26/30 In the original Euclid's first definition is semeion estin, ou meros outhen. 86 in the expanded form taught to me in childhood, 'without parts and without magnitude.' I should have consulted Heath's English edition--a classic from the moment of its issue--before committing myself to a statement about Euclid. This is however a trivial correction not affecting sense and not worth a note. I wish here to draw attention to Heath's own note to this definition in his _Euclid in Greek_. He summarises Greek thought on the nature of a point, from the Pythagoreans, through Plato and Aristotle, to Euclid. |