59

100

fact. I mean Iamblichus. Moreover,
as far as we can descry from what the modern histories
of ancient philosophy say there is no
prospect of any hypothesis about Pythagoras
ever being brought to the test. What, then, are
we to do? We must take the different statements
which we find in different ancient
writers, the earliest of whom lived a century
later, as facts. I do not mean that what they say
is fact but their saying so is a fact
and we must seek some rational
explanation of how these facts came to
be as they are. One of my chief maxims in
such work is that you must never content
yourself with saying, this witness knew nothing
about it and therefore I do not believe what he says,
or what this witness says is utterly impossible.