Abstract
Geometry as found in the text-book written by EUCLID proved itself for centuries so admirable an instrument of instruction that attempts at changes in the selection or treatment of the material were made but slowly. These changes do not easily lend themselves to systematic study. In consequence, our knowledge of the development of geometry as taught today remains somewhat incomplete. The study of the progress of both arithmetic and algebra after the invention of printing is far more complete. This study covers an important period in the development of geometry, touching vitally also the evolution of surveying and trigonometry. It is only by such detailed studies that the very real progress of geometry, beyond EUCLID, can be shown. In attempting to cover the seventeenth century text-books in this subject one attempts a task which one can hardly hope to achieve. However it may safely be asserted that the large group of manuals examined and studied give precise and definite notions of the current procedure of that century. The bibliography is, of course, not entirely exhaustive. Consequently, the communication to the author of this article of additional titles of works found in either American or European libraries is highly desirable. It is to be hoped that similar studies of the geometry text-books of the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries may soon be added so as to complete our knowledge of the evolution of one of the fundamental studies in the secondary school curriculum. L. C. KARPINSKI.
Published Version
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