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Disappointingly little is known about the life and personality of Euclid except that he was a professor of mahtematics at the University of Alezandria and apparently the founder of the illustrious and long-lived Alezandrian School of Mathematics. Even hes dates and his virthplacal training in the Platonic school at Athens. Many years later, when comparing Euclid with Apollonius, to the latter's discredit, Pappus praised Euclid for his modesty and consideration of others. Pappus augmented his Eudemian Summary with the frequently told story of Euclid's reply to Ptolemy's request for a short cut to geometric know ledge that "there is no royal road in geometry." |
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But the same story has been
told of Menaechmus when he was serving as instructor to Alexander the Great.
Stobaeus told another story of a student studying geometry under Euclid who
questioned what he would get form learning the subject, whereupon Euclid
ordered a slave to give the fellow a penny, "since he must make gain from what
he learns."
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