-300 ElementsStoicheia

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Subject Headings: Euclidean Geometry, Number Theory, Theorem.

Notes

Cited By

2019

  • (Wikipedia, 2019) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid's_Elements Retrieved:2019-4-13.
    • The Elements (Stoicheia) is a mathematical treatise consisting of 13 books attributed to the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt c. 300 BC. It is a collection of definitions, postulates, propositions (theorems and constructions), and mathematical proofs of the propositions. The books cover plane and solid Euclidean geometry, elementary number theory, and incommensurable lines. Elements is the oldest extant large-scale deductive treatment of mathematics. It has proven instrumental in the development of logic and modern science, and its logical rigor was not surpassed until the 19th century.

      Euclid's Elements has been referred to as the most successful [1] [2] and influential[3] textbook ever written. It was one of the very earliest mathematical works to be printed after the invention of the printing press and has been estimated to be second only to the Bible in the number of editions published since the first printing in 1482,[3] with the number reaching well over one thousand. [4] For centuries, when the quadrivium was included in the curriculum of all university students, knowledge of at least part of Euclid's Elements was required of all students. Not until the 20th century, by which time its content was universally taught through other school textbooks, did it cease to be considered something all educated people had read. [5]

  1. Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece (2006) by Nigel Guy Wilson, page 278. Published by Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. Quote:"Euclid's Elements subsequently became the basis of all mathematical education, not only in the Roman and Byzantine periods, but right down to the mid-20th century, and it could be argued that it is the most successful textbook ever written."
  2. Boyer 1991, p. 100 notes, "As teachers at the school he called a band of leading scholars, among whom was the author of the most fabulously successful mathematics textbook ever written – the Elements (Stoichia) of Euclid".
  3. 3.0 3.1 Boyer 1991, p. 119 notes, "The Elements of Euclid not only was the earliest major Greek mathematical work to come down to us, but also the most influential textbook of all times. [...]The first printed versions of the Elements appeared at Venice in 1482, one of the very earliest of mathematical books to be set in type; it has been estimated that since then at least a thousand editions have been published. Perhaps no book other than the Bible can boast so many editions, and certainly no mathematical work has had an influence comparable with that of Euclid's Elements".
  4. The Historical Roots of Elementary Mathematics by Lucas Nicolaas Hendrik Bunt, Philip S. Jones, Jack D. Bedient (1988), page 142. Dover publications. Quote:"the Elements became known to Western Europe via the Arabs and the Moors. There, the Elements became the foundation of mathematical education. More than 1000 editions of the Elements are known. In all probability, it is, next to the Bible, the most widely spread book in the civilization of the Western world."
  5. From the introduction by Amit Hagar to Euclid and His Modern Rivals by Lewis Carroll (2009, Barnes & Noble) pg. xxviii:

    Geometry emerged as an indispensable part of the standard education of the English gentleman in the eighteenth century; by the Victorian period it was also becoming an important part of the education of artisans, children at Board Schools, colonial subjects and, to a rather lesser degree, women. ... The standard textbook for this purpose was none other than Euclid's The Elements.

Quotes

The laws of nature are but the mathematical thoughts of God.

An 'unit' is that by virtue of which each of the things that exist is called one.

A 'number' is a multiple composed of units.

A straight line is said to have been cut in extreme and mean ratio when, as the whole line is to the greater segment, so is the greater to the lesser.

References

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 AuthorvolumeDate ValuetitletypejournaltitleUrldoinoteyear
-300 ElementsStoicheiaEuclid (325BC-270BC)Elements (Stoicheia)300 BC JL