r/astrology • u/Necessary_Wait_2672 • 21d ago

Books & Resources The Tediousness in Mathesis

Anyone else find Maternus’ verbosity to be tedious to read or is just me? I mean, I’m very familiar with the ornate translations of Thomas Taylor on many texts but this is kind of exhausting.

To those who have finished it, how much astrological improvement did you gain from reading this to completion as opposed to just being well read in Brennan’s and George’s tomes?

Mind you, I’ve read Porphyry, Paulus, Valens, and Dorotheus.

To be clear, I’m not referring to the difficulty of the text—it is not hard to understand. I’m referring to the excessively flowery language. Maternus’ style does not get to the point quickly. I know some might like that and that’s okay. I’m mainly asking those who prefer a more concise style.

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u/slowtrees 19d ago

honestly you don't need to finish it cover to cover. the parts that actually changed how i read charts were the book II delineations on overcoming squares and the superior vs inferior square distinction, and Dykes flags in the footnotes where Firmicus diverges from Valens and Paulus, so i'd just read those chapters and skip the rest.

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u/Necessary_Wait_2672 19d ago

Nice. So the bits on superior vs inferior squares are worth the time and effort. And hopefully that can generalize to the other aspects. Thanks.

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u/_astrologyexalted_ 20d ago

I personally would recommend Benjamin Dykes's translation of the Mathesis. Honestly his foot notes alone make it worth it. He goes into great detail if there are any discrepancies in the translation and it's just a LOVELY translation all in all. I know the language can seem a bit difficult but it's well worth it. Firmicus's delineations involving overcoming squares vs. inferior squares is INVALUABLE in my personal opinion.

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u/Necessary_Wait_2672 19d ago edited 19d ago

That’s what I’m reading. It’s not that it’s difficult, it’s that it’s boring. My post did not refer to difficulty at all. It referred to the excessive style.

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u/_astrologyexalted_ 19d ago

Up to you if you stick it out, but it would be a shame to miss it. Like I said, regardless of the verbosity, the book is well worth it for technique alone. It's your decision if it's worth your time.

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u/Necessary_Wait_2672 19d ago

Another vote for the superior vs inferior square distinction. This sounds doable. Appreciate it.

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u/SuccessfulRemove6207 19d ago

came here for something unrelated and ended up reading this whole thread, glad i did because it cleared up a lot