vertues. For it is no wonder, seeing there are so many, and so great occult vertues in naturall things, although of manifest openations, that there should be in numbers much greater, and more occult, and also more wonderfull, and efficacious, for as much as they are more formall, more perfect, and naturally in the celestialls, not mixt with separated substances; and lastly, having the greatest, and most simple commixtion with the Idea's in the mind of God, from which they receive their proper, and most efficacious vertues: wherefore also they are of more force, and conduce most to the obtaining of spirituall, and divine gifts, as in naturall things, elementary qualities are powerfull in the transmuting of any elementary thing. Again, all things that are, and are made, subsist by, and receive their vertue from numbers. For time consists of number, and all motion, and action, and all things which are subject to time, and motion.
Harmony also, and voices have their power by, and consist of numbers, and their proportions, and the proportions arising from numbers, do by lines, and points make Characters, and figures: And these are proper to Magicall operations, the middle which is betwixt both being appropriated by declining to the extreams, as in the use of letters. And lastly, all species of naturall things, and of those things which are above nature, are joyned together by certain numbers: which Pythagoras seeing, saith, that number is that by which all things consist, and distributes each vertue to each number. And Proclus saith, Number hath alwaies a being: Yet there is one in voyce, another in the proportion of them, another in the soul, and reason, and another in divine things. But Themistius, and Boethius, and Averrois the Babilonian, together with Plato, do so extoll numbers, that they think no man can be a true Philosopher without them. Now they speak of a rationall, and formall number, not of a materiall, sensible, or vocall, the number of Merchants buying, and selling, of which the Pythagoreans, and Platonists, and our Austin make no reckoning, but apply it to the proportion resulting from it, which number they call naturall, rationall, and formall, from which great mysteries
