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Available
Call number
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Publication
Grand Rapids, Mich. : Phanes Press, 1988.
Description
Attributed to Iamblichus (4th cent. AD), The Theology of Arithmetic is about the mystical, mathmatical and cosmological symbolism of the first ten numbers. Its is the longest work on number symbolism to survive from the ancient world, and Robin Waterfield's careful translation contains helpful footnotes, an extensive glossary, bibliography, and foreword by Keith Critchlow. Never before translated from ancient Greek, this important sourcework is indispensable for anyone intereted in Pythagorean though, Neoplatonism, or the symbolism of Numbers.
User reviews
LibraryThing member le.vert.galant
For certain synesthetes, all numbers have allusions beyond simple quantification. Thus, "936" might be a restaurant in the French countryside that specializes in dishes seasoned with tarragon, while "1474" is an aging trailer park with metalized domiciles bleaching under a fierce Arizona sun.
For the Pythagoreans, numbers evoke an entire metaphysics that moves well beyond the charms of synesthesia. They believe that numbers embody reality and their allusions represent universal truths. They give special emphasis to the first ten numbers. This book, attributed to Iamblichus but reading more like a student's lecture notes, outlines Pythagorean numerology. As an example, the pentad embodies justice since it is the center of the run of numbers between one and nine as well as the sum of the first odd and even numbers (one, the monad, is not considered either even or odd).
The text is terse throughout and often obscure, but it is a fascinating glimpse of minds attempting to make sense of a chaotic world. The simple mathematics of Greek arithmetic can inspire a complex and sophisticated mysticism.
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Indeed, these images are attempts at describing something more elusive: at bottom "936" is that which feels like 936. For the Pythagoreans, numbers evoke an entire metaphysics that moves well beyond the charms of synesthesia. They believe that numbers embody reality and their allusions represent universal truths. They give special emphasis to the first ten numbers. This book, attributed to Iamblichus but reading more like a student's lecture notes, outlines Pythagorean numerology. As an example, the pentad embodies justice since it is the center of the run of numbers between one and nine as well as the sum of the first odd and even numbers (one, the monad, is not considered either even or odd).
The text is terse throughout and often obscure, but it is a fascinating glimpse of minds attempting to make sense of a chaotic world. The simple mathematics of Greek arithmetic can inspire a complex and sophisticated mysticism.
Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1988
Physical description
130 p.; 22 cm
ISBN
0933999720 / 9780933999725
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