In the program "Historically yours", Stéphane Bern looks at the roots of an expression of everyday life.
On Wednesday, he takes us in the footsteps of the not very mathematical phrase "never two without three", which has its origin in the 13th century.
Stéphane Bern suggests every day, in
Historically yours
with Matthieu Noël, to discover these expressions that we use on a daily basis without necessarily knowing their origin.
On Wednesday, he takes us on a journey to the 13th century to understand the origins of "never two without three".
"No hay dos sin tres" in Spanish, "never twice without thrice" in English ... The French expression "never two without three" is one of the few which translates to the word almost the same in other languages .
Regardless of the country, this is often used to explain that a given event takes place again, as this repetition was written in advance.
A certainty that we do not find when we try to explain the origin of this phrase.
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We have to go back to the 13th century to find a first trace of "never two without three".
At the time, we more readily said "third time, it's right".
A way of saying that you can't do something right all at once, and that repeating it always brings a certain know-how and improvement.
A very logical meaning at a time when almost the entire population works with their hands.
Three, a very symbolic number
Some linguists also believe that the expression "never 2 without 3" came from a popular game in the Middle Ages, where this expression was the main rule.
Problem: the game in question would have since completely disappeared and there is no trace of it.
Still, the central place given in this phrase to the number three reminds us that the latter is not trivial.
It is indeed very symbolic in many cultures and religions.
We can for example quote the Holy Trinity of Christians, or the fact that the 3 is a lucky charm in China.
At the beginning of the last century, the surrealist poet Benjamin Perret also wrote this very beautiful sentence: "It takes two, to be three".
A nod to our "never two without three", the poetic license in addition.
An earthy Corsican proverb gives a completely different weight to the number three: "Three cooking pots, it's a big party, three women, it's a storm".
A beautiful rhyme, for a meaning that is a little less so.