iv TRANSLATOR S INTRODUCTION. 



Tin* lir&amp;gt;t printed edition of Kuclid, pub 

 lished in Venice in 14SJ. was a Latin version 

 from the Arabic. The translation into Latin 

 from the Greek, made bv Zamberti from a 

 MS. of Theon s revision, was first published 

 at Venice in 1505. 



Twenty-eight years later appeared the 

 Ci/itio princeps in Greek, published at Bash- 

 in 153^ bv John Hervagius, edited by Simon 

 Grvnactis. This was for a century and three- 

 ([iiarters the only printed Greek text of all the 

 books, and from it the first Knglish transla 

 tion ( 157&amp;lt;M was made bv &quot;Ileiiricus Billings- 

 ley.&quot; afterward Sir Henry Billingsley, Lord 

 Mayor of London in 15 ( )1. 



And even to-dav. 1S ( &amp;gt;5, in the vast system of 

 examinations carried out by the British Gov 

 ernment, by ( &amp;gt;\ford. and by Cambridge, no 

 proof of a theorem in geometry will be ac- 

 cepted which infringes Kuclid s sejiience of 

 propositions. 



Nor is the work unworthy of this extraor 

 dinary immortality. 



Says Clifford: &quot;&quot;This book has been for 

 nty-two centuries the encourage 

 ment and guide of that scientific thought 

 which U one thing with the- progress of man 

 from a worse to a better state. 



