ROBERT FLUDD’S COMPARISON OF OBJECTS AND NUMBERS
IMAGE: An illustration from Robert Fludd‘s masterwork Utriusque Cosmi, first published between 1617 and 1621, which features in the chapter on “Universal Arithmetic”. It comes with the title “A Description of the Numbers” and explores the resonance of certain numbers with their counterparts in the physical world of objects. If you are wondering why a donkey is used to signify zero, Fludd helpfully provides an explanation, the “zero signifies a donkey, because (as they say) the donkey is of no use”.
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