Mathematical Treasure: Nicolo Tartalea's (Tartaglia's) Euclid

While the Italian mathematician Nicolo Tartaglia (1500-1557) is best known for his work in algebra and his experiments with trajectories, he also transcribed and commented on classical works of Archimedes and Euclid. Here are some excerpts from Tartaglia’s Euclide Megarense Philosopho (1543), beginning with the title page:

On the back of the title page, Tartaglia discussed and outlined the discipline of mathematics:

The first page of text introduces the definition of a “point”:

More extensive definitions follow illustrated by marginal diagrams:

The properties of right triangles are discussed at the top of folio 21 verso:

These images were obtained through the courtesy of ETH-Bibliothek Zürich. The book may be viewed in its entirety at e-rara: http://dx.doi.org/10.3931/e-rara-12306

Index to Mathematical Treasures