The Theology of Arithmetic

VI

PREFACE.

...as if I were giving them as though purchased at my own expense, since not only I, but together with me all learned men and students of good disciplines, must acknowledge that the public sharing of this work is thanks to your kindness original: "humanitas"; here referring to the cultured refinement and generosity expected of a Renaissance gentleman., so that everyone may know and understand not only the inclination of your mind toward goodwill, but also your magnificence magnificentia: In the Renaissance humanist sense, this refers to the noble and generous use of wealth and influence for the public good. for the common utility of the entire literary world res literaria: Often called the "Republic of Letters," this refers to the international community of scholars and the collective body of learning., and for that reason follow you with worthy praise and honors; since individually, if you look at each person, no one could return a gratitude equal to the profound height of your soul: so that you may be further incited more eagerly to complete that which you are constantly contemplating. Induced therefore by this purpose, I wished for this book to come forth into the light from my workshop under the patronage of your name, both so that students, moved by your authority, might receive it more eagerly and not think it should be rejected before they had come to know it, and also because the sublimity of the subject matter itself not undeservedly required the protection patrocinium: A formal system of patronage where a person of high status provided social or financial backing for a scholarly work. of such a great person.

For although the method of calculation supputandi ratio: Practical arithmetic used for business, trade, or civil administration. may have greater use in the exchange of civil affairs, it is nevertheless not to be esteemed more worthy than this divine theory of numbers numerorum ratio: The philosophical or theoretical study of mathematics, which was seen as a way to understand the divine order of the universe., so that—

The following list provides the core concepts used in this section: kindness/humanity, magnificence/generosity, the world of letters/scholarship, patronage/protection, the method of calculation, and the theory of numbers.