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76 ST. AUGUSTINE with individuals privately, another thing for it to be mindful of the whole of mankind publicly. For all those who have achieved true wisdom as individuals have been illumined by the same truth in accord with the opportunity of their own respective periods of life. This Truth has assumed humanity at mankind's opportune age in order that the whole of mankind might become wise. 45. AGAINST THE MATHEMA TICIANS (1) The ancients did not mean by the term mathematician those to whom we now give the name. Rather, they used the term for those who investigated the measure and harmony of the times by the movement of the heavens and the stars.! Concerning the latter the Holy Scriptures quite rightly say: "Nor, again, ought these to be excused. For if they were able to know so much that they could prize the created order,2 how have they not mo~e readily found its Lord?"3 For the human ,mind, in passing judgement on visible things, can know that it itself is better than everything visible . Nonetheless, when the mind confesses that it too is changeable because of its failure and success in wisdom, it finds that above itself exists an unchangeable truth. Clinging to Truth itself in the manner of the psalmist: "My soul has youth refers to the strength and fervor of faith 'which is at work through love' (Gal 5.6), but what was said of old age, to the number of years. Both, in fact, can be understood of all men taken together, but they cannot both be understood of the ages of individual men. Youth and old age cannot be the body simultaneously, but they can both be in the mind [animal-youth because of its liveliness, old age because of its seriousness. ' , Further remarks about the ages of mankind can be found below in QQ. 53.1; 58.2; and 64.2. Although Augustine uses only the term mathematicus throughout this Q., he discusses two senses of the term, one being "mathematician" and the other being "astrologer." He is concerned to discuss both kinds of mathematicus, for in the first part of the Q. he deals with mathematici who are "mathematicians," whereas in the second he deals with mathematici who are "astrologers." However, it would seem that the astrologers are those whom he is most concerned to criticize. 2 saeculum. 3 Wis 13.8-9. QUESTION 45 77 clung to you,' '4 the mind achieves happiness, even discovering within itself the Creator and Lord of all things visible.5 The mind accomplishes this without an external quest for visible things, not even celestial things, which either are not discovered or are discovered to no purpose after great effort, unless from the beauty of these celestial things which exist outside the mind there be discovered the artist who is within and who causes first the superior beauties of the soul and then the inferior beauties of physical things. (2) However, against those who are presently called by the name mathematician, who wish to subject our activities to the heavenly bodies and to sell us to the stars and to collect from us that price for which we are sold, there can be no more accurate and quicker a response than the following. They do not yield a return unless the constellations are interpreted .6 However, in the constellations one observes parts such as the three hundred and sixty which, so they say, the circle of the zodiac has. Moreover, the movement of the heavens through one hour of time traverses fifteen parts or degrees of the zodiac, so that the movement of the heavens through fifteen degrees of the zodiac equals one hour of time. As for the individual degrees, they are said to have sixty minutes. However, [the mathematicians1do not ascertain in the constellations from which they say that they predict the future the' 'minutes of the minutes," i.e., the seconds, 4 Ps 62(63).9. 5 Compare this and the preceding two sentences with Augustine's proof for the existence of God in DLA 2.3.7-15.39 (PL 32.1243-62). 6 nihil uerius et breuius dici potest, quam eos non respondere, nisi acceptis constellationibus . This sentence is difficult to interpret. For one thing, it is not clear how far the "accurate and quick response" extends. Does it extend to the end of the sentence or to the end of the paragraph? In my translation, I...

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