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Euclid Quotes (-323--283)
Mathematician
About Euclid
Euclid (Greek: Εὐκλείδης), also known as Euclid of Alexandria, 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 (323–283 BC). His Elements is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, serving as the main textbook for teaching mathematics (especially geometry) 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.
Best Euclid Quotes
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Euclid quotes.
“ὅπερ ἔδει ποιῆσαι.
• Which was to be done.
• Latin translation: Quod erat faciendum (often abbreviated Q.E.F.).”
• Which was to be done.
• Latin translation: Quod erat faciendum (often abbreviated Q.E.F.).”
“There is no royal road to geometry. (μὴ εἶναι βασιλικὴν ἀτραπὸν ἐπί γεωμετρίαν, Non est regia [inquit Euclides] ad Geometriam via)”
“Ὅπερ ἔδει δεῖξαι.
• Which was to be proved.
• Latin translation: Quod erat demonstrandum (often abbreviated Q.E.D.).”
• Which was to be proved.
• Latin translation: Quod erat demonstrandum (often abbreviated Q.E.D.).”
“Πρῶτος ἀριθμός ἐστιν ὁ μονάδι μόνῃ μετρούμενος.
• A prime number is one (which is) measured by a unit alone.”
• A prime number is one (which is) measured by a unit alone.”
“Give him threepence, since he must make gain out of what he learns. (Δός αὐτῷ τριώβολον, ἐπειδὴ δεῖ αὐτῷ ἐξ ὧν μανθάνει κερδαίνειν)
• Said to be a remark made to his servant when a student asked what he would get out of studying geometry.”
• Said to be a remark made to his servant when a student asked what he would get out of studying geometry.”
Euclid Quotes by Topic
Find exactly what you are looking for by browsing this categorized list of Euclid quotes by topic.
Euclid on Learning
Euclid on Prime number
Euclid on Mathematics
“There is no royal road to geometry. (μή εἶναι βασιλικήν ἀτραπόν ἐπί γεωμετρίαν, Non est regia [inquit Euclides] ad Geometriam via)”
Quotes About Euclid
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Euclid from others.
Eric Temple Bell on Euclid
“With the completion of Euclid's Elements... For the first time in history masses of isolated discoveries were unified and correlated by a single guided principle, that of rigid deduction from explicitly stated assumptions. ...If the Pythagorean dream of a mathematized science is to be realized, all of the sciences must eventually submit to the discipline that geometry accepted from Euclid.”
Florian Cajori on Euclid 2 quotes
“The term 'axiom' was used by Proclus, but not by Euclid. He speaks, instead, of 'common notions'—common either to all men or to all sciences.”
Tobias Dantzig on Euclid
“There is irrefutable evidence that a substantial portion of the material recorded in the Elements was known before Euclid, and there is nothing either in the style or in the plan of the treatise to suggest that it was intended as a collection of original contributions. Thus, on the whole... the chief objective... was to put system and rigour into the work of his predecessors.”
Augustus De Morgan on Euclid
“There never has been, and till we see it we never shall believe that there can be, a system of geometry worthy of the name, which has any material departures (we do not speak of corrections or extensions or developments) from the plan laid down by Euclid.”
Freeman Dyson on Euclid
“Euclid... gave his famous definition of a point: "A point is that which has no parts, or which has no magnitude." …A point has no existence by itself. It exists only as a part of the pattern of relationships which constitute the geometry of Euclid. This is what one means when one says that a point is a mathematical abstraction. The question, What is a point? has no satisfactory answer. Euclid's definition certainly does not answer it. The right way to ask the question is: How does the concept of a point fit into the logical structure of Euclid's geometry? ...It cannot be answered by a definition.”
Misattributed Quotes
Quotes mistakenly credited to Euclid
“The laws of nature are but the mathematical thoughts of God.”
About Euclid
Euclid (Greek: Εὐκλείδης), also known as Euclid of Alexandria, 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 (323–283 BC). His Elements is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, serving as the main textbook for teaching mathematics (especially geometry) 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.