Circles: Book 3 Proposition 24
Translations
Τὰ ἐπὶ ἴσων εὐθειῶν ὅμοια τμήματα κύκλων ἴσα ἀλλήλοις ἐστίν. Ἔστωσαν γὰρ ἐπὶ ἴσων εὐθειῶν τῶν ΑΒ, ΓΔ ὅμοια τμήματα κύκλων τὰ ΑΕΒ, ΓΖΔ: λέγω, ὅτι ἴσον ἐστὶ τὸ ΑΕΒ τμῆμα τῷ ΓΖΔ τμήματι. Ἐφαρμοζομένου γὰρ τοῦ ΑΕΒ τμήματος ἐπὶ τὸ ΓΖΔ καὶ τιθεμένου τοῦ μὲν Α σημείου ἐπὶ τὸ Γ τῆς δὲ ΑΒ εὐθείας ἐπὶ τὴν ΓΔ, ἐφαρμόσει καὶ τὸ Β σημεῖον ἐπὶ τὸ Δ σημεῖον διὰ τὸ ἴσην εἶναι τὴν ΑΒ τῇ ΓΔ: τῆς δὲ ΑΒ ἐπὶ τὴν ΓΔ ἐφαρμοσάσης ἐφαρμόσει καὶ τὸ ΑΕΒ τμῆμα ἐπὶ τὸ ΓΖΔ. εἰ γὰρ ἡ ΑΒ εὐθεῖα ἐπὶ τὴν ΓΔ ἐφαρμόσει, τὸ δὲ ΑΕΒ τμῆμα ἐπὶ τὸ ΓΖΔ μὴ ἐφαρμόσει, ἤτοι ἐντὸς αὐτοῦ πεσεῖται ἢ ἐκτὸς ἢ παραλλάξει ὡς τὸ ΓΗΔ, καὶ κύκλος κύκλον τέμνει κατὰ πλείονα σημεῖα ἢ δύο: ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀδύνατον. οὐκ ἄρα ἐφαρμοζομένης τῆς ΑΒ εὐθείας ἐπὶ τὴν ΓΔ οὐκ ἐφαρμόσει καὶ τὸ ΑΕΒ τμῆμα ἐπὶ τὸ ΓΖΔ: ἐφαρμόσει ἄρα, καὶ ἴσον αὐτῷ ἔσται. Τὰ ἄρα ἐπὶ ἴσων εὐθειῶν ὅμοια τμήματα κύκλων ἴσα ἀλλήλοις ἐστίν: ὅπερ ἔδει δεῖξαι.
Similar segments of circles on equal straight lines are equal to one another. For let AEB, CFD be similar segments of circles on equal straight lines AB, CD; I say that the segment AEB is equal to the segment CFD. For, if the segment AEB be applied to CFD, and if the point A be placed on C and the straight line AB on CD, the point B will also coincide with the point D, because AB is equal to CD; and, AB coinciding with CD, the segment AEB will also coincide with CFD. For, if the straight line AB coincide with CD but the segment AEB do not coincide with CFD, it will either fall with it, or outside it; or it will fall awry, as CGD, and a circle cuts a circle at more points than two : which is impossible. [III. 10] Therefore, if the straight line AB be applied to CD, the segment AEB will not fail to coincide with CFD also; therefore it will coincide with it and will be equal to it.