Whereas three has a male symbolic significance and two a female one, five 'contains a conjunction of male and female elements'. In addition, its symbolic significance is rooted in the idea of the penis as the 'fifth limb of the body', and as the weapon of the attacking enemy. Instances from the Bible and from history are cited to show the deep anchorage of the symbolism of five.

The fact that man has five fingers on each hand is not mentioned. It also seems to the reviewer that the expression 'fifth wheel' is more related to the fact that four wheels suffice for stability and a fifth one is actually superfluous, than that it is 'but one face of the coin of ambivalence' of the deep symbolic significance of five.