The Book of Mechanics

...and other things of this kind. From which it is clear that there is the greatest consensus between such great men in treating these matters. Perhaps someone will doubt whether these principles were correctly treated by them? But all occasion for doubting ceases at once if the excellence of such great men is recalled to memory; to whom, beyond controversy in the disciplines handed down by them, all learned men defer the palm. So that, just as without Aristotle as leader and teacher, no one can dispose himself to philosophize correctly, so neither can anyone dispose himself to the Mathematical, and especially the Mechanical, discipline without Archimedes: whose authority among the more skilled is rightly supreme for this reason: that things were treated by them in a better and more excellent manner, as the nature of the things themselves and the reason of the doctrine demanded. And those who are desirous of the sciences ought to follow them, and read their writings again and again with attention. Furthermore, professors of philosophy and Mathematics agree in this; that when they treat of anything pertaining to philosophy, they extol Aristotle with praises in a wonderful way. But those who study to treat Mathematical things at once betake themselves likewise to the praises of Archimedes. Even though they may be occupied with those things that are not Archimedes', as a great many have done, which was indeed done with the best counsel. For if they wish to praise those things that need mathematical help, one must flee to Archimedes; as if they bring up the invention, the most subtle invention of Archimedes, by which he found the way of knowing the quantity of silver that was in the golden crown of the King, as Vitruvius testifies; and other things of this kind; if they wish to bring up admirable things, at once they bring up the sphere of Archimedes fashioned in a glass globe, in which all the motions of the celestial sphere shone, so that nature seemed to have imitated Archimedes rather than Archimedes nature; furthermore, the ship laden with a heavy weight drawn from the sea onto the shore by Archimedes; and many other things of this kind. Finally, if they wish to show that Mathematical things are useful to states, they bring into the middle those things which were done by Archimedes against Marcellus in the defense of his country, at which time he produced military works so wonderful that Archimedes alone seemed sufficient to fight against the most warlike Romans. All of which things were indeed accomplished by the Mechanical discipline. What, therefore...