The mystery of numbers
- New York Oxford Univ. Press c1993
- x, 314p.; ill.; bibliog.; index
A complete reworking of Das Mysterium der Zahl by Franz Carl Endres, pub. by Eugen Diederichs Verlag, Munich, c1984.
1. Intro.:. Numbers and number systems. The heritage of the Pythagoreans. Gnosis and cabala. Islamic mysticism. Medieval and Baroque number symbolism. Superstitions. Number games and magic squares. 2 A little dictionary of numbers:. One; the number of primordial being. Two; polarity and division. Three; the embracing synthesis. Four; the number of the material order. Five; the number of life and love. Six; the perfect number of the created world. Seven; the pillars of wisdom. Eight; the auspicious number. Nine; the magnified sacred 3. Ten; completeness and perfection. Eleven; the mute number. Twelve; the closed circle. Thirteen; lucky or unlucky?. Fourteen; the number of the helpers. Fifteen; a little lunar number. Sixteen; symbol of wholeness. Seventeen; number of conquest. Eighteen; the double nine. Nineteen; the number of the Metonic Cycle. Twenty; an old limit of counting. Twenty-one; perfection. Twenty-two; the Hebrew alphabet. Twenty-four to thirty-nine. Forty; preparation and completion. Forty-two to sixty-six. Seventy and Seventy-two; plenitude. Up to ten thousand
'...shows that numbers have been filled with mystery and meaning since the earliest times, and across every society...After exploring the sources of number symbolism, Schimmel examines individual numbers ranging from one to ten thousand, discussing the meanings they have had for Judaic, Christian, and Islamic traditions, with examples from Indian, Chinese, and Native American cultures as well; Schimmel has greatly expanded upon a work written earlier by another author.'