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158 THE FASCINATION OF NUMBERS

of these divided evenly into two and two, which in turn,
divided evenly into one and one. The same properties exist of
course in any power of the number two, so that it is difficult
to understand why the number eight should have been
especially selected. But, as being the first cube number, it
was also regarded as the corner-stone and capacity and was
therefore the symbol of plenty.

The number nine, being the result of multiplying the num-
ber three, a favourable number, by itself, was also believed
to be favourable. It was represented by three triangles and
thus was taken to symbolize the equilibrium of the three
worlds. It is not known what connexion, if any, such sym-
bolism demonstrates between the nine lives of a cat, a nine-
days’ wonder or the nine points of the law.

The number #en was held in reverence as the symbol of the
Absolute and of Law, while eleven was deemed to be evil,
being a transgression of the number ten. The number thirteen
has always been thought to be unlucky and is still strongly
believed by many people to exercise a baneful influence over
their fate—a belief which is exemplified by the fact that, in
some hotels, the room which would normally be numbered
13 is instead numbered as 124.

Because of their own special properties, the first two Per-
fect numbers, six and fwenty-eight, were accorded particular
importance. Their significance is exemplified respectively by
the six days of creation and the twenty-eight days in each
lunar month.

The influence of mysticism associated with numbers still
survives in folklore. The seventh son of a seventh son is sup-
posed to possess remarkable healing powers. The common
cold is supposed to run a course of nine days—three days
coming, three days at its peak, and three days going. The
human body is said to change completely every seven years
and, even in law, an infant becomes an adult at the age of
twenty-one (that is, three times seven).

In the Bible, the Apocalyptic number 666 is given as the
number of the Beast, generally interpreted as the Antichrist.