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I forwarded Otfried's message concerning David Howlett's discussion of mathematical and musical ratios in prose in biblical style to the fountainhead, and he asked if I could transmit the following: It is a pleasure to read in messages forwarded from friends on this network that Otfried has referred to titles of one's books. The pleasure would be more intense if some of one's views were represented correctly. Howlett does not despise numerology. He simply distinguishes the fact of composition in mathematical forms, such as the ratios 1:1, 2:1, ex- treme and mean ratio, 3:2, 4:3, 9:8, from what some exegetes might think the mathematical forms 'mean', and discusses only the former. He denies that his analyses are 'at odds with exegetic practice' and does not 'mind that the exegetical sources ... never mention and confirm' his understanding of Biblical style. There are, for example, poets like Columbanus of Saint Trond who tell their readers exactly how to compose adonic verses, but such poets are not at odds with those who compose adonic verses without explicit reference to what they are doing. There are long traditions of exegesis of Vergil's poetry and of imitation of the same poetry. Though the exegetes are seldom identical with the poets they are not at odds with them. They do not attempt, however, to do the same things, and it would be more than a little foolish to deny the mani- fest evidence that fifty poetic imitators were reproducing a Vergilian phenomenon because no exegete had stated explicitly that they were doing it. Nicht wahr? _____________ I'll bow out as intermediary now; anyone interested can contact him at: [log in to unmask] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Bonnie Blackburn 67 St Bernard's Road Oxford OX2 6EJ tel. 01865 552808 fax 01865 512237 e-mail: [log in to unmask] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%