3

Two early writers attached the very word expression to this digit, which makes an Expression of 3 a pleasing coincidence of terms. Walton in 1914 calls 3 a number of expression and lists oratory, acting, singing, writing and painting. Cheasley in 1916 heads his entry Personal Expression and adds adornment, criticism and entertainment.

The sum behind it is ordinary enough. Mina adds to 19, which takes two steps to reach 1, Page adds to 20 and reduces to 2, and so Mina Page comes to 3. Balliett's 1905 reading of the number is far more solemn and treats it as a mission to heal and bless.

Today's popular books read this Expression as a gift for words and performance, an idea that in these sources goes back no further than the early twentieth-century authors. Taylor in 1926 ties the digit's letters, C, L and U, to joyful work in art. Cheasley adds that 3 needs 1 or 2 beside it as a base, a detail the modern summaries tend to drop.