SIMSON, Robert. The Elements of Euclid, viz. the first six books, together with the eleventh and twelfth … Also the book of Euclid’s Data … To this tenth edition are also annexed Elements of plain and spherical trigonometry. Edinburgh : Printed for E. Wingrove, London; and E. Balfour, Edinburgh. 1799.
8vo. Contemporary sheep, sometime rebacked and recornered, edges stained green; pp. vii, [9]–520, with 3 folding engraved plates and numerous in-text woodcut diagrams, ‘Notes critical and geometrical’, ‘Data’ and ‘Elements’ have separate titlepages; extremities and corners worn, lower board with abrasions, spine with a few small wormholes; light variable damp-staining, title-page a little soiled, but overall a very good, clean copy.
Tenth edition of Simson’s The Elements of Euclid, the highly influential translation and commentary that shaped the teaching of geometry in Britain for more than a century.
The Scottish mathematician Robert Simson (1687–1768) entered the University of Glasgow intending to join the ministry, but soon abandoned theology in favour of mathematics. In 1711, just days after receiving his MA, he was appointed Professor of Mathematics at Glasgow, a chair he held for fifty years. Throughout his career, Simson devoted himself to the study and restoration of ancient Greek mathematical texts, particularly the works of Euclid and other geometers.
First published in 1756 in both Latin and English, Simson’s edition of The Elements sought to reconstruct Euclid’s text as faithfully as possible from the surviving ancient sources. It comprises the first six books together with Books XI and XII; in 1762 Simson supplemented the English edition with Euclid’s Data. The work proved extraordinarily successful, appearing in several editions and translations. For generations it served as the standard Euclid in Britain and the English-speaking world, and its influence extended well into the nineteenth century, shaping the teaching and presentation of geometry in schools and universities.
ESTC N9135.
SKU: 2125730