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Glite Dictionary
music of the spheres

music of the spheres

1 9.9
An old idea that the movements of planets and stars make a perfect, silent harmony in the universe
  • noun
  • Literature
translation icon : música de las esferas

Examples

  • "Elsewhere, though, such repetition sounds the music of the spheres."

    Academic text (2003)

  • The ancient Greeks believed in the concept of music of the spheres, where the planets and stars produce a cosmic harmony.

  • In Plato's philosophy, the music of the spheres symbolizes the perfect order of the universe and the interconnectedness of all things.

  • He often referenced the music of the spheres to describe the sublime beauty of nature and the cosmos.

Surface Forms

music of the spheres singular
musics of the spheres plural

Morphology

music + of + the + sphere

The constituents 'music' and 'spheres' transparently suggest a poetic or metaphorical idea of music produced by celestial bodies, so a learner can infer a general sense of cosmic harmony. However, the phrase denotes a specific ancient philosophical concept (inaudible, perfect harmony of planetary motions) that requires cultural or historical knowledge beyond the literal words, so the meaning is not fully predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

Music of the spheres comes from old thinkers who pictured the moving stars and planets as round spheres making a quiet music as they moved through the sky. That silent song was a picture of perfect order, so today the phrase means 'a deep, beautiful harmony' in the universe.