Whither Eight? "No position is so absurd that a philosopher cannot be found to argue for it." Michael Lockwood "A man can get agreements from everything around him." Caslos Castaneda. Journey to Ixtland, said by don Juan. "I am the one who becomes two, I am two who becomes four, I am four who becomes eight, I am the one after that." George Herbert Mead. Thrice Greatest Hemes I, 120. -------- eight: Middle English: eighte, Old English: eahta; cognate with Dutch/German: acht, Icelandic: atta, Gothic: ahtau, Latin: octo, Greek: oktol. -------- Oxygen's atomic number is 8 Radium's atomic number is 88 8 in binary numbers is 1000 8va indicates that the notes are to be played one octave higher than written. In music, a quaver is also known as an eighth note. A semiquaver is a sixteenth note. There are also thirty-second notes and sixty-fourth notes. (the same it true for rest values) -------- "To improvise an eight-part fugue is really beyond human capability." Hofstadter, D.R. Godel, Escher, Bach. -------- "On chemical calculations the equivalent weight, 8, is handiest." Asimov, Isaac (in a discussion on Bach) -------- " ... the law of octaves (there are seven notes to an octave in music, the eighth note being almost a duplicate of the first note and beginning a new octave)." Asimov, Isaac. -------- " ... eight after seven signifies eternity after mutability. (this is in accord with the doctrine of the eighth age after judgment, when we shall be with God in eternity after our stay on earth, which was subject to the planetary 7-day week)" [Exegetica. ch. XV] pg. 29 [medieval] "Eight is the first cube (2x2x2) and is called Vulcan. It is perfect because it is covered by (tegitur) the perfect six, for a cube has six surfaces." pg. 34. "After death it [the soul] reascends, reaching at last the Eighth Heaven. (i.e. the eighth sphere of the fixed stars) and enjoying eternal bliss. Dante's vision of the Church Triumphant occurs in the Eighth Heaven and the apotheosis of the church militant is seen on the eighth step of Purgatory." pg. 39 Number Symbolism. Butler, Christopher (NY: Barnes & Noble, 1970) -------- "The Thousand Songs of Thebes (ca. 1300 BC), although containing but 28 poems is divided into chapters numbered 1 to 10, then 20, 30, and so on, to 100, then the hundreds to Chapter 1000, which is actually the twenty-eighth chapter. Each member of the dead is thereby repeated 3 times and the contents of Chapter 80, for example, will be found to refer to the sanctity of the number 8." [Erman, The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians, pp. 293-302.] pg. 9 [lots of 7 this and 7 that ... then ... ] "Though doubtless unknown to Dante, this ancient conception was the ultimate plan for the construction of the 7 ledges of the mount of Purgatory. The 7 steps mark successive stages of purification, to be rewarded by the vision of the Earthly Paradise at the summit, or eighth step. Here, as in most instances, the survival of the idea is more important than the survival of any particular legend. The conception of 7 steps to perfection was a common medieval notion, whether by the 7 arts or the 7 virtues or, more specifically, the 7 steps or stages of contemplation." "The early conception of the 7 steps received astrological amplification in the belief in the descent of the soul through the planetary spheres, acquiring its abilities and faults from the stars. After death it reascends, returning to each planet the passions and dispositions appropriate to it and reaching at last the eighth Heaven - the one beyond 7 - to enjoy eternal bliss. This became sound enough astrology to justify Dante allocating (symbolically), in a similar fashion, the souls of the blessed to the several planets in the Paradiso. The culminating vision of Church Triumphant (which actually includes all the others), appears in the eighth heaven, just as the apotheosis of Church Militant was seen on the eighth step of Purgatory." pp. 18-19 "These few, among the unnumbered heptads which fill the pages of the Old Testament, witness the enthusiasm with which the Israelites received the number lore which perhaps Abram brought from "Ur of the Chaldess." [Gen. 15:7] The Hebrews amplified and solidified the importance of 7, and derived from it, apparently independently, the notion already seen of the sanctity of 8. For as in the 9-10 relationship and by the same reasoning which counts 7 times 7 years and hallows the fiftieth, 8 becomes a day of plenty after fasting, a day of purification after uncleanness, and, above all, it is the day of circumcision. For this reason the temple is sanctified in 8 days; and 8 sons are a sign of blessing to Abraham and Obed-edom. [II Chron.29:17] In the last instance, the sanctity of 8 is pointed. The sons of the porters are listed. Many have more than 8 sons. Yet we read that Obed-edom had 8 sons "for God blessed him." [I Chron. 6:5]" pg. 25 " ... 8 times any triangular number plus 1 equals a square." [A Manual of Greek Mathematics, T.L. Heath, pg 50] pg. 37 "Eight is the first cube, considered perfect by virtue of its 6 surfaces." [Questions and Solutions. III. Philo. pg. 49] and [Macrobius and Capella (both in Latin)] pg. 44 "In Hermetic theology as in the Old Testament, considerable importance is attached to the number eight. This Ogdoad is derived by the breaking down of the Ennead into one Chief God, Thoth, and eight minor attendant or warder gods. In the heavens Thoth is identified with the sun, and the necessary concomitant of eight other spheres is made up by adding to the remaining six planets the sphere of fixed stars and an earthly sphere. [Definitions of Asclepius] The influence of Pythagoreanism is seen not only in the separation of the one from the many, but in various extensions of the idea. An inscription of the twenty-second Dynasty reads, " I am the one who becomes two, I am two who becomes four, I am four who becomes eight, I am the one after that." [Mead]" "... the 36 Decas of the year are precisely drawn from the Pythagorean quaternary and incidentally proceed from the addition of the members of the Ogdoad (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8=36)" "A common practice of Gnosticism is seen in this constant effort to relate science and religion and to discover affinities between the spiritual and material worlds. A resemblance is proved merely by the identity of number, a practice which hints again at the number as a first principle. The Ogdoad is therefore found to be duplicated in the eight parts of the human body [The Perfect Sermon, XI, 3.] In astrology the eighth sphere is that of the fixed stars. [Definitions of Asclepius, 17] Theologically it is identified with Asclepius, the brother of the seven Administrators. Spiritually it is the goal of the initiate who has passed through the seven successive heavens. [Poimandres, I, 24-26] Thus in Egypt, as in Judea, eight becomes a symbol of Blessedness." pg. 55-56 Medieval Number Symbolism. Hopper, Vincent F. (NY: Columbia Press, 1938) -------- " ... since Christ rose on the eighth day, which is also the first day of the week, eight returns to unity. In other words, the eighth age of the reign of Christ will mark a return to the perfect diapason of the prelapsarian world, in which multiplicity is reconciled to unity, the res creata being one with God." Rostvig commentary on John Milton. -------- Eightfold Path, Buddhism. the eight pursuits of one seeking enlightenment, comprising right understanding, motives, speech, action, means of livelihood, effort, intellectual activity and contemplation. -------- Eightfold Way, Physics. a scheme for classifying hadrons according to a symmetry principle based on strangeness and isotopic spin: a forerunner of the quark model. [1925-30; so named because hadrons with low mass and spin form groups of eight; with jocular allusion to the Eightfold Way of Buddhism.] -------- eightfold noble path. The fundamental teaching of Sakyamuni Buddha; the path to liberation: 1. Right view: understanding the four noble truths and having penetrative insight into reality (emptiness) 2. Right thought: having only thoughts which are unselfish, loving, and nonviolent. 3. Right speech: abstention from lying, slander, harsh or abusive language, and idle chatter. [twaddle, sjb] 4. Right action: conducting oneself in a moral, peaceful and honorable ways, and keeping the basic precepts. 5. Right livelihood: living honorably by a profession which is in no way harmful to sentient beings and avoiding such livelihoods as trading in weapons, intoxicants, or poisons. 6. Right effort: following the four right efforts; ending existing evil, preventing new evil, causing new virtue, increasing existing virtue. 7. Right mindfulness: practicing the four mindfulnesses. 8. Right concentration: developing one's meditation according to the four dhyanas. eightfold liberation. Liberation from attachment to forms and desires through eight kinds of meditation. 1. Because of having an internal sensual desire for pleasant forms, the yogi meditates on external impure forms. 2. Having no internal desire for forms, the yogi meditates on external forms in order to stabilize the vision of impurities. 3. Since there is no impurity remaining, the yogi meditates on pure light of different colors. 4. The yogi meditates on endless space. 5. The yogi meditates on infinite consciousness. 6. The yogi meditates on nothing whatsoever. 7. The yogi meditates on neither conception nor nonconception. 8. The yogi experiences the cessation of conception and feeling. ... eight contemptible attributes [in a future life] 1. to be foolish 2. to be mute 3. to be short in stature 4. to have such ugly, distorted features that anyone who sees him laughs at him 5. to be born female and work as a poor servant 6. to be weak, emaciated, and die young 7. to be notorious instead of respected 8. not to encounter Buddhas. The great hells are: 1. the Reviving Hell, where after great suffering, the offender is cooled by a wind and revives, only to be tortured again. 2. the Black Rope Hell, where the sufferer is bound with black chains and chopped or saws asunder. 3. the Converging Hell 4. the Wailing Hell 5. the Great Wailing Hell 6. the Scorching Hell 7. the Great Scorching Hell 8. the Uninterrupted Hell, where suffering is continuous. Mahayana Sutra -------- 8 deliverances (vimokska) 8 discoursing (reasonings, vitarka) 8 great personages: = 8 holy persons 8 holy persons (arya-pudgala) 8-fold Path (marga) 8 precepts on the Sabbath 8 Stations of Mastery (Bases of Overcoming, abhibhr-ayatana) The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom. translated by Edward Conze, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975) -------- The universe consists of an infinite number of solar systems (Charkrawan), each depending on a central mountain named Phra Men, or Meru. Around this central mountain are eight circular belts of ocean, divided from each other by seven annular mountains (Satta Boriphan). Outside of all is an eighth ring of mountains, called the Crystal Walls of the World. pg. 12-13 The four highest degrees of saintship. The reference is to what are called "the four paths and the four fruits," or otherwise "the eight paths." pg. 170 The Wheel of the Law. (Taipei: Ch'eng Wen Publishing, 1971) see also pg. 14,197,199,202 -------- four winds. I Enoch 76: 1-4 refers to the twelve portals which open to the four quarters of the heaven form which proceed the winds. There are four winds of blessing and eight hurtful winds. Jubilees 2:2 and other texts mention angels who are in charge of these winds. [seven angels, bowls, churches, eyes, heads, hills sealed scroll, seals, spirits, stars, thunders, trumpers. [seventh heaven] Revelation. J. Massyngberde Ford (Grove City, NY: Doubleday & Co, Inc. 1975) -------- And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that the wind might not blow upon the earth or upon the sea or upon any tree. King James Bible, 1611. Rev. 7-1 -------- ... eight theriomorphic Ma-mo Goddesses or Phra-men-ma, who rule over the eight realms of awareness. Like the Eight Keurima, they belong to the thirteenth day of the bardo visions, and they are the wrathful counterparts to the eight Dakinis of the Bodhisattvas from the first cycle of peaceful deities. In contrast to the Keurima, the eight Phra-men-ma goddesses, although hu,man in form, have animals heads. Four of then have bird heads, and four animal heads: the animal-headed goddesses correspond to the four cardinal directions of the eight-petalled lotus, and the others to the intermediate directions. Secret Doctrines of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, pg 148. -------- Eight Days a Weeks, Beetles Eight Days on the Road, Foghat Eight Miles High, The Byrds ======== "One no longer loves one's insight enough, once one communicates it." Friedrich Nietzsche. sjb 8/8/1988 g8s