THE GRECO-ROMAN PERIOD 93 



repute in the Middle Ages. In this work, he displays 

 an utter incomprehension of mathematics by trans- 

 lating the first definition of Euclid, " the point is that 

 which has no parts," by " the point is that of which 

 the part is nothing." The works of Boetius, which, 

 in the Middle Ages, were the basis of the teaching of 

 geometry, arithmetic and music, have more value. 



Anicius Manlius Severinus Boetius (480-525 a.d.) 

 belonged to one of the most illustrious families of Rome. 

 At first a student, he afterwards unwillingly took part 

 in the political life of his country and was notable for 

 his charity and moral integrity. When elected consul, 

 he tried to reform the coinage, but in so doing aroused 

 hatred and envy, and being condemned by a tribunal 

 was put to death, to the great regret of Theodoric. 

 As a writer, he is well known by his De consolatione 

 philosophiae. As to his book on Arithmetic, it is a 

 rather crude copy of that of Nicomachus. In another 

 work he gives without demonstrations the contents of 

 the four first books of the Elements of Euclid, as 

 well as some methods of surveying, drawn from various 

 authors. This work is so little in agreement with what 

 we know of Boetius that P. Tannery considers it a 

 forgery, and Cantor supposes it to have been completely 

 distorted by unskilful copyists. Such as it is, it con- 

 tains a curious passage, which seems to describe a 

 system of numeration based on the rule of position, the 

 zeros being represented by empty places. 1 



If the Romans were antagonistic to pure science, 

 they were, on the other hand, much addicted to super- 

 stitions. Nigridius Figulus by introducing astrology 

 into Latin literature gained great fame amongst the 

 cultivated classes. It was the same with the manual 

 of astrology written with zeal and conviction by 

 Firmicus Maternus. The short work of Censorinus 



1 9 Cantor, Geschichte, I, p. 533. — 6 Boyer, Histoire des 

 mathematiques, p. 64. 



