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THE

ELEMENTS OF
OF EUCLID.

BOOK I.

DEFINITIONS.

I. A POINT is that which hath no parts, or which hath no magnitude. II. A line is length without breadth.

III. The extremities of a line are points.

IV. A straight line is that which lies evenly between its extreme points.

V. A superficies is that which hath only length and breadth.

VI. The extremities of a superficies are lines.

VII. A plane superficies is that in which any two points being taken, the straight line between them lies wholly in that superficies.

VIII. A plane angle is the inclination of two lines to one another in a plane, which meet together, but are not in the same direction.

IX. A plane rectilineal angle is the inclination of two straight lines to one another, which meet together, but are not in the same straight line.

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N.B. When several angles are at one point b, any one of them is expressed by three letters, of which the letter that is at the vertex of the angle, that is, at the point in which the straight lines that contain the angle meet one another, is put between the other two letters, and one of

B

these two is somewhere upon one of those straight lines, and the other upon the other line. Thus the angle which is contained by the straight lines ab, cb, is named the angle abc, or cba; that which is contained by ab, db, is named the angle abd, or dba; and that which is contained by db, cb, is called the angle dbc, or cbd; but if there be only one angle at a point, it may be expressed by a letter placed at that point; as the angle at e.

X. When a straight line standing on another straight line makes the adjacent angles equal to one another, each of the angles is called a right angle; and the straight line which stands on the other is called a perpendicular to it.

XI. An obtuse angle is that which is greater than a right angle.

XII. An acute angle is that which is less than a right angle.

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XIII. A term or boundary is the extremity of any thing.

XIV. A figure is that which is enclosed by one or more boundaries. XV. A circle is a plain figure contained by one line, which is called the circumference, and is such that all straight lines drawn from a certain point within the figure to the circumference, are equal to one another.

XVI. And this point is called the centre of the circle.

XVII. A diameter of a circle is a straight line drawn through the centre, and terminated both ways by the circumference.

XVIII. A semicircle is the figure contained by a diameter and the part of the circumference cut off by the diameter.

XIX. A segment of a circle is the figure contained by a straight line, and the circumference it cuts off.

XX. Rectilineal figures, are those which are contained by straight lines.

XXI. Trilateral figures, or triangles, by three straight lines.
XXII. Quadrilateral, by four straight lines.

XXIII. Multilateral figures, or polygons, by more than four straight lines. XXIV. Of three-sided figures, an equilateral triangle is that which has three equal sides.

XXV. An isosceles triangle is that which has only two sides equal.

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Equilateral.

Isosceles.

Scalene.

XXVI. A scalene triangle is that which has three unequal sides. XXVII. A right-angled triangle is that which has a right angle. XXVIII. An obtuse-angled triangle is that which has an obtuse angle.

Right-angled.

Obtuse-angled.

Acute-angled.

XXIX. An acute-angled triangle is that which has three acute angles. XXX. Of four-sided figures, a square is that which has all its sides equal, and all its angles right angles.

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XXXI. An oblong is that which has all its angles right anglès, but has not all its sides equal.

XXXII. A rhombus is that which has all its sides equal, but its angles are not right angles.

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XXXIII. A rhomboid is that which has its opposite sides equal to one another, but all its sides are not equal, nor its angles right angles. XXXIV. All other four-sided figures besides these are called trapeziums.

XXXV. Parallel straight lines are such as are in the same plane, and which, being produced ever so far both ways, do not meet.

POSTULATES.

I. Let it be granted that a straight line may be drawn from any one point to any other point.

II. That a terminated straight line may be produced to any length in a straight line.

III. And that a circle may be described from any centre, at any distance from that centre.

AXIOMS.

I. Things which are equal to the same thing are equal to one another. II. If equals be added to equals, the wholes are equal.

III. If equals be taken from equals, the remainders are equal. IV. If equals be added to unequals, the wholes are unequal. V. If equals be taken from unequals, the remainders are unequal. VI. Things which are double of the same, are equal to one another. VII. Things which are halves of the same, are equal to one another. VIII. Magnitudes which coincide with one another, that is, which exactly fill the same space, are equal to one another.

IX. The whole is greater than its part.

X. Two straight lines cannot enclose a space.

XI. All right angles are equal to one another.

XII. If a straight line meets two straight lines, so as to make the two interior angles on the same side of it taken together less than two right angles, these straight lines being continually produced, shall at length meet upon that side on which are the angles which are less than two right angles.

PROPOSITION I.-PROBLEM.

To describe an equilateral triangle upon a given finite straight line.

LET ab be the given straight line; it is required to describe an equilateral triangle upon it.

a

c

From the centre a, at the distance ab, describe (3 post.) the circle bcd, and from the centre b, at the distance ba, describe the circle ace; and from the point c, in which the circles cut one another, draw the straight lines (1 post.) ca, cb, to the points a,b; abc shall be an equilateral triangle.

Because the point a is the centre of the circle bcd, ac is equal (15 def.) to

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