The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1867-11-16
THE MYSTIC sEvEH.

80 Tdk 4fbTlU b6Nhns
Every reader Of tbs Bible must have oh.
s,ed ths frequency With which Zoe inspired
writer's used the number ssvsn; nor b the
frequent recurrence Of this saze number,
- obvious 70 the careful student Of ny.
tho,oy aid legendary lore; nor dos the
ohservsr OF the heavens fail to 30 those par.
ticslsr starr, which, conspicuous In clos.
tsu, or Distinguished 10 consultations, srs
grouped, or rsstouod, By sovous
=, 10 the ipquIrins mind, the question nat.
srally rises, Why y this number % frequent.
y usedi Has II any properties peculiar "a
Itself. aside from thoss common 10 other
numbsrsi Has II any particular sisui6csn'
sy or importance attached 70 ~ That
soms importance has been, and 10 still,
attached 10 II, may be seen 10 the variety oil
expressions 10 which II 10 found, and In the
ideas Of learned men, as we'll - Of the
weak.minded and supsrstitious, and We can.
not doubt that there 10 reason for It's CON-
mon use. But We cannot see that its prop.
critics are different from those Of numbers
gsnerally. II isa whole, cardinal, abstract,
defective, odd, oddly odd, rational, prime
number, and may b added, subtractod,
multiplied or divided.
Tho old Grccian philosopher, Pythsgoras,
saw the principle Of oil things 10 numbers.
The Pythsgorisns, whose numbers were
propounded as tho explanation Of physical
phenomena" and were regarded % the
causes Of things being what they are" in.
vested :" particular numbers with extraorni.
nary attributes" and applied "them BY
very strange and forced analogies." Thu,
used they wore associated with certain ideas,
and in many instances seem "to have los.
their numerical FORCE" and to have "psssed
over into tho province Of symbolic signs.
Among these philosophers seven "was high
ly esteemed. and called venerable number
because It referred TO the creation Of the
world" The Persians regarded itas Tor
tunats number. Plato, . philosopher oI
Greece, In his Timwus says that tho soul o
the world, I" onima mundana," was gener'
atod out Of the number seven. Cicero, thai
eloquent Roman orator, In his Dream o
Scipio, calls It the binding knot OF oil things,
"Qsi namer,s r1vm amnium nodus est
"ln the language Of the New Platonists
the number seven Is said to be virgin, and
without mother, and Il Is therefore scored
to Minerva"
Thus vested with peculiar attributes, rep.
rosenting certain ideas, Il was used BY the
s.cred Hebrew writers. Regarded as sym
Dol Of much importance BY 30 many people
at different times, It has often engaged the
attention of man, and may be called "th'
keystone on which the symbolism Of mum
bers depends"
Says Smith In bis Dictionary Of the Bible
in reference to the number seven, f" the
views Of Biblical critics may be ranged undo,
two heads, according - the symbolism is as
tributed to theoretical speculasious - to The
internal properties Of tho number itself, OF
to external associations Of . physical or his
torical character. According 10 the former
Of these views, the symbolism Of the num-
Der seven would be traced back 10 the sym.
bolism Of It's component elements, three and
four, tho h,t Of which equals Divinity, and
the second equals Humanity, whence seven
equals Divinity plus Humanity. or In Other
words, tho union between God and Man, ~
effected by the manifestations Of the Divini.
ty in creation and revelation"
II we take the internal properties Of three
and four according to the system Of Pythas'
oras, we shall arrive at nearly the nmo con.
clusion Is the abovo-stated speculation gives
US. Three represents "periect harmony"
and four, called the Tetractys, 10 divine and
refers to Deity. This Tetractys was q per.
feet number, and also corresponded to the
human mind. By union OF three, "psr.
feet harmony" and four. divinity as mani.
tested In the human mind, We have nearly
the same result. This speculation may be
carried on with the equilateral triangle, the
Symbol Of God. the essence Of Light and
Truth, and the square. which like the
Tstractys, referred TO the divine mind, but
It Is unnecessary. ...
Other theories, curious and mystical, might
be mentioned. but win introduce only ono
more. An old philosopher, Proclus. "rsp-
rescnts the causlity Of the Divine Mind BY
three Triads Of abstractions." ln tho de-
velopmeut Of ono part Of bis system, seven
is introduced. "A hsbdomad iu bic specus-
,;pn. He says, I" the ineligible and intel.
lsctusl gods produce oil things triadieslly;
for the monads 10 these latter are divided
according 10 number; and what the monad
was In the former. tho number 10 10 these
latter. And tho intellectual gods produce
all thines hebdomically; for they evolve
the Ineligible, and at tho same time intel.
iectual trisds, into intellectual hebdomads,
and expand their contracted powers into 10.
telloctual variety. A very clear and COD
elusive argumcut!!
Says Smith again, In respect to tho 1900
ond class Of opinions which attribute the
symbolism Of the number seven to external
associations, tho influence Of this number
prevailed probably among oil nations when
the week Of seven days wss established, a.
In China, Egypt, Arabia, DO. The wide
range Of the word seven 10 10 this respect IN
in.cresting and significant fact; with the
exception Of 'siz.' Il h tho only nunsral
which the Scientific languages hs,c In con.
mon with the lndo. EurOpAn. In the ooun-