index prev next | digilib folio 174
If there be as many numbers as we please in continued proportion, and the extremes of them be prime to one another, the last will not be to any other number as the first to the second.
| Ἐὰν ὦσιν ὁσοιδηποτοῦν ἀριθμοὶ ἑξῆς ἀνάλογον, οἱ δὲ ἄκροι αὐτῶν πρῶτοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὦσιν, οὐκ ἔσται ὡς ὁ πρῶτος πρὸς τὸν δεύτερον, οὕτως ὁ ἔσχατος πρὸς ἄλλον τινά. Ἔστωσαν ὁσοιδηποτοῦν ἀριθμοὶ ἑξῆς ἀνάλογον οἱ Α, Β, Γ, Δ, οἱ δὲ ἄκροι αὐτῶν οἱ Α, Δ πρῶτοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἔστωσαν: λέγω, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὡς ὁ Α πρὸς τὸν Β, οὕτως ὁ Δ πρὸς ἄλλον τινά. Εἰ γὰρ δυνατόν, ἔστω ὡς ὁ Α πρὸς τὸν Β, οὕτως ὁ Δ πρὸς τὸν Ε: ἐναλλὰξ ἄρα ἐστὶν ὡς ὁ Α πρὸς τὸν Δ, ὁ Β πρὸς τὸν Ε. οἱ δὲ Α, Δ πρῶτοι, οἱ δὲ πρῶτοι καὶ ἐλάχιστοι, οἱ δὲ ἐλάχιστοι ἀριθμοὶ μετροῦσι τοὺς τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον ἔχοντας ἰσάκις ὅ τε ἡγούμενος τὸν ἡγούμενον καὶ ὁ ἑπόμενος τὸν ἑπόμενον. μετρεῖ ἄρα ὁ Α τὸν Β. καί ἐστιν ὡς ὁ Α πρὸς τὸν Β, ὁ Β πρὸς τὸν Γ. καὶ ὁ Β ἄρα τὸν Γ μετρεῖ: ὥστε καὶ ὁ Α τὸν Γ μετρεῖ. καὶ ἐπεί ἐστιν ὡς ὁ Β πρὸς τὸν Γ, ὁ Γ πρὸς τὸν Δ, μετρεῖ δὲ ὁ Β τὸν Γ, μετρεῖ ἄρα καὶ ὁ Γ τὸν Δ. ἀλλ' ὁ Α τὸν Γ ἐμέτρει: ὥστε ὁ Α καὶ τὸν Δ μετρεῖ. μετρεῖ δὲ καὶ ἑαυτόν. ὁ Α ἄρα τοὺς Α, Δ μετρεῖ πρώτους ὄντας πρὸς ἀλλήλους: ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀδύνατον. οὐκ ἄρα ἔσται ὡς ὁ Α πρὸς τὸν Β, οὕτως ὁ Δ πρὸς ἄλλον τινά: ὅπερ ἔδει δεῖξαι. | If there be as many numbers as we please in continued proportion, and the extremes of them be prime to one another, the last will not be to any other number as the first to the second. For let there be as many numbers as we please, A, B, C, D, in continued proportion, and let the extremes of them, A, D, be prime to one another; I say that D is not to any other number as A is to B. For, if possible, as A is to B, so let D be to E; therefore, alternately, as A is to D, so is B to E. [VII. 13] But A, D are prime, primes are also least, [VII. 21] and the least numbers measure those which have the same ratio the same number of times, the antecedent the antecedent and the consequent the consequent. [VII. 20] Therefore A measures B. And, as A is to B, so is B to C. Therefore B also measures C; so that A also measures C. And since, as B is to C, so is C to D, and B measures C, therefore C also measures D. But A measured C; so that A also measures D. But it also measures itself; therefore A measures A, D which are prime to one another : which is impossible. |