John Dee, Preface to Euclid
- Preface to Euclid: 39 (d.iij.) — On the Architect: "Architectura (sayth Vitruuius) est Scientia pluribus disciplinis & varijs eruditionibus ornata: cuius Iudicio probantur omnia, quæ ab cæteris..."
John Dee published a “Mathematical Preface” to Henry Billingsley’s English translation of Euclid’s Elements in 1570, arguing the central importance of mathematics and outlining the influence of math on the other arts and sciences. Intended for an audience outside the universities, it proved to be Dee’s most widely influential and frequently reprinted work.