74 § 20 Mathematics in Book 7

V,17: separando(a- b):b = (c- d):d

V,19: convertendo a:(a- b) = c:(c- d)

V,22: ex aequali a:e = c:f

V,23: ex aequali in disturbed ratio a:g = h:d

Moreover, Pappus makes considerable use of compound ratios (that is,

products of ratios), which are not treated in the Elements. There are a
large number of instances where Pappus proves the same lemma twice,
once using compound ratios, once without them.
For almost all the lemmas, the first few books of the Elements are a
sufficient basis. The exceptions, which may be result from Pappus's
carelessness in adapting proofs from earlier, more complete sources, are
indicated in the commentary. Although the longest series of lemmas
pertains to Apollonius's Conics, conic sections appear in only a few
propositions: 7.274-279, related to Book 5 of the Conics, and 7.312-318,
the lemmas to Euclid's Loci on Surfaces. These use no advanced results of
the study of conic sections, and their dependence on Apollonius's treatise
and earlier sources can be deferred to the commentary.
The reader should be aware of one convention that differs from
modern practice in mathematical writing. Generally, the figures that
accompany the text are illustrative, and it would be extremely bad form to
argue 'from the figure'. However, the order of points on a line, and the
definition of points that are the intersections of lines described in the text is
often left to the reader's consulting of the drawing. For example, Pappus
might write, "Join Ar", and subsequently discuss points H, e that have not
been defined in the text, but that the reader sees from the drawing are the
intersections of Ar with, say, a circle that has been defined earlier. Also,
Pappus will often write that "line Ar is given" when the points A, r on it
are not given, or when only one of them is given, at the time that he first
mentions the line. This practice, a consequence of the fact that only points
are named in most rectilinear figures, should not cause confusion so long as
the reader is alerted to it.