On Nicomachus's Introduction to Arithmetic

IAMBLICHUS

moving [things]. Since the subjects concerned are related, it is reasonable to consider these sciences as related as well, so that one does not ignore the Archytan original: "ταῦτα γὰρ τὰ μαθήματα δοκοῦντι εἶμεν ἀδελφά" for these sciences seem to be siblings, but rather to consider them as holding onto one another like the links of a chain, and, as the most divine Plato says, to unite them into a single bond. It is fitting that the kinship of these sciences becomes manifest to the one who learns them in the proper way. He who has grasped all these things in such a way as he himself proposes, he calls this person the most truly wise, and he jokingly asserts that these sciences are worthy of being pursued and chosen above all else, whether they be difficult or easy, recommending them to those who are eager to philosophize. And this is very reasonable, if the grasp of the continuous and the discrete comes only through these, and both the cosmos and everything in it are composed of the continuous and the discrete. For the precise grasp of quantity is wisdom, and philosophy is the longing for wisdom, and philosophy, of all arts and sciences, alone secures for man his proper and natural end and leads him to the happiness which, among all other living beings, is appropriate to him alone and is naturally pursued as his most purposeful end. Of these four sciences, arithmetic seems to take the lead...