Jan de Witt's Elementa Curvarum Linearum, Liber Primus

About this book

This book is an English translation of the first textbook on Analytic Geometry, written in Latin by the Dutch statesman and mathematician Jan de Witt soon after Descartes invented the subject. De Witt (1625-1672) is best known for his work in actuarial mathematics ("Calculation of the Values of Annuities as Proportions of the Rents") and for his contributions to analytic geometry, including the focus-directrix definition of conics and the use of the discriminant to distinguish among them. In addition to the translation and annotations, this volume contains an introduction and commentary, including a discussion of the role of conics in Greek mathematics.