Meaning of akousma | Babel Free

Definitions

A rule or precept, especially one of the list of rules laid down by Pythagoras.

Examples

“One of the akousmata says that number⟳ is the wisest thing, and Pythagoreans may have⟳ sworn by Pythagoras as “the one who gave the tetraktys” […], the first four numbers whose total is ten, which was the perfect number⟳ for early Pythagoreans.”

“It seemed that each British mystical order⟳ claiming Pythagorean descent had its own⟳ ideas about those taboos and bits of free advice known as akousmata, and Madame Eskimoff's favorite happened to be number⟳ twenty-four as listed by Iamblichus—never look⟳ into a mirror when there's a lamp next to you.”

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