Wisdom & Wisecracks of the Old Ones

“No Greek sacrifices an elephant or a camel to the Gods—because Greece does not produce camels or elephants.”

That’s Porphyry, quoting someone much smarter than himself. It explains a great deal about religion in general.

Once someone asked Victor Anderson why he used a red tablecloth on the altar. He replied, “Because I had a red tablecloth.”

“Beware lest these teachings be divulged to uneducated people. For dew teachings sound more ridiculous to the ignorant  . . . or more profound to the learned. . . . beware lest you one day repent of having told what you should not have. It is safest to write nothing down, to learn everything by heart, for it is impossible, once something has been written down, for it not to be eventually divulged.”

That’s Plato, Letter  II. Certainly applies to the Gardnerian BOS. Also, Plato never did explain what he was actually talking about.

“Common sense is the collection of prejudies we have acquired by age 16.” Albert Einstein.

Three from Pythagoras:

“Life is like a festival: some come to compete in the games, some to ply their trade, but the best to watch. Just so in life: the enslaved hunt for fame or gain, the philosophers for truth.”

“Disbelieve nothing strange about the Gods or about religious beliefs.”

“All living things should be regarded as your kinfolk and family.”