No Man Is Free Who Cannot

Attributed to Pythagoras via the anthologist Stobaeus (5th century AD), who preserved many sayings from ancient philosophers whose works had not survived. Pythagoras left no writings of his own; all quotes attributed to him come from later compilers including Diogenes Laertius, Iamblichus, Porphyry, and Stobaeus, writing centuries after his death. Self-mastery (enkrateia) was central to Pythagorean communal life: members of his school at Croton followed strict disciplines of diet, silence, and daily self-examination.