Taylor - Theoretic Arithmetic.pdf - Platonic Philosophy

which are productive of life after corporification, viz. the vegetable,
the psychical, and the rational power; and the rational
indeed, is arranged according to the hebdomad, but the psychical
power according to the hexad, the vegetable power necessarily
falls under the arrangement of the pentad; so that the pentad
is a certain least extremity of vitality."
He also informs us that the reason why the Pythagoreans
called the pentad Nemesis, was because it distributes in an appropriate
manner things celestial and divine, and the natural
elements. The pentad was likewise called Justice by the Pythagoreans
for two reasons, as we are informed by Proclus on
Hesiod, because it pertains to justice either to punish transgression,
and take away inequality of possession, or to equalize
what is less, and to benefit. But they denominated it Venus,
according to the anonymous author, because the male and the
female numbers are complicated with each other. And after
the same manner, he adds, they called it Gamelia, because the
pentad first comprehends the form of every number, viz. 2 the
first even, and 3 the first odd number. Hence it is denominated
marriage, as consisting of the male and the female. And
they doubtless called it Androgynia, because being an odd
number it is of a masculine characteristic. But they called it
circular, because, as we have before observed, it is eminently a
circular and spherical number. They likewise denominated it
a demigoddess, as the anonymous writer informs us, not only
because it is the half of the decad which is a divine number,
but also because in its proper diagram it is arranged in the
middle.* And Didymus, or Didymaea, double, because it divides
the decad, which is otherwise indivisible, into two parts.
But they called it, he adds, immortal and Pallas, from containing
a representation of the fifth essence (ether, over which
Pallas presides).
+ Viz. it is in the middle of the series 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.