Breaking bread

[okok]

One of the rules by which the followers of Pythagoras lived was "do not break bread". See for example, the list of rules at
http://lachlan.bluehaze.com.au/books...hilosophy.html

I know what breaking bread with somone means, but I suspect that here the meaning may be more literal. How would you understand the expression, given that other rules include things like "don't eat from a whole loaf" and "don't eat beans".

[Tdol]

Here, I would understand it as a kind of supersticion, where cutting bread was somehow favoured.

[okok]

Thank you. As every English text about it I could find never explains the term, I thought the term would be unambiguous to native English speakers.

[Tdol]

Alone, I'd think of hosp[itality, but in the context, it has to be something esle.

[Little Marie]

Oh! I have recently read about Pythagoreans, it is really interesting. As for bread, I don't remember the reason, but as for beans I can say you that they didn't eat beans because they seemed the beans look like mens' brains and like ...mmm... how to say.. they lool like mens' balls. They didn't want to eat anythink which looks like balls, I hope you see what I mean.

They didn't eat fish, because they think fish do not dangerous to men, men and fish are not competitors in the struggle for existence, that is why it isn't justly to eat fish.

[okok]

As far as I remember, the thing with fish was that they believed that men and fish had a common ancenstry, so eating fish would be like eating your relatives. :)

[Little Marie]

They guessed that men came from water!
I think the Pythagoreans were penetrating enough to pay attention to thier ideas in religion.

[MW]

Cut with a knife as opposed to tear or break apart