Alphanumeric Cosmology From Greek into Arabic: The Idea of Stoicheia Through the Medieval Mediterranean

352 Pages·2020·7.537 MB·English

by  Juan Acevedo

Juan Acevedo
Alphanumeric Cosmology From Greek into Arabic

Juan Acevedo
Alphanumeric Cosmology
From Greek into Arabic
The Idea of Stoicheia
Through the Medieval Mediterranean
Mohr Siebeck
Juan Acevedo, born 1971; studied Classics at Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela; 2001 BA;
teaching Spanish, academic publishing (Islamic Texts Society; The Matheson Trust) in the UK,
specialised in Arabic-English bilingual typesetting and Comparative Religion; 2018 PhD from
the Warburg Institute, University of London; presently post-doctoral research in Lisbon for
the ERC Rutter Project in History of Science.
ISBN 978-3-16-159245-4 / eISBN 978-3-16-159246-1
DOI 10.1628 / 978-3-16-159246-1
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie;
detailed bibliographic data are available at http://dnb.dnb.de.
© 2020 Mohr Siebeck Tübingen, Germany. www.mohrsiebeck.com
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by
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The book was typeset by the author, printed on non-aging paper by Laupp & Göbel in Goma-
ringen, and bound by Buchbinderei Nädele in Nehren.
Printed in Germany.
Acknowledgements
A work of this extension and scope renews the awareness that gratitude
tends by nature towards infinity – so many unexpected favourable
circumstances,andsourcesofhelpandinformationandgoodwill...Here
isanattemptatdoingjusticetosomeofthem.
This book developed from a doctoral thesis presented at The Warburg
Institute, London, and I owe much gratitude to the collegial spirit of the
place itself. The Warburg Library was described almost a century ago as
‘the one open gate to the cosmopolis of knowledge,’ and this holds true
not only as regards the layout of the city of knowledge, its avenues and
parks which we visit in our minds, but also very palpably in the citizens
themselves–andwhatjoyitwastobenefitfromtheiradviceandconvivial
conversation.
Thethesisitselfwouldhavebeenunimaginableandevenimpracticable
inmanywayswithouttheinspiration,encouragementandexpertguidance
IwasprivilegedtohavefromCharlesBurnett,whonotonlyimprovedon
everydetailofmyworkwiththelightesttouchandself­effacinggenerosity,
butalsosharedcongeniallyintheexhilarationoftheresearch.
AmongmyWarburgcolleagues,IwouldliketothankinparticularGui­
doGiglioni,ChristopherJohnson,JillKraye,BertholdKress,Alessandro
Scafi and Claudia Wedepohl. Warm thanks to Peter Pormann, who read
anearlydraftofthethesisandmadevaluablesuggestions.Ifeelindebted
to Liana Saif, Bink Hallum and Sébastien Moreau for their inspiring and
generousfriendship.OtherWarburgfriendswhohelpedsignificantlywith
my research are Eleonora Andriani, Yang Gao, Michael Noble, Adrian
Pirtea,GregorSchwarbandTassosTyflopoulos.
My colleagues and friends at The Matheson Trust have made possible
thecompletionofthisworkinmanyways.ToTamarDrukkerIowemuch
gratitude for her help and patience with my Hebrew. Closer to home,
I want to thank Rida and Nureen, Adnan and Summer, and in Mérida,
EnriqueObedienteforhisfriendshipandexample.EdgarGuzmán,myfirst
companionreadingtheSeferYetsirah,hasbeenverypresentallalong,as
VI Acknowledgements
have been my mathematicians Olga, Ramón, Cristóbal and Juan Manuel.
My parents inspired in me the love of letters and music, and somehow
sharedwithmeilgrandisio,sowhateverisgoodhereisasmuchtheirsas
mine.
Andathome,myJudith,likeourchildrenMaríaGraciaandElías,has
helped me very concretely on this very abstract work, and in many more
waysthanIcouldthankherfororthateitherofuswilleverunderstand.
Somefriendsandcolleagueshavecontributedwiththeircommentsand
suggestionsafterthecompletionofthethesis,andhavethusimprovedthis
book greatly in many little ways. Warm thanks to Godefroid de Callataÿ,
TobyMayer,ConstantinosMacris,andLeonConrad.
I dedicate this work to the memory of José Manuel Briceño Guerrero
(ל״צז), who taught me the Greek hexameter on a radiant Venezuelan
afternoontwenty­nineyearsago.
JuanAcevedo
ERCRutterProject
CentroInteruniversitáriodeHistóriadasCiênciasedaTecnologia
FacultyofSciences
UniversityofLisbon
Contents
Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V
NotestotheReader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XIII
A.Transliterations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XIII
I.HebrewTransliteration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XIII
II.ArabicTransliteration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XIV
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .XV
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .XVII
A.TheConcept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XVIII
B.Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XIX
C.SurveyofScholarship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .XX
D.MethodologyMatters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XXIII
I DefiningtheConcept. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter1: NotesonEarlyAlphabeticCosmology. . . . . . . . 3
A.StartingfromAristotle’s‘Lexicon’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
I.FirstGlimmerings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.Etymology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.TheDefinition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
3.AtomsandLetters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
II.PlatonicCorpus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
III.TheConstellations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
IV.LatinCorrespondences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
VIII Contents
B.GreekGrammarians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
I.TheOpeningAnacoluthon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
II.SimplicityandPedagogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
III.TheSemiticOrigin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
1.Nature­givenorCreated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
IV.MoreEtymologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
1.NumberandOrder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
2.WallsandRamparts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
3.Whataboutγράμματα?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
V.Attributesoftheστοιχεῖον . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
VI.TheFourCosmicElements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
1.WhyTwenty­Four? MoreCosmicCorrespondences . . . . .26
2.TheMoonandtheStars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
3.ThePlanets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
4.AstrologicalCorrespondences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
5.MicrocosmicCorrespondences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
VII.GraphicalLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
VIII.SanchuniathonandtheSnakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
C.LatinGrammarians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
D.Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Chapter2: OntheTracksofArithmeticalCosmology . . . . .38
A.NumberandLetter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
I.Isopsephism,OnomatomancyandGematria . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
1.ChoeroboscusontheNamesofNumbers. . . . . . . . . . . . .46
B.ReckoningandScienceofNumbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
C.PythagorasandPythagoreanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
1.Lore&ScienceandFurtherDevelopments. . . . . . . . . . . .53
2.ImitationorParticipation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
3.OnCreationandOrder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
4.ThePythagoreanLogos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
5.TheFundamentalDecad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
I.Philolaos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
1.FragmentsofPhilolaus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
II.‘Pythagorean’Milestones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
1.NicomachusandhisIntroduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Contents IX
III.Nicomachus’IntroductionTables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
D.Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
II AlphanumericCosmologyintheAbrahamicScriptures .97
Chapter3: JewishSourcesandExegesis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
A.TanakhandTranslations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
I.Genesis–CreationbySpeech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
1.Psalm33:6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
II.Exodus–Bezalel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
III.CountingtheGlory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
IV.ThePotterofLight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
V.Acrostics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
VI.Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
B.Philo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
I.OntheMakingoftheWorld. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
1.ArchetypeandNoeticCreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
2.TheModelisΛόγος. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
3.Numbers: theTetradandtheDecad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
II.ChapterSummary: PhiloinPerspective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Chapter4: ChristianSourcesandExegesis. . . . . . . . . . . . .122
A.Letters­NumeralsoftheChristicWord­Number. . . . . . . . .122
I.Mysterialitterarum: TextualHistory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
1.Mysterialitterarum–thetext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
2.22or24Letters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
II.ApocryphalGospels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
III.ASpiritualABCinMonasticLiterature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
IV.Measure,Number,Weight,andAugustine. . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Chapter5: Hermetica,MagicandGnosticSources. . . . . . .135
I.WhoisHermes?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
II.ThothandtheLettersinPhilebus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
III.TheCreationElementsintheHermetica. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141