Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 25.djvu/560

 546 of the Church to corroborate the faith, to wit: St. Augustine, Gregory, Hieronymus, and St. Ambrose.

"Five is a number of great convenience and utility; for, first, the Creator created five simple bodies, to wit: the sky, fire, air, water, and earth. And never have more of regular bodies that have equal bases been found. Then, for our use, the Creator has given us five natural senses, to wit: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. And five fingers on the hand, and five toes on the foot. And to redeem us has suffered five wounds on the cross, and in all the surface of the earth there are five zones, according to Sacrobosco in his sphere.

"Six is the first and most worthy of the perfect numbers. Because in its composition three aliquot parts put together make their whole: as 3, 2, and 1, which are its $1/2$, its $1/3$, and its $1/6$. Which put together amount to 6, which is their whole. There is another perfection, because it is a circular number. For, in making a circle, with a compass, the circumference of the circle contains just six times the span of the compass; as when one should put one of the feet of the said compass on the circumference of the said circle, and should turn the said compass to six times on the said circumference. At the sixth time the said foot of the compass would return to its first point. And because it returns always in itself. Et semperidem ipse est (and it is always the same). There is also another perfection, because there are six transcendent principles, to wit: one, good, true, thing, something, and being. And for these great perfections and dignities, the Creator regards it in his works, for he created everything in six days. Therefore ought it to be named the very perfect among the perfect numbers. So has St. Augustine said in the thirtieth chapter of the second book 'De Civitate Dei.'

"Seven is a number of great prerogative and singularity, as St. Augustine says in the thirty-first chapter of the aforesaid book. Because of its composition which is triple, for first it is composed of 1 and of 6, which are of so great perfection as is said above. Or of 3 and 4, which are of so great dignity and estimation. Or of 2 and 5, which are of so great utility and commodity. And because in its composition it contains so many numbers worthy, perfect, and of great excellence. God, the Creator, regards it in his most admirable works. For he has created seven planets, seven metals, seven colors, and seven tastes. And when he had created everything in six days, he rested on the seventh, which is a thing of great mystery. There are, therefore, seven days in the week. There are seven principal virtues, to wit: three divine, and four cardinal. There are seven other virtues against the seven mortal sins. There are seven works of bodily mercy and seven works of spiritual mercy. There are seven sacraments. There are seven orders in the holy church. There are seven ages of man. There are seven windows through which the ordinary senses are exercised: the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, and the