Mathematical Treasure: David Gregory's Commentary on Euclid

Author(s): 
Frank Swetz (The Pennsylvania State University)

David Gregory (1659-1708) was a Scottish mathematician. In 1683, he was appointed Professor of Mathematics at Edinburgh
University. Later, in 1691, he became Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford University. A fervent commentator on the
works of Isaac Newton, in 1703 Gregory published Euclidis quae supersunt omnia, his commentary on Euclid’s Elements. The
title page of this work is shown above.
The frontispiece for this work, shown above, has frequently appeared in presentations given by contemporary historians of
mathematics, particularly Fred Rickey. It shows a group of shipwrecked survivors on the shore of the island of Rhodes. Among
this group is the Socratic philosopher Aristippus (ca. 435-356 BCE) who upon seeing the diagrams drawn on the sand exclaims,
“We have nothing to fear as I see the presence of men.’’ The implication given is that only civilized men would be doing
geometrical problems from Euclid’s Elements.
Seven years later, Edmund Halley would publish a translation of Apollonius’s Conics with the same frontispiece, except that the
diagrams in the sand would be of conics. See Mathematical Treasure: Halley's Conics of Apollonius.
These images are supplied through the courtesy of the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology. A complete
viewing of these works can be found in the library’s digital collection.
Index to Mathematical Treasures
Frank Swetz (The Pennsylvania State University), "Mathematical Treasure: David Gregory's Commentary on
Euclid," Convergence (January 2016)
Μία νεο-παροιμία λέει:
Όπου ακούς τραγούδια να πηγαίνεις, οι κακοί δεν τραγουδούν.

Κάτι ανάλογο ισχύει και με τα γεωμετρικά σχήματα !!

Ο David Gregory εξέδωσε το 1703 τα "Στοιχεία" του Ευκλείδη, όπου μέσα έχει μία εικόνα με τρεις ναυαγήσαντες φιλοσόφους στη
Ρόδο. Μεταξύ αυτών ήταν και ο Αρίστιππος, ο οποίος βλέποντας κάποια γεωμετρικά σχήματα στην άμμο είπε:
-- Δεν έχομε τίποτα να φοβηθούμε καθότι βλέπω την παρουσία [πολιτισμένων] ανθρώπων...