phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Latine

Posted by Miri Barak on January 04, 2003

I'm translating a piece about Gauguin, the painter, and it is said about him "I believe I learnt, during my childhood and in that seminary, to hate hypocrisy, double dealing and sneaking *(semper tres)*, and to distrust anything that ran contrary to my instinct, heart and reason. Gauguin says these words about his school days in a religous school in France.
*semper tres* it is part of a sentence: Non quam duo, semper tres
and it means: never go in twos - always in threes.
this is a rule they had to keep at school. I wanted to know the origin of it, what was really the reason for this rule, to be able to understand the connection to this paragraph.
and my thanks to everyone who tries to enlighten me.
Miri

© 1997 – 2024 Phrases.org.uk. All rights reserved.