time that death is usually spoken of as "a dissolution into
the five elements," or a "going over into the Five." Professor von
Schroeder's conclusion is that Pythagorean philosophy derived the
elemental divisions from India as well as its doctrine of
transmigration, etc., and its science of geometry and of number,
mentioning, in support of the latter assertion, the fact that
Samkya, the name of the ancient Indian school of philosophy,
signifies "number," that its followers were therefore designated as
"philosophers or teachers of numbers." At the same time I point out
that, according to Oliver, "a large portion of Egyptian philosophy
and religion was constructed almost wholly upon the science of
numbers and we are assured by Kircher (Oedip. Egypt, II, 2) that
everything in nature was explained on this principle alone."

Returning to Professor von Schroeder's work I refer the reader to
pp. 59 and 65, and notes for an extremely interesting discussion of
the Greek name of the fifth element that figures in the work of
Philolaus, the first who wrote a treatise on the Pythagorean system
of philosophy. The name employed has been deciphered by different
authorities as {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH DASIA AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, or {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH DASIA AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}. The
interpretation given is that the name (the first syllable of which
recurs in the word Olympus) signified "that which moves or carries
with it the universe." Professor von Sch