Skip to content
You are not logged in |Login  
     
Limit search to available items
Record:   Prev Next
Resources
More Information
Bestseller
BestsellerE-book
Author Schimmel, Annemarie, 1922-2003.

Title The mystery of numbers / Annemarie Schimmel.

Publication Info. New York : Oxford University Press, 1993.

Item Status

Description 1 online resource (x, 314 pages) : illustrations
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Note Based on: Das Mysterium der Zahl by Franz Carl Endres, and entirely rewritten by Annemarie Schimmel.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-295) and index.
Contents 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 -- A Little Dictionary of Numbers. One.
Summary "Why is the number seven lucky - even holy - in almost every culture? Why do cats have nine lives (except in Iran, where they have seven)? From literature to folklore to private superstitions, numbers play a conspicuous role in our daily lives. But in this fascinating book, Annemarie Schimmel shows that numbers have been filled with mystery and meaning since the earliest times, and across every society."
"In The Mystery of Numbers Annemarie Schimmel conducts an illuminating tour of the mysteries attributed to numbers over the centuries. She begins with an informative and often surprising introduction to the origins of number systems: pre-Roman Europeans, for example, may have had one based on twenty, not ten (as suggested by the English word "score" and the French word for 80, quatrevingt - four times twenty), while the Mayans had a system more sophisticated than our own. Schimmel also reveals how our fascination with numbers has led to a rich cross-fertilization of knowledge: "Arabic" numerals, for instance, were picked up by Europe from the Arabs, who had earlier adopted them from Indian sources ("algorithm" and "algebra" are corruptions of the Arabic author and title names of a mathematical text prized in medieval Europe). But the heart of the book is an engrossing guide to the symbolism of numbers. Number symbolism, she shows, has deep roots in Western culture, from the philosophy of the Pythagoreans and Platonists, to the religious mysticism of the Cabala and the Islamic Brethren of Purity, to Kepler's belief that the laws of planetary motion should be mathematically elegant, to the unlucky thirteen. 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. Two, for instance, has widely been seen as a number of contradiction and polarity. And six, according to ancient and neo-Platonic thinking, is the most perfect number because it is both the sum and the product of its parts (1+2+3=6 and 1x2x3=6). Using examples ranging from the Mayans to Shakespeare, she shows how numbers have been considered feminine and masculine, holy and evil, lucky and unlucky."
"A highly respected scholar of Islamic culture, Annemarie Schimmel draws on her vast knowledge to paint a rich, cross-cultural portrait of the many meanings of numbers. Engaging and accessible, her account uncovers the roots of a phenomenon we all feel every Friday the thirteenth."--Jacket.
Access Use copy Restrictions unspecified MiAaHDL
Reproduction Electronic reproduction. [S.l.] : HathiTrust Digital Library, 2011. MiAaHDL
System Details Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL
Processing Action digitized 2011 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve MiAaHDL
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Language Translation of: Das Mysterium der Zahl.
Subject Symbolism of numbers.
Symbolism of numbers.
Indexed Term Numerology
Genre/Form Electronic books.
Added Author Endres, Franz Carl, 1878-1954. Mysterium der Zahl.
Other Form: Print version: Schimmel, Annemarie, 1922-2003. Mystery of numbers. New York : Oxford University Press, 1993 0195063031 (DLC) 90022456 (OCoLC)22664706
ISBN 9780199774654 (electronic book)
019977465X (electronic book)
0195063031
9780195063035
0195089197
9780195089196