Numerology

During the Renaissance, many people attached symbolic meanings to different numbers. Authors made use of this symbolism in the structure of their works—that is, their division into books and chapters, verses and lines. They also created patterns of numbers by repeating certain words, phrases, and images. Readers saw these patterns as pointing to hidden meanings beyond the actual content of the text.

The study of numbers dates back to ancient Greece, where philosophers often explained their views of reality in terms of numbers and the relationships between them. The philosopher PLATO, for example, noted that certain ratios between numbers determined which notes of the scale would harmonize with each other. He considered a 2-to-1 ratio ideal because it produced the most perfect harmony, the octave. He called this ratio a diapason. He saw this and other ratios formed by combining the first seven numbers as expressing the harmony of the world.

Thinkers of the Middle Ages and Renaissance attached Christian beliefs to the classical* tradition of giving meaning to numbers and ratios. They linked Plato's seven numbers, for example, with the seven days of creation described in the Bible. They also saw meaning in certain numbers found within the Bible, such as 33 (Christ's age at the time of his death) and 42 (the number of generations from Abraham to Jesus). Such Christianized number symbolism figured prominently in the works of many Renaissance philosophers.

Some Renaissance writers structured their works according to key numbers and ratios. In John MILTON's poem "At a Solemn Musick," changes in rhyme and sentence structure break the poem's 28 lines into units of 16, 8, and 4 lines. This double diapason reflects the heavenly harmony that is the subject of the poem. The poem Epithalamion, by Edmund SPENSER, contains 24 stanzas, each corresponding to one hour of the day. Its structure is so precise that in the poem, night arrives after 16 and one-quarter stanzas, exactly when it would fall in a 24-hour period. Authors could also use words to form patterns and ratios—for example, by repeating images of the sun at certain places throughout a verse or, in a longer work, presenting parallel scenes in the first and final sections.

Within the system of numerology, the same number could have many possible meanings. Also, a given meaning of a number could be either a positive or a negative sign within a work. Readers had to rely on the content of the writing to show which reading the author intended. The use of numbers to express hidden meanings made the structure of a work a vehicle for Renaissance writers' wit.