The mystery of numbers / / Annemarie Schimmel

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910809826203321
• Autore: Schimmel Annemarie <1922-2003.>
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: New York, : Oxford University Press, 1993
• ISBN: 0-19-987985-0; 1-280-59437-3; 9786613624208; 0-19-977465-X
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (333 p.)
• Altri autori (Persone): EndresFranz Carl <1878-1954.>
• Disciplina: 133.3/35
• Soggetti: Symbolism of numbers; Numerology
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Based on: Das Mysterium der Zahl by Franz Carl Endres, and entirely rewritten by Annemarie Schimmel.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Cover; Contents; INTRODUCTION; 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: The Number of the Primordial Being; Two: Polarity and Division; Three: The Embracing Synthesis; Four: The Number of 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 NumberTwelve: 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; Bibliography; Illustration Credits; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; PQ; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Y; Z
• Sommario/riassunto: Why is the number seven lucky--even holy--in almost every culture? Why do we speak of the four corners of the earth? 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 wi