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Euclid Quotes

Euclid , sometimes called Euclid of Alexandria to distinguish him from Euclid of Megara, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "founder of geometry" or the "father of geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I . His Elements is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, serving as the main textbook for teaching mathematics from the time of its publication until the late 19th or early 20th century. In the Elements, Euclid deduced the theorems of what is now called Euclidean geometry from a small set of axioms. Euclid also wrote works on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory, and mathematical rigour.

The English name Euclid is the anglicized version of the Greek name Εὐκλείδης, which means "renowned, glorious". Wikipedia  

✵ 323 BC – 285 BC
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Elements
Euclid
Euclid: 6   quotes 12   likes

Famous Euclid Quotes

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

Euclid

The earliest published source found on google books that attributes this to Euclid is A Mathematical Journey by Stanley Gudder (1994), p. xv http://books.google.com/books?id=UiOxd2-lfGsC&q=%22mathematical+thoughts%22+euclid#search_anchor. However, many earlier works attribute it to Johannes Kepler, the earliest located being in the piece "The Mathematics of Elementary Chemistry" by Principal J. McIntosh of Fowler Union High School in California, which appeared in School Science and Mathematics, Volume VII ( 1907 http://books.google.com/books?id=kAEUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PR3#v=onepage&q&f=false), p. 383 http://books.google.com/books?id=kAEUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA383#v=onepage&q&f=false. Neither this nor any other source located gives a source in Kepler's writings, however, and in an earlier source, the 1888 Notes and Queries, Vol V., it is attributed on p. 165 http://books.google.com/books?id=0qYXAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA165#v=onepage&q&f=false to Plato. It could possibly be a paraphrase of either or both of the following to comments in Kepler's 1618 book Harmonices Mundi (The Harmony of the World)': "Geometry is one and eternal shining in the mind of God" and "Since geometry is co-eternal with the divine mind before the birth of things, God himself served as his own model in creating the world".
Misattributed

“There is no royal road to geometry.”
Non est regia ad Geometriam via.

Euclid

μὴ εἶναι βασιλικὴν ἀτραπὸν ἐπί γεωμετρίαν, Non est regia [inquit Euclides] ad Geometriam via
Reply given when the ruler Ptolemy I Soter asked Euclid if there was a shorter road to learning geometry than through Euclid's Elements.The "Royal Road" was the road built across Anatolia and Persia by Darius I which allowed rapid communication and troop movement, but use of ἀτραπός (rather than ὁδός) conveys the connotation of "short cut".
The Greek is from Proclus (412–485 AD) in Commentary on the First Book of Euclid's Elements, the Latin translation is by Francesco Barozzi, 1560) the English translation follows Glenn R. Morrow (1970), p. 57 http://books.google.com/books?id=JZEHj2fEmqAC&q=royal#v=snippet&q=royal&f=false.
Attributed

“Give him threepence, since he must make gain out of what he learns.”

Euclid

Said to be a remark made to his servant when a student asked what he would get out of studying geometry.
'threepence' renders τριώβολον "three-obol-piece". This amount increases the sarcasm of Euclid's reply, as it was the standard fee of a Dikastes for attending a court case (μίσθος δικαστικός), thus inverting the role of teacher and pupil to that of accused and juror.
The English translation is by The History of Greek Mathematics by Thomas Little Heath (1921), p. 357 http://books.google.com/books?id=h4JsAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA357#v=onepage&q&f=false. The quote is recorded by Stobaeus' Florilegium iv, 114 ( ed. Teubner 1856 http://www.archive.org/stream/iohannisstobaei00meingoog#page/n598/mode/2up, p. 205; see also here http://laudatortemporisacti.blogspot.ch/2011/04/anecdote-about-euclid.html). Stobaeus attributes the anecdote to Serenus.
Attributed

“Which was to be proved.”

Euclid book Elements

Elements, Book I, Proposition 4.
Latin translation: Quod erat demonstrandum (often abbreviated Q.E.D.).
Euclid’s Elements

“And the whole [is] greater than the part.”

Euclid book Elements

Καὶ τὸ ὅλον τοῦ μέρους μεῖζον
ἐστιν
Elements, Book I, Common Notion 8 (5 in certain editions)
Cf. Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book Η 1045a 8–10: "… the totality is not, as it were, a mere heap, but the whole is something besides the parts … [πάντων γὰρ ὅσα πλείω μέρη ἔχει καὶ μὴ ἔστιν οἷον σωρὸς τὸ πᾶν]"
Euclid’s Elements

“A prime number is one (which is) measured by a unit alone.”

Euclid book Elements

Elements, Book 7, Definition 11 (12 in certain editions)
Euclid’s Elements

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