“Abstain from beans.”

— Pythagoras

Symbol 37; This was long thought by many to be simply a dietary proscription, and often ridiculed, but many consider it to have originally been intended as advice against getting involved in politics, for voting on issues in his time was often done by using differently colored beans. Others have stated that it might signify a more general admonition against relying on the votes of people to determine truths of reality. The explanation provided in the translation used here states: "This Symbol admonishes us to beware of everything which is corruptive of our converse with the gods and divine prophecy."
The Symbols
Variant: Abstain from animals.

Original

Κυάμων ἀπέχεσθαι

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Pythagoras 121

ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher -585–-495 BC

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