Difference between revisions of "Euclid"
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A Greek mathematician who lived 325-365 B.C. in Hellenistic Alexandria. He was the father of geometry and wrote ''Elements.'' | A Greek mathematician who lived 325-365 B.C. in Hellenistic Alexandria. He was the father of geometry and wrote ''Elements.'' | ||
| + | ==In poetry== | ||
The poet Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote a [[sonnet]], "Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare," an appreciation of the intrinsic beauty of mathematics.<ref>[http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/txt/604.txt Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare], online text</ref> | The poet Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote a [[sonnet]], "Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare," an appreciation of the intrinsic beauty of mathematics.<ref>[http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/txt/604.txt Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare], online text</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | Vachel Lindsay's poem, ''Euclid,'' views him in a less reverential way: | ||
| + | |||
| + | Old Euclid drew a circle<br> | ||
| + | On a sand-beach long ago.<br> | ||
| + | He bounded and enclosed it<br> | ||
| + | With angles thus and so.<br> | ||
| + | His set of solemn greybeards<br> | ||
| + | Nodded and argued much<br> | ||
| + | Of arc and of circumference,<br> | ||
| + | Diameter and such.<br> | ||
| + | A silent child stood by them<br> | ||
| + | From morning until noon<br> | ||
| + | Because they drew such charming<br> | ||
| + | Round pictures of the moon.<br> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
Revision as of 13:23, February 8, 2007
A Greek mathematician who lived 325-365 B.C. in Hellenistic Alexandria. He was the father of geometry and wrote Elements.
In poetry
The poet Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote a sonnet, "Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare," an appreciation of the intrinsic beauty of mathematics.[1]
Vachel Lindsay's poem, Euclid, views him in a less reverential way:
Old Euclid drew a circle
On a sand-beach long ago.
He bounded and enclosed it
With angles thus and so.
His set of solemn greybeards
Nodded and argued much
Of arc and of circumference,
Diameter and such.
A silent child stood by them
From morning until noon
Because they drew such charming
Round pictures of the moon.
References
- ↑ Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare, online text