Humanity Against Cruelty to Animals in Historical Literature, Timeline of Animal Rights History

Animal Rights History »» Sotion

But since I have begun to tell you with how much more earnestness I applied myself to philosophy, when a young man, than now when I am old, I shall not be ashamed to confess to you, what affection for Pythagoras Sotion inspired me with. He taught me, why Pythagoras abstained from animal food, and why after him Sextius: their reasons were different, but, both, very great. Sextius thought, that there was food enough for man in the world without shedding blood; and that the taking pleasure in butchering helpless animals, only inspired men with cruelty: he added hereunto, that luxury was not to be encouraged, and supposed of meats, and particularly such as are foreign to our constitutions are by no means a preservative of health, but the contrary. Whereas Pythagoras held that there was a sort of relationship among all animals, and a certain intercourse, whereby they passed out of one form into another. No soul either of man or beast (if you believe him) perisheth; nor indeed ceaseth any longer than while it is transmigrating into another body. And that after many revolutions and changes from one sort of body to another, it returns again to man. In the mean while this opinion had no small effect, in making men dread wickedness, and especially parricide: since it is possible they might unknowingly light upon the soul of a parent, and with knife and teeth violate the body wherein was lodged some kindred spirit.

When Sotion had explained to me these things, and confirmed them by his arguments— Do you not think, said he, that souls are distributed from one body to another; and that it is only this transmigration which we call death? Do you not believe that in those animals, wild or tame, or that dwell in the great deep, the souls, that were once in man, still survive? Do you not believe, that nothing in this world perisheth, but only changeth its places and form? and that not only the celestial bodies make their several circuits, but that of animals, and their souls likewise, have their revolutions? Many great men have believed these things. Suspend therefore for a while your judgment and weigh every thing diligently. If these things be true, to abstain from shedding of blood is innocence; if false, frugality. And as some check to cruelty. I only ask you to abstain from what is the food of lions and vultures.— Prevailed upon by these instructions, I began to abstain from eating flesh, and at the year's end, such abstinence became no only easy to me, but pleasant: I fancied my spirit more alert and free than it was before; nor to this day can I either to affirm or deny it. (Seneca [5bce-65ce], Epistle CVIII, The Right Use of Reading or Hearing the Philosophers ).

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Seneca [5bce-65ce], Epistle CVIII, The Right Use of Reading or Hearing the Philosophers in The Epistles of Lucius Annæus Seneca, translated by Thomas Morrell, in two volumes (London, 1786; Digitized by Google, 2006).