The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci

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Page 1504 of 1565.
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OF SQUARING THE CIRCLE, AND WHO IT WAS THAT FIRST DISCOVERED IT BY
ACCIDENT.

Vitruvius, measuring miles by means of the repeated revolutions of
the wheels which move vehicles, extended over many Stadia the lines
of the circumferences of the circles of these wheels. He became
aware of them by the animals that moved the vehicles. But he did not
discern that this was a means of finding a square equal to a circle.
This was first done by Archimedes of Syracuse, who by multiplying
the second diameter of a circle by half its circumference produced a
rectangular quadrilateral equal figure to the circle [Footnote 10:
Compare No. 1475.].

[Footnote: _Vitruvius_, see also Nos. 1113 and 343.]

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