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According to Morris Kline, author of Mathematics for the Nonmathematician (1967):

Roman jurists ruled, under the Code of Mathematicians and Evil-Doers, that "to learn the art of geometry and to take part in public exercises, an art as damnable as mathematics, are forbidden."

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    Related: [Did Augustine of Hippo warn Christians to beware mathematicians?](https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/q/34756/11643) –  Feb 24 '21 at 16:50

2 Answers2

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No. They used a sentence that includes "mathematica" and condemns and forbids it, but they were not using a modern definition of "mathematician", which gives the sentence a very different interpretation.

A Latin Dictionary defines "mathematicus" as:

măthēmătĭcus […]
A. Măthēmătĭcus

  1. A mathematician
  2. An astrologer (post-Aug.)

Also compare Wikipedia:Mathematics#Etymology.

As we read in another work of Kline himself:

[…] astrologers were called mathematicii and astrology was condemned by the Roman emperors. The emperor Diocletian (AD 245–316) distinguished between geometry and mathematics. The former was to be learned and applied in the public service; but the "art of mathematics"—that is, astrology—was damnable and forbidden in its entirety.
The "code of mathematics and evil deeds;" the Roman law forbidding astrology, was also applied in Europe during the Middle Ages.

— Morris Kline: "Mathematical Thought From Ancient to Modern Times", Vol1, Oxford University Press: Oxford, New York, 1990. (p179 in 1972 edition, gBooks)

As can be seen in:

The most important provisions of the two codes are found in the title: De maleficis et mathematicis et ceteris similibus, "concerning magicians, astrologers, and all such like.
— Cod. Just. IX, 18: Cod Theod. IX, 16.
— via Clyde Pharr: "The Interdiction of Magic in Roman Law", Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 63 (1932), pp. 269-295.

For a full Latin version, go here:
Wikisource: XVI de maleficis et mathematicis et ceteris similibus

For a close translation of the question title:

CJ 9.18.2 (AD 294)
Artem geometriae discere atque exerceri publice intersit. Ars autem mathematica damnabilis interdicta est.

A more appropriate and well known translation of this snippet reads:

Concerning Poisoners, Diviners, and Other Criminals of the same Description

It is a matter of public interest to learn and practice the science of geometry, but the art of divination is damnable, and is strictly prohibited.

While artem is translated above as 'science' and 'art', it could also be translated as 'fraud' (trick, wile). So to better capture the spirit of this juxtaposition, one might even phrase it as

To learn and practice the science of geometry is in the public interest. But the damnable fraud of astrology is forbidden.

If the subfield of geometria is then seen as pars pro toto for mathematics, then we have a very Skeptics:SE fitting formula:

Exact science is good, superstitious practices not so much.

A recent comprehensive translation with annotations renders the passage in context as:

Eighteenth Title Sorcerers, Astrologers, and Others Like Them

[1] Emperor Antoninus Augustus, It is worse to kill someone with poison than with a sword. Posted without day or year,

[2] Emperors Diocletian and Maximian August! and the Caesars to Tiberius. Learning and practicing the skill of surveyor (ars geomeiriae) shall be (deemed to be) in the public interest* But the despicable skill of astrology (ars mathematica) Is forbidden. Written August 20, at Sirmium, in the consulship of the Caesars (294).

[3] Emperor Constantine Augustus to Maximus, pr. No diviner (haruspex), no priest, no one who customarily performs rituals of this kind shah cross the threshold of another, not even for another reason (than divination), but friendship with such persons, even when of long standing, shall be renounced. Any diviner who visits someone else’s house shall be burned alive, and that person who summons him through persuasion or material inducements shall be exiled to an island after his or her property is confiscated, i* We consider, however, the prosecutor of this offense not as an informer (delator) but as someone instead deserving of a reward.
Posted February 1, at Rome, in the consulship of Constantine Augustus, for the fifth time, and Licinius Caesar (319).

[4] The same Augustus and Licinius Caesar to Bassus, Praetorian Prefect. pr* There shall be punishment and vengeance deservedly inflicted by the most severe laws upon the expertise of those who are discovered to be equipped with magic skills, to have meddled with people's health or to have turned chaste minds toward lust. 1. But criminal accusations shall not impede remedies devised for human bodies and nostrums, innocently applied in rural districts, to check concern for heavy downpours of rain falling upon grape-vintages ripe for harvest or their being damaged by the impact of falling hail By such means no one’s safety or reputation is harmed, but their actions bring it about that divine gifts and human efforts are not brought to naught. Given May 23, at Aquileia, in the consulship of Crispus and Constantine Caesars (321).

[5] Emperor Constantius Augustus to the People. No one shall consult a diviner (hampex) or astrologer, nor shall anyone (consult) a soothsayer (hariolus). The depraved profession of augurs and seers shall fell silent, Chaldeans, magicians (magi), and the others, whom the common people call sorcerers (malefici) on account of the enormity of their misdeeds, shall not contrive anything of this sort. Everyone's interest in foretelling the future shall forever cease. For whoever refuses obedience to these commands will endure the death penalty (supplicium capitis), laid low by an avenging sword.
Given January 25, at Milan, in the consulship of Constantius Augustus, for the ninth time, and Julian Caesar, for the second time (357).

— Bruce W. Frier (ed): "The Codex of Justinian. A New Annotated Translation, with Parallel Latin and Greek Text", Volume 3, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, New York, 2016. pp2335–2337.

Other StackExchange posts on Skeptics, History of Science and Mathematics, Latin and Math, related to this question and confirming the above, but offering different angles to look at the problem over time and languages used:

Did Augustine of Hippo warn Christians to beware mathematicians?

Question on "What St. Augustine didn't say about mathematicians"

When and why were mathematics and magic considered synonymous in England

Greek astronomy vs astrology

Did Galileo Galilei believe in astrology?

What was Copernicus trying to mean with 'Mathematics is Written for Mathematicians'?

Development of mathematics in Europe between 550-1050 A.D

Why does Aristotle write 'astrology' when Plato writes 'astronomy'?

Did ars mathematica mean mathematics in classical (and late) Latin?

LangLаngС
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    Seems like a more precise answer is "they used a word that is a cognate for 'mathematics', but the word didn't have the same meaning as the English word". Clearly, they didn't actually say the English sentence, so the question should be interpreted as "Did they say something that can be accurately be translated to this English sentence", and the answer to that is "no". – Acccumulation Mar 29 '20 at 21:59
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    @LangLangC: So, people who deny the axiom of choice? :-P – einpoklum Mar 29 '20 at 22:22
  • So what did they mean by "the art of geometry" and "public exercises"? – CJ Dennis Mar 29 '20 at 22:43
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    "the art of geometry" is a mistranslation of "Artem geometrieae", and "public exercises" is a mistranslation of "exerceri publice". "Artem" should be translated by "science", and "publice" belongs to "publice intersit" -> "public interest", not exerceri. – Guntram Blohm Mar 30 '20 at 02:26
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    Amusingly enough, *astrologus* was used (at least in medieval Latin) to mean "astronomer", in applications without subtexts of divination, e.g., by [Thomas Aquinas](https://history.stackexchange.com/a/46164/1445). – Stephan Kolassa Mar 30 '20 at 08:15
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    *the damnable fraud of astrology* It's nice to see that this was the public opinion 2000 years ago as well. – Graham Mar 30 '20 at 09:58
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    @Graham Caution. An 'official decree' condemning it often signals that it was exactly the opposite: the general public falling way too often for it. – LangLаngС Mar 30 '20 at 10:10
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    @LаngLаngС What the official decree gives you is judgement which can be used against charlatans trying to con ignorant, credulous or just plain stupid individuals, protecting people who can't think well enough to protect themselves. The general public will normally know better. Of course the same ignorant/credulous/stupid individuals still fall for astrology, tarot, crystals, homeopathy, and all the other New Age con tricks today, so we have laws which stop anyone making claims about stuff like health benefits for the same reason. – Graham Mar 30 '20 at 10:22
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    Note that by its Greek origin, mathematics simply means "that which can be learned" (tell that todays pupils!). I wonder how could astrology run under the label that-which-can-be-learned? – Hagen von Eitzen Mar 31 '20 at 13:53
  • Does Kline actually write _mathematicii_ with two _i_s? – DaG Mar 31 '20 at 15:55
  • @DaG Yes, see link in updated answer. – LangLаngС Mar 31 '20 at 16:03
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    Part of the problem is that before the Enlightenment there was no particular distinction between "art", "science", "medicine" and "magic": they were all to some extent hidden (i.e. "occult") knowledge. Hence Newton could range between astronomy and alchemy, and nobody saw any contradiction. The confusion between mathematics and astrology is similar: at the time there was no particular distinction between calculating the radius of the Earth and calculating a conjunction of Mars and Jupiter. – Paul Johnson Feb 24 '21 at 17:51
  • Couldn't disagree more. The sentence is accurately translated with "mathematician". No, modern mathematics did not exist in that time, but whatever form of mathematician did exist in that time were busy mapping out the stars. The modern distinctions between mathematician and astrologer did not exist at the time, so either translation is fine. "Mathematician" is more faithful to the etymology and perfectly accurate. It's not like the modern profession of "astrologer" hasn't changed as well. – Marcel Besixdouze Nov 18 '21 at 19:35
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    @MarcelBesixdouze Etymology is often a pretty awful basis for translation. The Latin "nescius" is the ancestor of the modern English "nice", but translating it that way would be incredibly misleading to a modern reader - it actually meant "ignorant" or "unaware". The same is true of contemporary languages: Dutch "tuin" is pronounced the same as English "town", and has the same etymology; but "het huis heeft een grote tuin" doesn't translate as "the house a big town", but as "the house has a big garden" or "the house has a big yard". – IMSoP Jan 25 '22 at 13:30
  • @IMSoP Reading two words in someone's five sentence comment is a pretty awful basis for understanding their point. Nothing in my comment remotely indicates that I suggested etymology as a singular basis for translation. – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 03 '22 at 14:40
  • @IMSoP Mathematics itself as a field, not just etymologically, originated in mapping out the stars. That history IS the history of mathematics: it's what they were in ancient times, completely apart from etymology. Calling them mathematicians is highly appropriate. Refusing to call them mathematicians because there is now a modern distinction, is as shoddy as refusing to call them mathematicians because modern mathematicians use chalkboards and computers instead of slates and abacuses. – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 03 '22 at 14:42
  • @IMSoP No such comparison whatsoever can be made to tuin/town. Town was used to map onto the French "ville", the concept itself is completely distinct from the original etymological origin. Ancient villages were not gardens, the separate concepts existed distinctly in ancient times, just with different words. But ancient mathematicians were indeed mapping out the stars. As for "nice", if a story is set in the 18th century I certainly wouldn't mind it discussing the meaning, e.g. a Jane Austen adaptation with dialogue commenting on the modern evolution of the word "nice" would be perfect. – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 03 '22 at 14:51
  • @IMSoP It is bizarre to suggest etymology would lead you astray on "nice", when no competent etymologist would go to the Latin to understand the evolution of the word "nice" in English. The modern English "nice" has a much more direct ancestor: the 18th century English "nice", which also meant ignorant and foolish. You don't go to the most ancient ancestor to understand evolving meanings, you go to the most recent. And indeed that meaning existed even within the modern period (18th century), and still lends that connotation even to the contemporary usage of the word. – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 03 '22 at 14:59
  • @IMSoP I'm not trying to change your mind, or anyone else uninterested in the truth. But since 3 people upvoted your utter nonsense comment I felt compelled to respond in truth. Your comment about some Roman distinction between geometry and mathematics is utter nonsense. Geometry was always recognized as a topic within mathematics. The Romans very much despised mathematics as speculative and theoretical, in very much the same way and with very much the same reasons as "practically minded" people today. The modern view that "they just meant numerologists and astrologers" is utter nonsense. – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 08 '22 at 13:36
  • @IMSoP What people today are projecting on the ancient world is an extremely modern distinction between "astrology" and "numerology" and other things modernly thought of as "woo", versus "mathematics" as is now held in respect. But during the time of the Roman jurists, mathematics itself was indeed regarded with suspicion and contempt. Only the most basic and trivial arithmetic was accepted as of practical utility. Someone today proposing inter-dimensional Teichmüller theory to resolve the ABC conjecture, or solving FLT using sheaves and category theory, is akin to ancient mathematicians. – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 08 '22 at 13:41
  • @IMSoP Mathematicians of ancient times did indeed propose theories that are not currently accepted, but which were completely reasonable things to propose given the knowledge of the time. In fact, the most "woo" beliefs of groups like the cult of Pythagorus about how material properties were emergent from the properties of the ideal shapes of the basic atoms that composed them, is qualitatively identical to the modern maths of quantum chemistry via the shapes of atomic orbitals. The ideal solids are even in correspondence with atomic orbitals, both described by energy minimizing equations. – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 08 '22 at 13:47
  • @IMSoP Completely to the contrary, the fact that this edict exists demonstrates that ars geometriae was but a subset of ars mathematica. The whole reason the edict was made was to compel the mathematics teachers to limit their practice of mathematics. No grand theorizing, stick to the basic geometry and what we would now call arithmetic that a good Roman legionnaire knows from childhood and can immediately recognize as of practical use without his head hurting. – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 08 '22 at 14:28
  • @IMSoP If you actually want the reader to understand the context of what was written and how it was meant, I would suggest a translation like "learning basic counting and geometry is in the public interest to be put to practical use, but higher mathematics is damnable and forbidden." Or perhaps "but pure mathematics is damnable and forbidden". – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 08 '22 at 14:31
  • @IMSoP You claim to be concerned that a modern reader would not understand translating it as "mathematics" because modern mathematics is different, and yet you suggest "astrology" as a translation. This is an horrendous translation by your own principles: the modern "woo" practice of astrology as found in horoscopes has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with what Diocletian was discussing. It is a modern construction that has more in common with other New Age philosophies, that are better understood as a reaction to post-renaissance modernity and scientific rationality. – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 08 '22 at 14:46
  • @IMSoP The original question didn't ask for a translation. It asked whether what Morris Kline was representing was true: whether such an edict actually existed. – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 08 '22 at 15:40
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Kline appears to be misquoting a famous clause from the Code of Justinian, dating to 534 AD:

Artem geometriae discere atque exerceri publice intersit. Ars autem mathematica damnabilis interdicta est.

from online copy hosted by the University of Grenoble

A rough partial translation would be:

To learn and apply artem geometriae is in the public interest. But the damnable ars mathematica is forbidden.

Note that unlike in Kline's quote, the geometriae is not "as damnable as" mathematica, but placed in contrast to it, and actively encouraged.

A naive translation would use "geometry" for "geometriae" and "mathematics" for "mathematica"; but in a modern context, we would see geometry as a branch of mathematics, so encouraging geometry while banning mathematics doesn't make a lot of sense. So, what would a reader of the time have understood by the two terms?

The English translation by Fred H. Blume has this translation:

To learn and apply the science of geometry is in the public interest. But the damnable magician's art is forbidden.

While S. P. Scott translated it as:

It is a matter of public interest to learn and practice the science of geometry, but the art of divination is damnable, and is strictly prohibited.

A later section in the same Code lists "mathematicus" among various kinds of soothsayers and seers:

… aut haruspex aut hariolus aut certe augur vel etiam mathematicus aut narrandis somniis occultans artem aliquam divinandi …

A "haruspex" practised divination by the inspection of the entrails of animals, and "hariolus" appears to be a related term that should be translated as 'soothsayer' or 'fortuneteller'; an "augur" interpreted the flight of birds; and "narrandis somniis" means roughly "interpreting dreams".

Clearly, in these passages, the "ars mathematica" is being considered of a kind with various forms of fortune-telling.

The title of the section, "De maleficiis et mathematicis et ceteris similibus", is taken directly from the Codex Theodisianus, from around 100 years earlier, available online from the same source. It does not contain any mention of "geometry", but again links "mathematicus" clearly with fortune-telling:

Nemo haruspicem consulat aut mathematicum, nemo hariolum.

That being said, it would be a mistake to assume that "ars mathematicus" is completely distinct from modern "mathematics", as discussed on this answer on the Latin Stack Exchange which quotes the entry in Lewis and Short's Latin dictionary as listing both "mathematics"/"mathematician" and "astrology"/"astrologer". The two terms seem to have overlapped, perhaps because the main purpose of complex mathematics was to map and interpret the movements of heavenly bodies.

The meaning of "geometria" seems to be in less doubt; Lewis and Short translate it quite simply as "geometry", as does every other source I've seen.

So, the laws in question appear to be forbidding the types of mathematics used by astrologers and soothsayers, as contrasted to the more practical learning of geometry.

IMSoP
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  • I'd love to find sources discussing the prevailing view of science and philosophy in Rome _at this point in history_, to understand if someone developing, say, algebra would have been persecuted as a "mathematicus" even if they weren't using it for fortune-telling. The edict was apparently "Subscribed at Sirmium" in 294 AD, but I'm not clear if that means the _wording_ dates from then, or if the compilers two centuries later are summarising an older text in their own words. – IMSoP Feb 10 '22 at 09:07
  • You're welcome to ask on two sites specialising in this stuff, [HSM:SE](https://hsm.stackexchange.com/) as well as [H:SE](https://history.stackexchange.com/) ;), for the apparent euphemism treadmill, polysemes & word usage changes for this complex topic of course Latin:SE (nicely explained in compact form in MacMullen _Enemies of the Roman Order_ 1966, p 110) – LangLаngС Feb 10 '22 at 11:28