Legendre^s Geometry. 287 



years, and In this work he appears to have collected all the 

 elementary truths of the science, which had been discov- 

 ered at the time in which he lived. It was composed un- 

 der the patronage of the Ptolemies, and in the school of 

 Alexandria. With respect, however, to the influence 

 which antiquity ought to have upon our opinion of any 

 work of science, we entirely agree with Professor Playfair, 

 " The infancy of science," says he, " could not be the 

 time when its attainments were the highest; and before 

 we suffer ourselves to be guided by the veneration of anti- 

 quity, we ought to consider in what real antiquity consists. 

 With regard to the progress of knowledge and improve- 

 ment, we are more ancient than those who went before us. 

 The human race has now more experience than in the gen- 

 erations that are past, and of course may be expected to 

 have made higher attainments in science and philosophy."* 

 Euclid's Geometry is the only elementary work on the 

 subject, that has come down to us from very remote times. 

 But we do not know how it can be proved, that it was the 

 only work of the kind which existed at that period; much 

 less do we know, how it can be shewn that it was the best. 

 If we had other ancient elements of Geometry, our views 

 of Euclid's might possibly be considerably different. 



Notwithstanding what is here said, we profess the high- 

 est veneration for the genius of Euclid, and we are perfect- 

 ly aware of the extent of our obligations to this great father 

 ©f geometrical science. But while we would be foremost 

 to grant him the full measure of his merit, we are convin- 

 ced that the admiration bestowed on him, has sometimes 

 been extravagant and absurd. His Elements have been re- 

 presented as absolutely perfect, — incapable of improvement. 

 Take the following passage as an example: "A geometer 

 who has stood the test of more than two thousand years ; who 

 has resisted the attacks of so many critics, and supported 

 the weight of so many commentators; whose writings kept 

 alive the sacred fire of science when it was almost extin- 

 guished over the whole earth, and now shine with undi- 

 minished lustre amidst the greatest splendor of scientific 

 discovery ,• such an author is not to be moved by the praise 

 or the censure of modern criticism ; his place in the tem- 

 ple of fame is irrevocably fixed, and nothing remains for us. 



*Diss. on Math, arid Phys, Science, p. 50. 



