The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid

“Geometry is the Science of figured Space. Figured Space is of one, two, or three dimensions, according as it consists of lines, surfaces, or solids. The boundaries of solids are surfaces; of surfaces, lines; and of lines, points. Thus it is the province of Geometry to investigate the properties of solids, of surfaces, and of the figures described on surfaces. The simplest of all surfaces is the plane, and that department of Geometry which is occupied with the lines and curves drawn on a plane is called Plane Geometry; that which demonstrates the properties of solids, of curved surfaces, and the figures described on curved surfaces, is Geometry of Three Dimensions. The simplest lines that can be drawn on a plane are the right line and circle, and the study of the properties of the point, the right line, and the circle, is the introduction to Geometry, of which it forms an extensive and important department. This is the part of Geometry on which the oldest Mathematical Book in existence, namely, Euclid’s Elements, is written, and is the subject of the present volume. The conic sections and other curves that can be described on a plane form special branches, and complete the divisions of this, the most comprehensive of all the Sciences. The student will find in Chasles’ Aperçu Historique a valuable history of the origin and the development of the methods of Geometry.”