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Euclid · Elements §8.prop.9

Mean Proportionals Between Coprimes and the Unit

Passage 135 of 316 · Greek

Summary

Proving that if numbers fall in continued proportion between two numbers prime to one another, then as many numbers will also fall in continued proportion between each of them and a unit.

§8.prop.9ἐὰν δύο ἀριθμοὶ πρῶτοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὦσιν, καὶ εἰς αὐτοὺς μεταξὺ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἀνάλογον ἐμπίπτωσιν ἀριθμοί, ὅσοι εἰς αὐτοὺς μεταξὺ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἀνάλογον ἐμπίπτουσιν ἀριθμοί, τοσοῦτοι καὶ ἑκατέρου αὐτῶν καὶ μονάδος μεταξὺ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἀνάλογον ἐμπεσοῦνται.
If two numbers be prime to one another, and there fall between them numbers in continued proportion, as many numbers as fall between them in continued proportion, so many will also fall between each of them and a unit in continued proportion.
ἔστωσαν δύο ἀριθμοὶ πρῶτοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους οἱ Α, Β καὶ εἰς αὐτοὺς μεταξὺ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἀνάλογον ἐμπιπτέτωσαν οἱ Γ, Δ, καὶ ἐκκείσθω ἡ Ε μονάς· λέγω, ὅτι ὅσοι εἰς τοὺς Α, Β μεταξὺ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἀνάλογον ἐμπεπτώκασιν ἀριθμοί, τοσοῦτοι καὶ ἑκατέρου τῶν Α, Β καὶ τῆς μονάδος μεταξὺ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἀνάλογον ἐμπεσοῦνται.
Let there be two numbers prime to one another, Α, Β, and let Γ, Δ fall between them in continued proportion, and let the unit Ε be set out; I say that, as many numbers as have fallen between Α, Β in continued proportion, so many will also fall between each of the numbers Α, Β and the unit in continued proportion.
εἰλήφθωσαν γὰρ δύο μὲν ἀριθμοὶ ἐλάχιστοι ἐν τῷ τῶν Α, Γ, Δ, Β λόγῳ ὄντες οἱ Ζ, Η, τρεῖς δὲ οἱ Θ, Κ, Λ, καὶ ἀεὶ ἑξῆς ἑνὶ πλείους, ἕως ἂν ἴσον γένηται τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῶν τῷ πλήθει τῶν Α, Γ, Δ, Β. εἰλήφθωσαν, καὶ ἔστωσαν οἱ Μ, Ν, Ξ, Ο. φανερὸν δή, ὅτι ὁ μὲν Ζ ἑαυτὸν πολλαπλασιάσας τὸν Θ πεποίηκεν, τὸν δὲ Θ πολλαπλασιάσας τὸν Μ πεποίηκεν, καὶ ὁ Η ἑαυτὸν μὲν πολλαπλασιάσας τὸν Λ πεποίηκεν, τὸν δὲ Λ πολλαπλασιάσας τὸν Ο πεποίηκεν.
For let there be taken two least numbers Ζ, Η which are in the ratio of Α, Γ, Δ, Β, and three numbers Θ, Κ, Λ, and so on, always one more, until their multitude becomes equal to the multitude of Α, Γ, Δ, Β. Let them be taken, and let them be Μ, Ν, Ξ, Ο. It is then manifest that Ζ by multiplying itself has made Θ, and by multiplying Θ has made Μ, and Η by multiplying itself has made Λ, and by multiplying Λ has made Ο.
καὶ ἐπεὶ οἱ Μ, Ν, Ξ, Ο ἐλάχιστοί εἰσι τῶν τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον ἐχόντων τοῖς Ζ, Η, εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ οἱ Α, Γ, Δ, Β ἐλάχιστοι τῶν τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον ἐχόντων τοῖς Ζ, Η, καί ἐστιν ἴσον τὸ πλῆθος τῶν Μ, Ν, Ξ, Ο τῷ πλήθει τῶν Α, Γ, Δ, Β, ἕκαστος ἄρα τῶν Μ, Ν, Ξ, Ο ἑκάστῳ τῶν Α, Γ, Δ, Β ἴσος ἐστίν· ἴσος ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ μὲν Μ τῷ Α, ὁ δὲ Ο τῷ Β. καὶ ἐπεὶ ὁ Ζ ἑαυτὸν πολλαπλασιάσας τὸν Θ πεποίηκεν, ὁ Ζ ἄρα τὸν Θ μετρεῖ κατὰ τὰς ἐν τῷ Ζ μονάδας.
And since Μ, Ν, Ξ, Ο are the least of those which have the same ratio as Ζ, Η, and Α, Γ, Δ, Β are also the least of those which have the same ratio as Ζ, Η, and the multitude of Μ, Ν, Ξ, Ο is equal to the multitude of Α, Γ, Δ, Β, therefore each of Μ, Ν, Ξ, Ο is equal to each of Α, Γ, Δ, Β; therefore Μ is equal to Α, and Ο is equal to Β. And since Ζ by multiplying itself has made Θ, therefore Ζ measures Θ according to the units in Ζ.
μετρεῖ δὲ καὶ ἡ Ε μονὰς τὸν Ζ κατὰ τὰς ἐν αὐτῷ μονάδας· ἰσάκις ἄρα ἡ Ε μονὰς τὸν Ζ ἀριθμὸν μετρεῖ καὶ ὁ Ζ τὸν Θ. ἔστιν ἄρα ὡς ἡ Ε μονὰς πρὸς τὸν Ζ ἀριθμόν, οὕτως ὁ Ζ πρὸς τὸν Θ. πάλιν, ἐπεὶ ὁ Ζ τὸν Θ πολλαπλασιάσας τὸν Μ πεποίηκεν, ὁ Θ ἄρα τὸν Μ μετρεῖ κατὰ τὰς ἐν τῷ Ζ μονάδας.
But the unit Ε also measures Ζ according to the units in it; therefore the unit Ε measures the number Ζ as many times as Ζ measures Θ. Therefore, as the unit Ε is to the number Ζ, so is Ζ to Θ. Again, since Ζ by multiplying Θ has made Μ, therefore Θ measures Μ according to the units in Ζ.
μετρεῖ δὲ καὶ ἡ Ε μονὰς τὸν Ζ ἀριθμὸν κατὰ τὰς ἐν αὐτῷ μονάδας· ἰσάκις ἄρα ἡ Ε μονὰς τὸν Ζ ἀριθμὸν μετρεῖ καὶ ὁ Θ τὸν Μ. ἔστιν ἄρα ὡς ἡ Ε μονὰς πρὸς τὸν Ζ ἀριθμόν, οὕτως ὁ Θ πρὸς τὸν Μ. ἐδείχθη δὲ καὶ ὡς ἡ Ε μονὰς πρὸς τὸν Ζ ἀριθμόν, οὕτως ὁ Ζ πρὸς τὸν Θ·
But the unit Ε also measures the number Ζ as many times as Θ measures Μ. Therefore, as the unit Ε is to the number Ζ, so is Θ to Μ. But it was also proved that, as the unit Ε is to the number Ζ, so is Ζ to Θ; therefore also, as the unit Ε is to the number Ζ, so is Ζ to Θ and Θ to Μ.
καὶ ὡς ἄρα ἡ Ε μονὰς πρὸς τὸν Ζ ἀριθμόν, οὕτως ὁ Ζ πρὸς τὸν Θ καὶ ὁ Θ πρὸς τὸν Μ. ἴσος δὲ ὁ Μ τῷ Α·
But Μ is equal to Α; therefore, as the unit Ε is to the number Ζ, so is Ζ to Θ and Θ to Α.
ἔστιν ἄρα ὡς ἡ Ε μονὰς πρὸς τὸν Ζ ἀριθμόν, οὕτως ὁ Ζ πρὸς τὸν Θ καὶ ὁ Θ πρὸς τὸν Α. διὰ τὰ αὐτὰ δὴ καὶ ὡς ἡ Ε μονὰς πρὸς τὸν Η ἀριθμόν, οὕτως ὁ Η πρὸς τὸν Λ καὶ ὁ Λ πρὸς τὸν Β. ὅσοι ἄρα εἰς τοὺς Α, Β μεταξὺ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἀνάλογον ἐμπεπτώκασιν ἀριθμοί, τοσοῦτοι καὶ ἑκατέρου τῶν Α, Β καὶ μονάδος τῆς Ε μεταξὺ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἀνάλογον ἐμπεπτώκασιν ἀριθμοί· ὅπερ ἔδει δεῖξαι.
For the same reasons also, as the unit Ε is to the number Η, so is Η to Λ and Λ to Β. Therefore, as many numbers as have fallen between Α, Β in continued proportion, so many numbers have also fallen between each of the numbers Α, Β and the unit Ε in continued proportion; which was to be proved.

Notes

  1. 15ἕως ἂν ἴσον γένηται τὸ πλῆθος — A temporal clause using ἕως ἄν with the subjunctive (γένηται) to express a future limit ("until the multitude becomes equal"). It describes the iterative construction of the least numbers in the same ratio, starting from two terms (Ζ, Η), then three (Θ, Κ, Λ), and increasing by one term each time, until the number of terms matches that of the original sequence Α, Γ, Δ, Β.
  2. 30κατὰ τὰς ἐν τῷ Ζ μονάδας — The preposition κατά with the accusative indicates the standard or measure ("according to the units in Ζ", i.e., "as many times as there are units in Ζ"). This logically follows from the definition of multiplication: since Ζ multiplied itself to make Θ, Ζ must measure Θ a number of times equal to the units contained within Ζ itself.
  3. 40ὡς ἡ Ε μονὰς πρὸς τὸν Ζ ἀριθμόν, οὕτως ὁ Ζ πρὸς τὸν Θ καὶ ὁ Θ πρὸς τὸν Α — A representation of continued proportion linking multiple ratios (Ε:Ζ = Ζ:Θ = Θ:Α). This complex proportional structure is expressed compactly within a single comparative clause structure (ὡς... οὕτως... καί...). Since Μ has been proven equal to Α, the final term Μ in the sequence is substituted with Α.

Cite this passage

Euclid, Elements §8.prop.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg1799.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.prop.9

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