Euclid

Mathematics Greek -325 – -265 439 quotes

Father of geometry, wrote Elements

Quotes by Euclid

Truth is discovered, not invented, in mathematics.

Attributed

The rigor of Euclid's method is exemplary.

Attributed

From the simple, the complex emerges.

Elements -300

The study of mathematics elevates the soul.

Attributed

Euclid's definitions are precise and profound.

Elements (Book I) -300

In the world of numbers, order reigns.

Attributed

The greatest common measure unites numbers.

Elements (Book VII) -300

Proportions are the harmony of magnitudes.

Elements (Book V) -300

The circle embodies perfection and unity.

Elements (Book I, Definition 15) -300

Triangles form the basis of all figures.

Elements (Book I) -300

The path to knowledge is through axioms and postulates.

Elements -300

Mathematics is the language of the universe.

Attributed

Euclid's legacy is eternal.

Attributed

The proof is in the pudding, or rather, in the proposition.

Attributed (witty remark)

No royal road, but a path of reason.

Anecdote -300

When asked if there was a shorter way, Euclid replied through his slave: 'There is no royal road to geometry.'

Anecdote from Proclus -300

The slave inquired if there was an easier way, to which Euclid said he must speak as to one unacquainted with letters.

Anecdote -300

Geometry requires no privilege; it is for all who seek.

Attributed from anecdote

When two straight lines intersect one another, the angles which they make at the point of intersection are called vertical angles.

Elements, Book I, Definition 15

A diameter of the circle is any straight line drawn through the center and terminated in both directions by the circumference of the circle, and such a straight line also bisects the circle.

Elements, Book I, Definition 17