CHAPTER 3

THE INTERVALS AND HARMONY OF THE SPHERES

Pythagoras (says Censorinus) asserted that this whole world is made according to musical proportion; and that the seven planets between Heaven and the Earth, which govern the nativities of mortals, have a harmonious motion. And they have Intervals correspondent to musical Diastemes, and render various sounds according to their several heights so consonant that they make most sweet melody. But to us these sounds are inaudible by reason of the greatness of the noise, which the narrow passage of our ears is not capable to receive.676

For as Eratosthenes determined that the largest circumference of the Earth is 252,000 stadia; so Pythagoras declared how many stadia there are between the Earth and every star. In this measure of the world, we are to understand the Italic stadium, which consists of 625 feet. (For there are others of a different length, such as the Olympic of 600 feet, and the Pythic of 500.) From the Earth therefore to the Moon, Pythagoras conceived to be about 12,600 stadia. And that distance, according to musical proportion, is a tone. From the Moon to Mercury (who is called [“twinkling”]) half as much, as it were a hemitone. From thence to Phosphorus, which is the star Venus, almost as much, that is, another hemitone. From thence to the Sun, twice as much, as it were a tone and a half. Thus the Sun is distant from the Earth three tones and a half, which is called diapente; from the Moon, two and a half, which is diatessaron. From the Sun to Mars, who is called [“Fire”], there is the same interval as from Earth to the Moon, which makes a tone; from thence to Jupiter, who is called [“radiant”], half as much, which makes a hemitone. From there to the Supreme Heaven where the signs are is a hemitone also. So that the diasteme from the Supreme Heaven to the Sun is diatessaron, that is, two tones and a half: from the same Heaven to the top of the Earth six tones, a diapason concord. Moreover he referred to other stars many things which the masters of music treat of, and showed that all this world is Enharmonic. Thus Censorinus. But Pliny, delivering this opinion of Pythagoras, reckons seven tones from the Earth to the Supreme Heaven; for whereas Censorinus accounts for a hemitone from Saturn to the Zodiac, Pliny makes it sesquiduple.677

Intervals and harmony of the spheres From Thomas Stanley, The History of Philosophy (slightly modified)