Against those who say the soul is number
Pythagoras loved to speak of God and the world in numbers, and he pictured the soul as a self-moving number; Xenocrates followed. The point is not that soul equals a numeral, but that soul works among countable, many things, sorting them by form. Quantity is what number is; substance is what soul is — so soul is not number. Number breaks into discrete units; soul holds together. Number is even or odd; soul is neither. Add units and number grows; soul does not grow by addition. Soul moves itself; a fixed number does not. A number keeps one nature and cannot trade qualities; the soul stays one substance while passing from ignorance to knowledge and from vice to virtue. Therefore the soul is not number.
Greek
Πυϑαγόρας δὲ συμβολικῶς εἰκάξειν ἀεὶ μπα σε. τ, Γρ πος Ἠρμ κοὶό παὶ τὸν Θεὸν καὶ πάντα τοῖς αριϑμοῖς εἰωθὼς, ὑμίσατο καὶ τὴν ψυχὲνν ἀριϑμὸν ἑαυτὸν κινοῦντα, ᾧ καὶ Ξενοκράπης Γκολούϑησεν. οὐχ ὅτι ἀριϑμός ἐστιν καὶ ψυχὴ, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι ἐν τοῖς ἀριϑμητοῖς ἐστι, καὶ ἐν τεῖς πεπληϑυσμένοις, καὶ ὅτι καὶ ψυχή ἐστιν ἡ διακρίουσα τὰ πράγματα, τῷ μορφὰς καὶ τύπους ἑκάστοις ἐπιβάλλειν. αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν, ἡ τὰ εἴδη ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδῶν χωρίζυσα, καὶ διάφορα αὐτὰ ἀποφαίνευσα, τῇ τε ἑτερότητι τῶν εἰδῶν καὶ τῷ πλήϑει ΥΑΚ, ΕΟΤ. ἘΤ ΑΝΊΜΑΣΥ. ἀρκεῖ ταῦτα 1 εἐρκεῖ καὶ ταῦτα. Ὁ... Α. α. 3. Μ. τ. αρκεῖ τ ταῦτα. ᾽Νῖς, Α. 1. Ένρο οἳ πῖον. αἲ ογεο, ροΐτεα γο]ιἠτ αι]άογο καί. ᾿Ἀρκεῖ δὲ ταῦτα. Ν. Ηπκὲ κ πιμἰες ΛΗ ἴαμε. ΝᾺ Όσο νἱάσιητ 1εμὐγίο: εἰρκούντως δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἐκ πολλῶν ἀποδειξειε. Ναπι α ρεἰποιρίο αἠάῑι ζᾱ͵ ππεπι εἲ ἰη πε παει: νεὶ παος εκ πιη]εὶς αὐυπάο ἂςἀπνπ ]ο ἰπ ]α. ηιἱ ρεπίίαπι παζοπῖν τἰάεηιιις ]οσ) ε. Νανη καὶ αὐεῖε. Α.
About this text
Nemesius of Emesa, On Human Nature — tip densify (soul arguments) from Wither 1636 Greek OCR.
English densified from locked Wither 1636 OCR Greek for tip sections 1.1–3.1; apparatus stripped; OCR damage disclosed.
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.