Divination by Numbers and Stars

Those who suppose they can prophesy by calculations and numbers, by letters and by names, begin their attempt this way. They say that every number has a root. With thousands, the root is as many units as there are thousands: the root of six thousand is six units, of seven thousand seven units, of eight thousand eight units, and so on for the rest in the same proportion. With hundreds, as many hundreds as there are, that many units are their root: seven hundred is seven hundreds, and the root of these is seven units; six hundred is six hundreds, and the root of these is six units. It is the same with the tens: the root of eighty is eight units, of sixty six units, of forty four units, of ten one unit. And with the units themselves, the units are their own root: for nine, nine; for eight, eight; for seven, seven. So this is what has to be done with the letters as well, since every letter has been assigned a number. The letter nu, for instance, stands for fifty units; the root of fifty units is five, and so the root of the letter nu is five. Now suppose we take the roots of some name. Take the name Agamemnon. The alpha gives one unit; the gamma three; the second alpha one; the mu four; the epsilon five; the mu four; the nu five; the long o eight; the nu five. Brought together into one line these are 1, 3, 1, 4, 5, 4, 5, 8, 5, and added up they make 36 units. Then they take the roots of these, and thirty gives three while six gives six itself. Three and six added together make nine, and the root of nine is nine. So the name Agamemnon ends at the root nine. [a]

Let us do the same with another name — Hector. The name Hector has five letters: epsilon, kappa, tau, long o, rho. Their roots are 5, 2, 3, 8, 1, and added up they make 19 units. Then the root of the ten is one and the root of the nine is nine, which added together make ten; and the root of ten is one unit. So the name Hector, when reckoned up, has produced a root of one. It would be easier to do the calculation this way. Take the roots you have found from the letters — as we have just found nineteen units in the name Hector — divide by nine, and call the remainder the root. For example, if I divide 19 by 9 the remainder is 1, since nine twos are eighteen and one unit is left over; if I subtract 18 from 19, one unit is left. So the root of the name Hector will be one. Again, the name Patroclus has these numbers for its roots: 8, 1, 3, 1, 7, 2, 3, 7, 2; added up they make 34 units. The remainder of these is 7 units — three from the thirty, and four from the four. So seven units are the root of the name Patroclus.

Those who make their calculations by the rule of nine take the ninth part of the total of the roots and define what is left over as the sum of the roots. Those who work by the rule of seven take the seventh part. For instance, with the name Patroclus the total of the roots is 34 units. Divided into sevens this makes four, which comes to 28; six units are left over. So, by the rule of seven, a man says that six units are the root of the name Patroclus. If it is 43, he says, six taken seven times is 42, since seven sixes are 42, and one is left over. So one unit is the root of the number 43 by the rule of seven. But you have to watch whether the number you have taken divides out even. Suppose that from some name, after adding the roots together, I find, to give an instance, 36 units. Thirty-six divided by nine comes out at exactly four nines — nine fours are 36, and nothing is over. Then plainly the root is nine itself. And again, dividing forty-five we find that it comes out even — nine fives are forty-five, and nothing is left — so in such cases they say the root is nine itself. It is the same with the rule of seven: if we divide 28 by 7 we have nothing over, since seven fours are 28 and nothing is left, and so they say the root is seven. When a man reckons up names, though, and finds the same letter twice, he counts it once. The name Patroclus has the o twice, so they count the o once. On that footing the roots will be 8, 1, 3, 1, 7, 2, 3, 2, and added up they make 27 units; and the root of the name will be nine itself by the rule of nine, but six by the rule of seven.

In the same way Sarpedon, reckoned up, produces a root of two units by the rule of nine, while Patroclus produces nine units. Patroclus wins. For when one number is odd and the other even, the odd one wins if it is the larger. But again, when there is an even eight and an odd five, the eight wins, since it is larger. If, however, there were two numbers both even or both odd, the smaller wins. But how does Sarpedon make two units by the rule of nine, when the letter long o is left out? When a name has both a long o and a long e in it, they leave out the long o and use one letter, because they say the two are worth the same, and the same letter is not counted twice, as was said above. Again, Ajax makes four units, while Hector by the rule of nine makes one unit. Four is even and one is odd, and in such cases, we said, the larger wins: Ajax wins. Again, take Alexander and Menelaus. Alexander's proper name is Paris. Paris by the rule of nine makes four units, and Menelaus by the rule of nine makes nine units. The nine beats the four, since it has been said that when one number is odd and the other even the larger wins, but when both are even or both odd the smaller wins. Again, take Amycus and Polydeuces. Amycus by the rule of nine makes two units, and Polydeuces seven: Polydeuces wins. Ajax and Odysseus wrestled at the funeral games. Ajax by the rule of nine makes four units, Odysseus eight. So then — is Odysseus perhaps a nickname and not the man's proper name? For he was the one who won. By the numbers Ajax wins, but the story hands down Odysseus as the winner. Achilles and Hector. Achilles by the rule of nine makes four, Hector one: Achilles wins. Again, Achilles and Asteropaeus. Achilles makes four, Asteropaeus three: Achilles wins. Again, Menelaus and Euphorbus. Menelaus has nine units, Euphorbus eight: Menelaus wins.

Some, working by the rule of seven, use the vowels only. Others separate out the vowels by themselves, the half-sounding letters by themselves, and the mutes by themselves; and having made three classes they take the roots of the vowels by themselves, of the half-sounding letters by themselves, and of the mutes by themselves, and compare each column apart. Others do not even use the customary numbers, but different ones. For example, they will not allow the letter pi to have a root of eight units, but five, and the letter xi a root of four units. Twist it every way they like, they find nothing sound. When men contend a second time, they take away the first letter of each name; and when a third time, they take away two letters from each, and then reckon up the rest and compare them.

I think the arithmeticians' idea has now been plainly set out — men who suppose that by numbers and names they can settle the course of a life. As I see it, these people had leisure and were well drilled in reckoning, and they wanted the skill handed to them from childhood to win them a reputation and get them called prophets. Measuring the letters up and down, they have wandered off into nonsense. When they fail, they put the difficulty forward and say: perhaps this name was not the family name but an added one — which is the plea they fell back on when they came to grief over Odysseus and Ajax. Who could take his start from this astonishing philosophy, set his heart on being called a founder of heresies, and not end up celebrated? [k]

But there is another and deeper skill among the all-wise thinkers of the Greeks — the men the heretics boast of studying under, because they use their opinions for the doctrines they are trying to put together, as will be shown before long. This is divination by examining the forehead, or rather, I should say, it is madness; and we will not keep quiet about this system either. There are some who refer the shapes of men to the stars, stamping out their forms, and who reckon up men's natures from births under particular stars. They put it this way: Those born under Aries will be of this kind: a long head, red hair, eyebrows that meet, a pointed forehead, grey eyes, lively, cheeks drawn down, a long nose, open nostrils, thin lips, a pointed chin, a long mouth. These, he says, will share in the following nature: forward-thinking, many-sided, cowardly, prudent, ingratiating, quiet, inquisitive, men of hidden plans, fitted for any undertaking, prevailing more by good sense than by strength, mockers of whatever is in front of them, lettered, trustworthy, contentious, provokers in a fight, full of craving, sick with a lust for boys, turned away from their own homes, giving satisfaction in nothing, accusers, wild in their cups, scorners, throwing something away over a word, useful in friendship because of their goodness. Most of them end their days in a foreign land.

Those born under Taurus will be of this description: a round head, thick hair, a broad square forehead, large black eyes and eyebrows, thin blood-red veins in the white of the eye, long thick eyelids, big ears, round mouths, a thick nose, round nostrils, thick lips; strong in the upper body, standing straight up from the legs. The same by nature are pleasing, thoughtful, naturally gifted, devout, just, boorish, agreeable, toilers from the age of twelve, quarrelsome, sluggish. Their stomach is small and they are filled quickly. They form many plans, are prudent, are stingy toward themselves and generous toward others, do good, and are slow of body. In part they are a grief to others, careless about friendship, useful for their minds, and hard done by. [q]

Those born under Gemini will be of this description: a red face, size not very large, evenly proportioned limbs, black eyes as if they had been oiled, cheeks drawn down, a thick mouth, eyebrows that meet. They carry everything through, they hold on to what they get, they are extremely rich, tight-fisted, sparing with their own, lavish in the pleasures of sex, considerate, musical, liars. The same by nature are well taught, thoughtful, inquisitive, arriving at their own decisions, full of craving, sparing with their own, generous, quiet, prudent, crafty. They form many plans, are reckoners, accusers, badly timed, unlucky; they are loved by women, and are merchants. As regards friendship, not useful for long. [s]

Those born under Cancer are of this description: size not large, dark hair, a somewhat reddish complexion, a small mouth, a round head, a pointed forehead, greyish eyes, beautiful enough, limbs somewhat uneven. The same by nature are wicked, crafty, thorough in their plans, insatiable, stingy, ungrateful, mean, useless, forgetful. They neither give back what belongs to another nor ask back what is their own. As regards friendship, useful. [t]

Those born under Leo are of this description: a round head, reddish hair, a large wrinkled forehead, thick ears, a heavy neck, partly balding, ruddy, grey eyes, large jaws, a thick mouth, thick in the upper body, a big chest, the lower limbs thin. The same are by nature men of their own decision, unmixing, pleased with themselves, quick-tempered, hot-blooded, despisers, stubborn, planning nothing, without savor, badly employing their leisure, sociable, poured out into the pleasures of sex, adulterers, shameless, not to be trusted, beggars, bold, tight-fisted, robbers, worth notice. For partnership, useful; for friendship, useless. [u]

Those born under Virgo are of this description: good-looking, eyes not large, charming, dark, eyebrows that meet, cheerful, swimmers. They are slender in body but beautiful to look at, with hair prettily arranged, a large forehead, a prominent nose. The same by nature are quick to learn, moderate, thoughtful, playful, eloquent, slow of speech, forming many plans, easily talked into doing a favor, gladly noticing everything; and, being gifted pupils, they master whatever they learn. They are moderate, scorners, lovers of boys, sociable, great-souled, despisers, careless about practical matters, attentive to teaching, and better in other people's affairs than in their own. As regards friendship, useful. [v]

Those born under Libra will be of this description: fine hair falling forward, reddish and longish; a pointed wrinkled forehead, fine eyebrows that meet, beautiful eyes, dark pupils, long thin ears, the head inclined, a long mouth. The same by nature are thoughtful, honorers of the gods, running one another down, merchants, toilers, not holding on to what they earn, liars, unaffectionate, truthful in their dealings, free-spoken, doers of good, unlearned, liars, sociable, careless (it does them no good to act unjustly in anything). They are despisers, mockers, sharp, well regarded, listeners, and nothing goes forward for them. As regards friendship, useful. [w]

Those born under Scorpio are of this description: a girlish face, shapely, salty, darkish hair, well-shaped eyes, a forehead not broad, a sharp nose, small ears set close, a wrinkled forehead, narrow eyebrows, cheeks drawn down. The same by nature are crafty, beaten down, liars, laying their own plans before no one, double-minded, doers of evil, scorners, guilty of adultery, naturally gifted, quick to learn. As regards friendship, useless. [z]

Those born under Sagittarius will be of this description: great height, a square forehead, full eyebrows that meet, hair set forward, reddish. The same by nature are agreeable, like educated men, straightforward, doers of good, lovers of boys, sociable, toilers, loving and loved, merry in their cups, clean, quick-tempered, careless, wicked; as regards friendship, useless; despisers, great-souled, insolent, servile; for partnership, useful. [ab]

Those born under Capricorn will be of this description: a reddish body, greying hair falling forward, a round mouth, eyes like an eagle's, eyebrows that meet, an open forehead, partly bald, the lower parts of the body stronger. The same by nature are lovers of wisdom, despisers and mockers of whatever is in front of them, quick-tempered, ready to give way, handsome, doers of good, lovers of music, angry in their cups, funny, sociable, talkative, lovers of boys, cheerful, well liked, affectionate, provoking. For partnership, well disposed. [ad]

Those born under Aquarius will be of this description: square in build, a small mouth, sharp, narrow, fierce eyes; bossy, ungrateful, sharp, quick to find what they want, well disposed for friendship and for partnership. Further, they get their earnings out of wet business, and they lose them. The same by nature are silent, modest, sociable, adulterers, tight-fisted, busy with affairs, rowdy, clean, gifted, handsome, with large eyebrows. Often they are born into small circumstances and take up a trade to do with chariots. However well they treat anyone, no one pays them back with thanks. [ae]

Those born under Pisces will be of this description: of middling height, a pointed forehead like a fish's, shaggy hair; often they go grey early. The same by nature are great-souled, straightforward, quick-tempered, stingy, talkative. In the first stretch of life they will be sleepy. They want to handle their business themselves. They are well regarded, bold, jealous, accusers, always changing where they live, lovers, dancers. As regards friendship, useful.

Since we have now set out these men's astonishing wisdom too, and have not hidden their over-fussy divination by speculation, neither will we keep silent about the places where they stumble and talk nonsense. For see how feeble they are, matching up the forms and natures of men with the names of stars! We know that the men who first busied themselves with these inquiries called the stars by names chosen to fit their own notion, so that the stars would be easy to mark and easy to recognize again. What likeness, then, do these bodies have to the picture of the animals, and what shared nature is there in the way they act and work, that anyone should claim a man born under Leo is hot-blooded, and a man born under Virgo moderate, and a man born under Cancer wicked, but that those born under… [ah]