They called it "universe," because all things are arranged by it both in general and in particular, and because it is the most perfect boundary of number, in the sense that "decad" is, as it were, "receptacle," just as heaven is the receptacle of all things, they called it "heaven" and, among the Muses, "Ourania."" - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
On the Decad
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Hence the Pythagoreans in their theology called it sometimes "universe," sometimes "heaven," sometimes "all," sometimes "Fate" and "eternity," "power" and "trust" and "Necessity," "Atlas" and "unwearying," and simply "God" and "Phanes" and "sun."
They called it "universe," because all things are arranged by it both in general and in particular, and because it is the most perfect boundary of number, in the sense that "decad" is, as it were, "receptacle," just as heaven is the receptacle of all things, they called it "heaven" and, among the Muses, "Ourania."

— Iamblichus

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Hence the Pythagoreans in their theology called it sometimes "universe," sometimes "heaven," sometimes "all," sometimes "Fate" and "eternity," "power" and "trust" and "Necessity," "Atlas" and "unwearying," and simply "God" and "Phanes" and "sun."
They called it "universe," because all things are arranged by it both in general and in particular, and because it is the most perfect boundary of number, in the sense that "decad" is, as it were, "receptacle," just as heaven is the receptacle of all things, they called it "heaven" and, among the Muses, "Ourania."" in the context of "On the Decad" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Iamblichus" (Quotes, The Theology of Arithmetic: This work is often attributed to Iamblichus, and no other, but the attribution is not considered definite. Quotes listed here are from the translation by Robin Waterfield (1988). The Theology of Arithmetic : On the Mystical, Mathematical and Cosmological Symbolism of the First Ten Numbers. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press. . (Theologumena arithmeticae: ad rarissimum exemplum Parisiense emendatius descripta - 1817 Latin text online)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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Iamblichus

About Iamblichus

Iamblichus of Chalcis or Iamblichus Chalcidensis (Ἰάμβλιχος; c. 245 – c. 325) was a Greek Neoplatonic philosopher from Syria who heavily influenced later Neoplatonism, and much of western pagan philosophy. He is most famous for his compendium on Pythagorean philosophy.