On the Dyad

They also gave it the title of "opinion," because truth and falsity lie in opinion. And they called it "movement," "generation," "change," "division," "length," "multiplication," "addition," "kinship," "relativity," "the ratio in proportionality." For the relation of two numbers is of every conceivable form.

— Iamblichus

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "They also gave it the title of "opinion," because truth and falsity lie in opinion. And they called it "movement," "generation," "change," "division," "length," "multiplication," "addition," "kinship," "relativity," "the ratio in proportionality." For the relation of two numbers is of every conceivable form." in the context of "On the Dyad" 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
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.