Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-09-08
SEVENS AND MINES.
OF All the Disits They Have Received
the Greatest Attention.

Even down to rather recent times the
mystic and cabalistic numbers seven
and nine and their combinations had
their influence with many persons, and
Of all the digits they have ever received
the greatest attention, seven has been
frequently used indefinitely to stignify
a long time or great many, while
nine is the superlative of superlatives
in Eastern estimation. The strange
and mystical significance of the figure
seven has been marked i'm all religions
and from the very earliest ages. The
number was always a holy one. Thus
there are seven days in creation, seven
spirits before the throne of God. seven
1races, seven cardinal virtues, and
seven deadly sins; and the Virgin has
seven joys and seven sorrows Then
we have in scripture seven churches in
Asia, seven candlesticks, seven stars,
seven trumpets, seven horns, and the
Lamb has seven eyes: while there are
seven division of the Lords Prayer.
Curiously enough. too, the great sacred
books of the world are seven in num-
Der. These are the Bible, the Eddas OF
the Scandinavians, the Chinese Five
Kings" the Koran of the MahOnetans
the Tri Pitikes Of the Buddists the We
das of the Hindus and the Zendavesta
of the PerSianS. And in legend we
have seven champions of Christendom
st. George Of England, st. Denis OF
France, St. James of Spain. st. An
thony of Italy, st. Andrews of Scot
land, st. Patrick of Ireland and St Da-
vid of Wales. There were also the Sew
en- Wonders of the World In addition
to these, to mention only few other
instances, there are seven days in the
week. seven phases of the moon and
seven ages in The life of man.
The figure nine consists of trinity
Of tr;nities. There are nine planets
and Milton speakes of nine EMBODIED
spheres" or heavens. Dionysius the
Areopagite maintained that the angels
were divided into nine orders; while the
number of the beast in the book OF
Revelation, is six hundred three-scort
ard six. a multiple of nine. The hydro
whom Hercules slew had nine heads;
there were nine muses., and also the
nine gods by whom Lars POrsena
sWorn. The StvX enCompasscd the in
formal regions in nine circles, and there
We're nine rivers of hell, according t,
classic mythology. There We're. too
the nine wofthies of whom Dryden tells
US in THE Flower and the Leaf"
Nine worthless We're they called, of diff
ferent rites
Three Jews. three Iagans and three
Christian knights
These were Joshua, David and Judas
Macc2 baeus; Hector. Alexander and
Julius Caesar; Arthur. Charlemagnc
and Godfrey of BOuillon.
Seven was called the medical number
and the more usual clmacterics seem
to have been septennial; perhaps for
astrological reasons, but more particu-
larly because within such periods
mans body and mind were supposed to
undergo some remarkable changes unth
respect to health. life or fortune In
deed it was believed that the constitu-
ton of man changed every seven years
and that during every septime the
whole of the solids and fluids Of the
body were periodically renewed-the
old cast off and new matter formed.
Infancy without teeth was said to
last seven months, and at seven years
of age a child had left infancy; at twice
seven, or fourteen, he had attained pu-
herty, and at three times seven, or
twenty-one. he had reached manhnod.
At five times seven, or thirty-five, a
man was considered to be at the height
of his physical and bodily strength, and
at seven times seven, or forty-nine. at
the height of his mental strength or
intellectual mowers, At nine times
seven, or three, he was said to
have arrived at the grand climactic.
and at the tenth return of the seventh
year of age. the ordinary limit of hui
man life was reckoned to be reached.
AS persons advanced in years the
more critical points We're approached,
and the grand climacteric was looked
forward to with considerable anxiety.
FOrty-nine, or seven times seven, was
an especial ciimacteric, and eighty-one,
or nine times nine, was one of the two
grand climacterics. But the other. the
grand climacteric par excellence that
special milestone on the road of life"
was sixty-three, because, being seven
times nine and nine times seven, it par
took of the virtues of both numbers.
According to I4eyinus Lemnius. the en-
inent Dutch. physician of the sixteenth
century. it is not encountered without
heaps OF dangers" Sickness in this
year was especially feared. and in 1t,
says Minshen. "many worthy men
died" R6ntzaw terms it iheroicus.i on
the ground that it had proved peculiar
iy fatal to heroes.-London Globe.