Page:The Elements of Euclid for the Use of Schools and Colleges - 1872.djvu/18

 from the abundant materials which exist for such an Appendix. The propositions selected are worthy of notice on various grounds; some for their simplicity, some for their value as geometrical facts, and some as being problems which may naturally suggest themselves, but of which the solutions are not very obvious.

The work finishes with a collection of exercises. Geometrical deductions afford a most valuable discipline for a student of mathematics, especially in the earlier period of his course; the numerous departments of analysis which subsequently demand his attention will leave him but little time then for pure Geometry. It seems however that the habits of mind which the study of pure Geometry tends to form, furnish an advantageous corrective for some of the evils resulting from an exclusive devotion to Analysis, and it is therefore desirable to engage the attention of beginners with geometrical exercises.

Many persons whose duties have rendered them familiar with the examination of large numbers of students in elementary mathematics have noticed with regret the frequent failures in geometrical deductions. Several collections of exercises already exist, but the general complaint is that they are too difficult. Those in the present volume may be divided into two parts; the first part contains 440 exercises, which it is hoped will not be found beyond the power of early students; the second part consists of the remainder, which may be reserved for practice at a later stage. These exercises have been principally selected from College and University examination papers, and have been tested by long experience with pupils. It will be seen that they are distributed into sections according to the propositions in the Elements of Euclid on which they chiefly depend. As far as possible they are arranged in order of difficulty, but it must sometimes happen, as is the case