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The Theology of Arithmetic (1988)

by Iambilichus

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1287214,585 (4.09)None
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.… (more)
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A profound elucidation of Tetractys components, from the Monad to the Decad, and weaving them into a whole of the Monad again. If we take a transcendent view in which mathematics has its own Pythagorean-Platonic realities that co-arise with the visible world (phenomenal, or Demiurgic world), and combine it with the Chaldean views of thrice-transcendent worlds divided by the veils of Hekate, it gives a moderate view of how the ancients viewed proportions, or ratio and logos between things and how they related their existence to the penetration in the generative world. Most likely, I will return to this book for more, as I progress with my studies, to round and 'wholize' certain finer aspects that I haven't caught earlier. It must be noted, that scientific knowledge of the modern day goes together with this scientia, it is a question of extending the base foundations and extending them towards the treasuries of modern astronomy. For example - although we discovered Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Eris etc. The system presented is wholly consistent within the seven spheres, and thus is finite and perfected according to means and tools. It takes merely a step of imaginative theology to link these mysteries into one splendid whole once again. ( )
  Saturnin.Ksawery | Jan 12, 2024 |
A profound elucidation of Tetractys components, from the Monad to the Decad, and weaving them into a whole of the Monad again. If we take a transcendent view in which mathematics has its own Pythagorean-Platonic realities that co-arise with the visible world (phenomenal, or Demiurgic world), and combine it with the Chaldean views of thrice-transcendent worlds divided by the veils of Hekate, it gives a moderate view of how the ancients viewed proportions, or ratio and logos between things and how they related their existence to the penetration in the generative world. Most likely, I will return to this book for more, as I progress with my studies, to round and 'wholize' certain finer aspects that I haven't caught earlier. It must be noted, that scientific knowledge of the modern day goes together with this scientia, it is a question of extending the base foundations and extending them towards the treasuries of modern astronomy. For example - although we discovered Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Eris etc. The system presented is wholly consistent within the seven spheres, and thus is finite and perfected according to means and tools. It takes merely a step of imaginative theology to link these mysteries into one splendid whole once again. ( )
  SaturninCorax | Sep 27, 2021 |
A profound elucidation of Tetractys components, from the Monad to the Decad, and weaving them into a whole of the Monad again. If we take a transcendent view in which mathematics has its own Pythagorean-Platonic realities that co-arise with the visible world (phenomenal, or Demiurgic world), and combine it with the Chaldean views of thrice-transcendent worlds divided by the veils of Hekate, it gives a moderate view of how the ancients viewed proportions, or ratio and logos between things and how they related their existence to the penetration in the generative world. Most likely, I will return to this book for more, as I progress with my studies, to round and 'wholize' certain finer aspects that I haven't caught earlier. It must be noted, that scientific knowledge of the modern day goes together with this scientia, it is a question of extending the base foundations and extending them towards the treasuries of modern astronomy. For example - although we discovered Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Eris etc. The system presented is wholly consistent within the seven spheres, and thus is finite and perfected according to means and tools. It takes merely a step of imaginative theology to link these mysteries into one splendid whole once again. ( )
  vucjipastir | Jun 7, 2020 |
A profound elucidation of Tetractys components, from the Monad to the Decad, and weaving them into a whole of the Monad again. If we take a transcendent view in which mathematics has its own Pythagorean-Platonic realities that co-arise with the visible world (phenomenal, or Demiurgic world), and combine it with the Chaldean views of thrice-transcendent worlds divided by the veils of Hekate, it gives a moderate view of how the ancients viewed proportions, or ratio and logos between things and how they related their existence to the penetration in the generative world. Most likely, I will return to this book for more, as I progress with my studies, to round and 'wholize' certain finer aspects that I haven't caught earlier. It must be noted, that scientific knowledge of the modern day goes together with this scientia, it is a question of extending the base foundations and extending them towards the treasuries of modern astronomy. For example - although we discovered Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Eris etc. The system presented is wholly consistent within the seven spheres, and thus is finite and perfected according to means and tools. It takes merely a step of imaginative theology to link these mysteries into one splendid whole once again. ( )
  vucjipastir | Jun 7, 2020 |
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. 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. ( )
  le.vert.galant | Nov 19, 2019 |
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To Pythagoras who taught that for health, art and science are inseparable "By Him who gave our generation the Tetraktys, which contains the fount and root of eternal nature." (Pythagorean oath), and to Steve Lee, reluctant arithmologist.
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The Monad is the non-spatial source of number.
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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.

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