‹‹‹ Vitr. 9.0.13 | Table of Contents | Vitr. 9.0.15 ›››
14Archytas obtained a solution of the problem by the semicylinder, and Eratosthenes by means of a proportional instrument. The pleasures derivable from scientific investigations, and the delight which inventions afford when we consider their effects, are such that I cannot help admiring the works of Democritus, on the nature of things, and his commentary, entitled Χειροτόνητον, wherein he sealed with a ring, on red wax, the account of those experiments he had tried.
14Archytas solved it by his figure of the semicylinders; Eratosthenes, by means of the instrument called the mesolabe.
Noting all these things with the great delight which learning gives, we cannot but be stirred by these discoveries when we reflect upon the influence of them one by one. I find also much for admiration in the books of Democritus on nature, and in his commentary entitled Χειρὁκμητα, in which he made use of his ring to seal with soft wax the principles which he had himself put to the test.