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a foreign woman to be married to him, but the one who refused to judge a mother. 4.60 On the tenth day before the Kalends of April is the purification of the trumpet and movement of the arms, and honors of Ares and Nerine, a goddess so called in the Sabine tongue, whom they considered to be Athena or even Aphrodite; for *nerine* is courage and the Sabines call courageous men *nerones*. and Homer shows that she leads in wars with Ares, saying: but all these things will be a care to swift Ares and Athena. For those who think Nerine is Aphrodite are mistaken, and Homer is a witness here too: To you, my child, have not been given the works of war. 4.61 Philippus says that on the ninth day before the Kalends of April the Hyades set with a south wind, but Metrodorus says they rise. On the eighth day before the Kalends is the vernal equinox. 4.62 That a *psalis* is a type of building having the shape of a half-cylinder. 4.63 That Demeter is the foundress of a city as if she were the earth; whence they also depict her as tower-bearing. and the earth is also called Cybele from the cubic shape in geometry, because of its stability and steadiness; even if the Stoics define it as spherical. 4.64 April. Since the first month, as we said, according to the pre-eminence of the monad was dedicated to the honors of the intelligible beings, it is fitting that the one after it, that is the second, which the Romans in their ancestral way call February, according to the infinity of the number was set apart for Pluto and the chthonic deities. And they call him Hades; for the dyad is formless and indefinite, whence he is said to be king of the formless and of those who have departed from the divine. Rightly, then, Philolaus says the dyad is the consort of Cronus, whom one might call, according to the obvious, Time. And the dyad is joined to time as to the cause of corruption; and she happens to be the mother of fluid substance. And the third, that is March, whether because it is the first odd number, or because Ares is their ancestral god, they dedicated to this order of number; for the triad is the beginning of number. so it is not without philosophy that they join Ares to Aphrodite; for when the monad joined with the dyad the first number was born, which is called perfect by some, because it is the first to signify all things, and the first to show beginning, middle, and end; for it is the image of a plane and the first substance in triangles; for there are three kinds of them: equilateral, isosceles, scalene. And the fourth, which they name April, according to the nature of the elements they dedicated to the fourth number, that is, to Aphrodite; for the nature of the whole sensible world is from four elements, and this, according to the natural philosophers, would be Aphrodite. This, then, is the first square number and the tetractys, but indeed it was also the first to show solid nature; for there is point, then line, then surface, then solid, which is body. and from four the ... of ... they dedicated the fourth number to Aphrodite, that is, to the nature of things. But why it seemed good to the Romans to name the fourth month thus, I shall state briefly; but for now, as was previously promised, I will discuss a few things concerning the theory of Aphrodite. The natural philosophers, therefore, wish Aphrodite to be the season of spring; and this would be the sun in Taurus; and they make her turn away from Ares, as we said, the month of Ares—this would be March—, but attach herself to Adonis, that is, to May, during which the birds already sing of spring; and that he was killed by Ares who had changed into a boar, just as spring is destroyed by summer; for the nature of the boar is hot and the mythographers take it to stand for summer. Or as it seems to others, Adonis is the fruit, and Ares is the boar; and this animal is hostile to the fruits, just as the ox is beneficial; and for this reason the Egyptians even now generally abstain from cattle, but make very great use of swine for food. But Euripides thinks she was named Aphrodite from making lovers mindless (*aphronas*). But Chrysippus thinks she is named not Dione but Didone

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ξένην γαμηθῆναι αὐτῷ, τὴν δὲ ἀπειποῦσαν κρῖναι μητέρα. 4.60 Τῇ πρὸ δέκα Καλενδῶν Ἀπριλίων καθαρμὸς σάλπιγγος καὶ κίνησις τῶν ὅπλων, καὶ τιμαὶ Ἄρεος καὶ Νερίνης, θεᾶς οὕτω τῇ Σαβίνων γλώσσῃ προσαγορευομένης, ἣν ἠξίουν εἶναι τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν ἢ καὶ Ἀφροδίτην· νερίνη γὰρ ἡ ἀνδρία ἐστὶ καὶ νέρωνας τοὺς ἀνδρείους οἱ Σαβῖνοι καλοῦσιν. αὐτὴν δὲ μετὰ Ἄρεος ἡγεῖσθαι τῶν πολέμων καὶ Ὅμηρος δείκνυσι λέγων· ταῦτα δ' Ἄρηι θοῷ καὶ Ἀθηνᾷ πάντα μελήσει. οἱ γὰρ Ἀφροδίτην εἶναι νομίζοντες τὴν Νερίνην πλανῶνται, καὶ μάρτυς κἀνταῦθα Ὅμηρος· οὔ τοι, τέκνον ἐμόν, δέδοται πολεμήϊα ἔργα. 4.61 Ὁ Φίλιππος δύεσθαι τῇ πρὸ ἐννέα Καλενδῶν Ἀπριλίων τὰς ὑάδας μετὰ νότου, ἀνίσχειν δὲ λέγει ὁ Μητρόδωρος. τῇ πρὸ ὀκτὼ Καλενδῶν ἰσημερία ἐαρινή. 4.62 Ὅτι ψαλίς ἐστιν οἰκοδομῆς εἶδος ἡμικυλίνδρου τὸ σχῆμα ἐχούσης. 4.63 Ὅτι ἡ ∆ημήτηρ πόλεώς ἐστι καταρκτικὴ οἱονεὶ ἡ γῆ· ὅθεν καὶ πυργοφόρον αὐτὴν γράφουσι. λέγεται δὲ καὶ Κυβέλη ἀπὸ τοῦ κυβικοῦ σχήματος κατὰ γεωμετρίαν ἡ γῆ, διὰ τὸ βάσιμόν τε καὶ στάσιμον· εἰ καὶ σφαιρικὴν οἱ Στωϊκοὶ ταύτην ὁρίζονται. 4.64 Ἀπρίλιος. Τοῦ πρώτου μηνός, ὡς ἐλέγομεν, κατὰ τὴν τῆς μονάδος ἐξοχὴν ταῖς τιμαῖς τῶν νοητῶν ἀνατεθέντος, εἰκότως ὁ μετ' αὐτὸν τουτέστιν ὁ δεύτερος, ὃν πατρίως Ῥωμαῖοι Φεβρουάριον καλοῦσι, κατὰ τὸ ἄπειρον τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ Πλούτωνι καὶ τοῖς καταχθονίοις ἀφωρίσθη. Ἀΐδην δὲ αὐτὸν καλοῦσιν· ἡ γὰρ δυὰς ὡς ἀνείδεος καὶ ἀοριστός ἐστιν, ὅθεν αὐτὸς τῶν ἀειδῶν καὶ ἀπόστασιν ἀπὸ τῶν θείων ἐσχηκότων βασιλεὺς εἶναι λέγεται. ὀρθῶς οὖν ὁ Φιλόλαος τὴν δυάδα Κρόνου σύνευνον εἶναι λέγει, ὃν κατὰ τὸ προφανὲς χρόνον ἄν τις εἴποι. συνάπτεται δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ ἡ δυὰς ὡς τῆς φθορᾶς αἰτίῳ· μήτηρ δὲ αὐτὴ τυγχάνει τῆς ῥευστῆς οὐσίας. τὸν δὲ τρίτον, τουτέστι τὸν Μάρτιον, εἴτε κατὰ τὸν πρῶτον περιττόν, εἴτε ὡς πάτριον θεὸν τὸν Ἄρην, εἰς τοῦτο τάξεως ἀριθμοῦ ἀνέθεντο· ἡ γὰρ τριὰς ἀρχὴ ἀριθμοῦ· ὥστε οὐκ ἔξω φιλοσοφίας τὸν Ἄρεα ζευγνύουσι τῇ Ἀφροδίτῃ· τῇ γὰρ δυάδι συνελθούσης μονάδος πρῶτος ἀριθμὸς ἐτέχθη, ὃς καλεῖται ὑπ' ἐνίων τέλειος, ὅτι πρῶτος τὰ πάντα σημαίνει, καὶ πρῶτος ἔδειξεν ἀρχὴν μέσα τέλος· εἰκὼν γάρ ἐστιν ἐπιπέδου καὶ πρώτη ὑπόστασις ἐν τριγώνοις· τρία γὰρ αὐτῶν γένη· ἰσόπλευρον ἰσοσκελὲς σκαληνόν. τὸν δὲ τέταρτον, ὅν Ἀπρίλιον ὀνομάζουσι, κατὰ τὴν τῶν στοιχείων φύσιν τῷ τετάρτῳ ἀριθμῷ ἀνέθεντο, τουτέστιν Ἀφροδίτῃ· ἡ γὰρ τοῦ παντὸς αἰσθητοῦ φύσις ἐκ τεσσάρων ἐστὶ στοιχείων, αὕτη δ' ἂν εἴη κατὰ τοὺς φυσιολόγους Ἀφροδίτη. πρῶτος οὖν τετράγωνος ἀριθμὸς οὗτος καὶ τετρακτύς, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ πρῶτος ἔδειξε τὴν στερεὰν φύσιν· σημεῖον γάρ, εἶτα γραμμή, εἶτα ἐπιφάνεια, εἶτα στερεόν, ὅ ἐστι σῶμα. ἐκ τεσσάρων δὲ ἡ τοῦ ..... τέταρτον ἀριθμὸν Ἀφροδίτῃ τουτέστι τῇ φύσει τῶν πραγμάτων ἀνέθεντο. ἀνθ' ὅτου δὲ οὕτως ἔδοξε Ῥωμαίοις τὸν τέταρτον ὀνομάσαι μῆνα, διὰ βραχέων ἐρῶ· τέως δὲ κατὰ τὸ πρόσθεν ἐπηγγελμένον ὀλίγα ἄττα περὶ τῆς κατὰ Ἀφροδίτην θεωρίας διαλήψομαι. οἱ φυσικοὶ τοιγαροῦν τὸν ἐαρινὸν εἶναι καιρὸν τὴν Ἀφροδίτην βούλονται· οὗτος δ' ἂν εἴη ὁ ἐν ταύρῳ ἥλιος· καὶ ἀποστρεφομένην αὐτὴν τὸν Ἄρεα ποιοῦσιν, ὡς ἐλέγομεν, τὸν Ἄρεος μῆνα-οὗτος δ' ἂν εἴη ὁ Μάρτιος-, προστιθεμένην δὲ τῷ Ἀδώνιδι, τουτέστι τῷ Μαΐῳ, καθ' ὃν ἤδη καὶ ἐαρίζει τὰ ὄρνεα· τοῦτον δὲ ἀναιρεθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἄρεος μεταβληθέντος εἰς ὗν, οἱονεὶ τὸ ἔαρ ὑπὸ τοῦ θέρους ἀναιρεῖσθαι· θερμὴ γὰρ ἡ φύσις τοῦ ὑὸς καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ θέρους αὐτὸν οἱ μυθικοὶ λαμβάνουσιν. ἢ ὡς ἄλλοις δοκεῖ, Ἄδωνις μέν ἐστιν ὁ καρπός, Ἄρης δὲ ὁ σῦς· πολέμιον δὲ τὸ ζῶον τοῖς καρποῖς, ὥσπερ σωτήριος βοῦς· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Αἰγύπτιοι ἔτι καὶ νῦν βοῶν μὲν ὡς ἐπίπαν ἀπέχονται, τοῖς δὲ ὑείοις ὡς μάλιστα πρὸς ἐδωδὴν κατακέχρηνται. Εὐριπίδης δὲ Ἀφροδίτην αὐτὴν ἀξιοῖ ὀνομασθῆναι ἐκ τοῦ ἄφρονας τοὺς ἐρῶντας ἀποτελεῖν. ὁ δὲ Χρύσιππος οὐ ∆ιώνην ἀλλὰ ∆ιδόνην αὐτὴν ὀνομάζεσθαι ἀξιοῖ