In the whole of geometry there are certain leading theorems, bearing to those which follow the relation of a principle, all-pervading, and furnishing proofs of many properties. Such theorems are called by the name of _elements_, and their function may be compared to that of the letters of the alphabet in relation to language, letters being indeed called by the same name in Greek [[Greek: stoicheia], stoicheia].[31] This characterizes the work of Euclid, a collection of the basic propositions of geometry, and chiefly of plane geometry, arranged in logical sequence, the proof of each depending upon some preceding proposition, definition, or assumption (axiom or postulate). The number of the propositions of plane geometry included in the "Elements" is not entirely certain, owing to some disagreement in the manuscripts, but it was between one hundred sixty and one hundred seventy-five. It is possible to reduce this number by about thirty or forty, because Euclid included a certain amount of geometric algebra; but beyond this we cannot safely go in the way of elimination, since from the very nature of the "Elements" these propositions are basic. The efforts at revising Euclid have been generally confined, therefore, to rearranging his material, to rendering more modern his phraseology, and to making a book that is more usable with beginners if not more logical in its presentation of the subject. While there has been an improvement upon Euclid in the art of bookmaking, and in minor matters of phraseology and sequence, the educational gain has not been commensurate with the effort put forth. With a little modification of Euclid's semi-algebraic Book II and of his treatment of proportion, with some scattering of the definitions and the inclusion of well-graded exercises at proper places, and with attention to the modern science of bookmaking, the "Elements" would answer quite as well for a textbook to-day as most of our modern substitutes, and much better than some of them. It would, moreover, have the advantage of being a classic,--somewhat the same advantage that comes from reading Homer in the original instead of from Pope's metrical translation. This is not a plea for a return to the Euclid text, but for a recognition of the excellence of Euclid's work.