And to which class do unity and number belong?
I do not know, he replied.
Thought is aroused by the contradiction of the one and many. Think a little and you will see that what has preceded will supply the answer; for if simple unity could be adequately perceived by the sight or by any other sense, then, [E]as we were saying in the case of the finger, there would be nothing to attract towards being; but when there is some contradiction always present, and one is the reverse of one and involves the conception of plurality, then thought begins to be aroused within us, and the soul perplexed and wanting to arrive at a decision asks ‘What is absolute unity?’ This [525]is the way in which the study of the one has a power of drawing and converting the mind to the contemplation of true being.
And surely, he said, this occurs notably in the case of one; for we see the same thing to be both one and infinite in multitude?
Yes, I said; and this being true of one must be equally true of all number? 227
Certainly.
And all arithmetic and calculation have to do with number?
Yes.
[B] And they appear to lead the mind towards truth?
Yes, in a very remarkable manner.