Euclid

From Wikiquote

Euclid (Greek: Εὐκλείδης), also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician who flourished in Alexandria, Egypt, almost certainly during the reign of Ptolemy I (323–283 BC). Neither the year nor place of his birth have been established, nor the circumstances of his death. He is famous for writing one of the oldest and most important books in history, the Elements, which summarised contemporary mathematics (not just geometry).

[edit] Sourced

• There is no royal road to Geometry.
  • In reply to King Ptolemy question "Is there no shorter way of coming to geometry than through your Elements?" — as quoted in The Elements of Euclid (1841) edited by William Rutherford, p. 345; this is derived from the anecdote provided by Proclus below.
  • This statement has also often been paraphrased:
    There is no royal road to learning.
    There is no royal road to wisdom.

[edit] Quotes about Euclid

• Ptolemy once asked Euclid if there was not a shorter road to geometry than through the Elements, and Euclid replied that there was no royal road to geometry.
  • Proclus in Commentary on the First Book of Euclid's Elements as translated by Glenn R. Morrow (1970)
  • Variant: Ptolemy once asked Euclid whether there was any shorter way to a knowledge of geometry than by a study of the Elements, whereupon Euclid answered that there was no royal road to geometry.
    • As quoted in A History of Mathematics 2^nd Edition (1991) by Carl B. Boyer ISBN 0471543977

[edit] External links

• Brief profile
• Euclid's Elements (All thirteen books, with interactive diagrams using Java)
• First 10 Books of Euclid's Elements ( Greek and an English) (includes PDF version for printing)
• Elements at the Perseus Project