at the sacred character of the
number three, together with the greater facility of composition, may
have contributed to the popularity of the Triad, which is certainly the
most common among the various numerical sayings as well as the only one
that has survived to the present day.

However that may be, I believe that the model upon which the Irish
triads, tetrads, pentads, &c., were formed is to be sought in those
enumerative sayings--_Zahlensprueche_, as the German technical term
is--of Hebrew poetry to be found in several books of the Old Testament.
I am indebted to my friend the Rev. Carl Grueneisen for the following
list of such sayings, which I quote in the Vulgate version.

DUADS AND TRIADS.

Ecclus. 23: 21, Duo genera abundant in peccatis, et tertium
adducit iram et perditionem, &c.

_Ib._ 26: 25, In duobus contristatum est cor meum, et in
tertio iracundia mihi advenit: 26 vir bellator deficiens per
inopiam, et vir sensatus contemptus, 27 et qui transgreditur
a iustitia ad peccatum, Deus paravit eum ad romphaeam.

_Ib._ 26: 28, Duae species difficiles et periculosae mihi
apparuerunt: difficile exuitur negotians a neglegentia, et
non iustificabitur caupo a peccatis labiorum.

TRIADS AND TETRADS.

Proverb. 30: 15, Tria sunt insaturabilia, et quartum quod
nunquam dicit: sufficit. 16 Inferuns, et os vulvae, et terra
quae non satiatur aqua; ignis vero nunquam dicit: sufficit.

_Ib._ 30: 18, Tria sunt difficilia mihi, et quartum penitus
ignoro: 19 viam aquilae in caelo, viam colubri super petram,
viam navis in medio mari, et viam viri in adolescentia.

_Ib._ 30: 21, Per tria movetur terra, et quartum non potest
sustinere: 22 per servum cum regnaverit: per stultum cum
saturatus fuerit cibo, 23 per odiosam mulierem cum in
matrimonio fuerit assumpta, et per ancillam cum fuerit heres
dominae suae.

_Ib._ 30: 29, Tria sunt quae bene gradiuntur, et quartum
quod incedit feliciter: 30 leo fortissimus bestiarum, ad
nullius pavebit occursum, 31 gallus succinctus lumbos, et
aries, nec est rex qui resistat ei.

Ecclus. 26: 5, A tribus timuit cor meum, et in quarto facies
mea metuit: 6 delaturam civitatis, et collectionem populi, 7
calumniam mendacem, super montem, omnia gravia, 8 dolor
cordis et luctus mulier zelotypa.

A TETRAD