The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) · 171 of 530
Pythagorean Mathematicsn
It was also called unwearied, because, like God, it was tireless.
The Pythagoreans divided the heavenly bodies into ten orders.
They also stated that the decad perfected all numbers and comprehended within itself the nature of odd and even, moved and unmoved, good and ill.
They associated its power with the following deities: Atlas (for it carried the numbers on its shoulders), Urania, Mnemosyne, the Sun, Phanes, and the One God.
The decimal system can probably be traced back to the time when it was customary to reckon on the fingers, these being among the most primitive of calculating devices and still in use among many aboriginal peoples.
Themes
◆Numerical Mysticismtheology
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The passage centrally discusses the Pythagorean decad as a divine principle that comprehends odd and even numbers and powers deities.
All passages →Related passages · 1 parallel
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter VIII
“The Pythagoreans, likewise, adorned numbers and figures with the appellations of the Gods.
For they called the equilateral triangle, Minerva Coryphagenes, or begotten from the summit, and Tritogeneia because it is divided by three perpendi…”
Both passages discuss the Pythagorean association of numbers with divine entities and concepts, demonstrating a shared conceptual framework. They both highlight the sacred significance of numbers in Pythagorean thought, though they use different examples and deities.