Three Treatises for the New Revolution

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense argued openly for American colonies’ independence from Great Britain, an aristocracy. Born in England in 1737, Paine came to the colonies in 1774 to participate in the American Revolution. Common Sense “appeared in January 1776, after the Revolution had started. It was passed around and often read aloud in taverns, contributing significantly to spreading the idea of republicanism, building enthusiasm for separation from Britain, and encouraging recruitment for the Continental Army. Paine provided a new and convincing argument for independence by advocating a complete break with history. Common Sense is oriented to the future in a way that compels the reader to make an immediate choice. It offers a solution for Americans disgusted and alarmed at the threat of tyranny.” 

Later in 1776, Paine wrote and published The Crisis, another pamphlet that was read widely, including to an audience of colonial soldiers at General George Washington’s request. “These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman,” he wrote. “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.”

Paine ignited popular opinion in support of the Revolution and a war against the Crown that lasted about eight years (1775-1783). He was accompanied by others of equal voice, such as Sam Adams, who said, “Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can.” Sam Adams became another popular propagandist. He emerged as an important figure in Boston soon after Great Britain passed a series of three tax acts to pay for its Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). The Sugar Act of 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshend Acts of 1767 caused Adams and others to seek reform that was not forthcoming. His Right of Revolution, a third pamphlet, was published in 1769. 

From Threes, Chapter Seven, “Threes in Government and Politics” 

Dante's Divine Comedy

A fascination with an afterlife has been entertained by theologians, philosophers, and artists since the beginning of humankind. Italian author Dante Alighieri, writing in the early 14th century, produced one of the greatest works of literature—the allegorical, almost epic, poem called the Divine Comedy in which he lays out three options after life: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. 

“On the surface, the poem describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven; but at a deeper level, it represents allegorically the soul's journey towards God.  At this deeper level, Dante draws on medieval Christian theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy and the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. Consequently, the Divine Comedy has been called ‘the Summa in verse.’” Summa Theologica, containing three major parts, explains Christian principles and presents arguments for the existence of God, again as Aquinas sought to reconcile faith and reason.

The Divine Comedy is divided into three canticas or major parts—Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise)—each consisting of 33 cantos. An initial canto serves as an introduction to the poem and is generally considered to be part of the first cantica, bringing the total number of cantos to 100. The number three is prominent throughout the poem and is represented, in part, by the length of each canto, which is formed in tercets or three-line stanzas. 

His story encompasses the travels of three people through unknown territory. Dante writes in the first person about his journey through the three realms of the dead, lasting from the night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300. The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory; Beatrice, Dante's ideal woman, guides him through Heaven. Beatrice, a Florentine woman whom he had met in childhood and later admired from afar, served as his muse. 

The structure of the three realms—Hell, Purgatory and Paradise—follows a numerical pattern of nine plus one for a total of 10. For instance, Dante and Virgil visit the nine circles of the Inferno, with Lucifer at the bottom. Nine rings of Mount Purgatory are topped with the Garden of Eden. Nine celestial bodies of Paradise are followed by the Empyrean (the firmament or highest heaven) that contains the very essence of God. The seven deadly sins in Purgatory “correspond to a threefold scheme of improper love: excessive love or love of the things that are secondary to divinity (Lust, Gluttony, Greed); deficient love or the lacking in a desire to achieve divinity (Sloth), and malicious love or love of malignant things that should grieve man and are contrary to divinity (Wrath, Envy, Pride). Leaving Purgatory and arriving in Paradise, Dante sees the Triune God. 

“The structure of the poem, likewise, is quite complex, with mathematical and numerological patterns arching throughout the work, particularly threes and nines, which are related to the Trinity. The poem is often lauded for its particularly human qualities: Dante's skillful delineation of the characters he encounters in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise; his bitter denunciations of Florentine and Italian politics; and his powerful poetic imagination. Dante's use of real characters, according to Dorothy Sayers in her introduction to her translation of the Inferno, allows Dante the freedom of not having to involve the reader in description, and allows him to ‘[make] room in his poem for the discussion of a great many subjects of the utmost importance, thus widening its range and increasing its variety.’”

From Threes, Chapter Eleven, “Threes Forever” 

Father, Son and Holy Ghost

The symbol of the trinity representing the father, son and the holy ghost or holy spirit is a part of Christian doctrine that defines God as three divine persons. They exist as equals. According to this doctrine, God exists as three persons but is still one God, meaning that God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have exactly the same nature or being as God the Father in every way. Whatever attributes and power God the Father has, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have as well. God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are also omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, infinitely holy, infinitely loving, infinitely wise and eternal.

From Threes, Chapter Four, “Threes in Religion and Mythology” 

The Elusive Triple Crown

Yesterday’s Belmont Stakes calls attention to the Triple Crown in thoroughbred horse racing.  Winners of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes in a single year are declared Triple Crown winners, a designation conceived by Charles Hatton writing in the Daily Racing Form in 1930.  Only eleven horses have won the Triple Crown, the last, Affirmed, in 1978.  

Professional surfing and baseball also award a triple crown.  That makes three triple crown awards.

The Triple Crown in baseball is awarded when one player in either the American League or the National League (or in some rare cases all of Major League Baseball) has the highest batting average, the most home runs and the most runs batted in during a single season. Before Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown in 2012, Carl Yastremski was the last player to do it 45 years earlier while playing for the Boston Red Sox. Only 14 players have achieved the feat. Pitchers also have a triple crown for most wins, best earned run average and most strikeouts in a single season. Winning the pitching Triple Crown has occurred more often. Grover Cleveland Alexander did it three times. 

From Threes, Chapter Ten, “Threes in Sports and Games” 

Three Major Periods of Upheaval

We like the stability of threes. The triangle provides stability even as the world is changing. Threes thinking gives us the base from which to make “a dent in the universe.” Threes come at us often during periods of upheaval and disruption, and threes have occurred in three big cycles already. The ancient Cambrian explosion of 500 million years ago started a biologic evolution that continues today. The religious explosion of the classical period from 800 BC produced religions and philosophic beliefs that are still relevant. The third disruption, the modern industrial era, started 200 years or so ago. That dramatic period contains within it three disruptive technology sub-periods—with the inventions of the steam engine and the railroad, the combustion engine and electricity, and computer technologies and modern communications. 

From Threes, Chapter Eleven, “Threes Forever”