Talk:Tetractys

Comments
the quotations need a reference. any kind of reference. they just can't be allowed there by themelves

At the end of the section "Pythagorean symbol" there is a quote, with the declaration of being a Pythagoras's quote, which is wrong for many different reasons i could explain to anyone interested, having to do with the meaning, and the style of the content presented. The author of this part of the article must at least give us the reference of such a quote to make it accurate, otherwise the law of encyclopedic integrity is violated. Orphiwn (talk) 21:15, 3 February 2013 (UTC)Orphiwn

Deleted attribution to Iamblichus
I deleted the line that attributed the quote:

"The Tetractys [also known as the decad] is an equilateral triangle formed from the sequence of the first ten numbers aligned in four rows. It is both a mathematical idea and a metaphysical symbol that embraces within itself — in seedlike form — the principles of the natural world, the harmony of the cosmos, the ascent to the divine, and the mysteries of the divine realm. So revered was this ancient symbol that it inspired ancient philosophers to swear by the name of the one who brought this gift to humanity — Pythagoras."

to Iamblichus. I'm not going to say there is absolutely no way this could have been written by Iamblichus, or that something fairly close might not have been written by Iamblichus, but it seems highly unlikely, given the use of the word "metaphysical" in the quote. In any case, if that really was written by Iamblichus, the author needs to give a citation.

Beau Branson 04:14, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

SQUARES *click"edit" to view with proper format*
I don't know if anybody's ever noticed this, but the tetractys is a gnomon. Allow me to elaborate:most gnomon you'll find look something like this:

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (      + + + + + + + + +       1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0       7 5 3 1 9 7 5 3 1       ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

(+01) 9|8|7|6|5|4|3|2|1  <-12 (+03)  9|8|7|6|5|4|7|2|2  <-22 (+05)  9|8|7|6|5|4|3|3|3  <-32 (+07)  9|8|7|6|5|4|4|4|4  <-42 (+09)  9|8|7|6|5|5|5|5|5  <-52 (+11)  9|8|7|6|6|6|6|6|6  <-62 (+13)  9|8|7|7|7|7|7|7|7  <-72 (+15)  9|8|8|8|8|8|8|8|8  <-82 (+17)  9|9|9|9|9|9|9|9|9  <-92

However, the tetractys does the same thing, only in triangles instead of squares(if expanded):

* (+01)                   /1\    <-1^2                        * - * (+03)                  /2\2/2\   <-2^2                      * - * - * (+05)                /3\3/3\3/3\   <-3^2                    * - * - * - * (+07)              /4\4/4\4/4\4/4\   <-4^2                  * - * - * - * - * (+09)            /5\5/5\5/5\5/5\5/5\   <-5^2                * - * - * - * - * - * (+11)          /6\6/6\6/6\6/6\6/6\6/6\   <-6^2              * - * - * - * - * - * - * (+13)        /7\7/7\7/7\7/7\7/7\7/7\7/7\   <-7^2            * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * (+15)      /8\8/8\8/8\8/8\8/8\8/8\8/8\8/8\  <-8^2          * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * (+17)    /9\9/9\9/9\9/9\9/9\9/9\9/9\9/9\9 9\   <-9^2        * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - *

where the total number of triangles (and not the dots) up to and including row "n". In both gnomons, the odd numbers off to the side show how many new units have been added to the row from the sum of all those previous. Varka (talk) 07:59, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Reference for the prayer
A have a partial reference for the quotation: "Bless us, divine number, thou who generated gods and men! O holy, holy Tetractys, thou that containest the root and source of the eternally flowing creation! For the divine number begins with the profound, pure unity until it comes to the holy four; then it begets the mother of all, the all-comprising, all-bounding, the first-born, the never-swerving, the never-tiring holy ten, the keyholder of all".

I have the Finnish translation of book "A History of Pi" by Petr Beckmann (in Finnish: $$\pi$$ - Erään luvun tarina). In chapter 8, the first two sentences (Bless us... ...flowing creation.) are mentioned. In the book, there is a reference for the prayer: Hogben, L.: Mathematics for the Million. W.W. Norton & Co. New York, 1937. Reprint by Pocket Books, New York 1965. Hope some of you living in USA, GB or similar can find the book from library and verify the citation. Hope this helps at least a little. --Vesa Linja-aho (talk) 08:08, 3 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Is there a modern English translation? The Pythagoreans didn't speak King James Bible English.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.167.71.224 (talk) 19:37, 29 June 2012 (UTC)