.
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