Geometrical Solutions Derived from Mechanics; a Treatise of Archimedes

(1 User reviews)   1758
By Abil Kile Posted on Nov 15, 2025
In Category - Adventure
Archimedes, 281? BCE-212? BCE Archimedes, 281? BCE-212? BCE
English
Hey, I just read this mind-bending thing—it's basically a 2,300-year-old instruction manual from Archimedes himself. Forget the 'Eureka!' bathtub story. This is the real deal: a lost manuscript where he uses levers, balances, and pure mechanical intuition to solve crazy geometry problems. Picture this: a genius explaining how to find the area of a parabola by imagining it as a bunch of tiny weights hanging from a scale. It's not just math; it's a detective story where the clues are sand drawings and ancient mechanics. How did someone think like this centuries before calculus?
Share

Read "Geometrical Solutions Derived from Mechanics; a Treatise of Archimedes" Online

This book is available in the public domain. Start reading the digital edition below.

START READING FULL BOOK
Instant Access    Mobile Friendly

Book Preview

A short preview of the book’s content is shown below to give you an idea of its style and themes.

A Few Early Misconceptions Concerning Planets, Rounds, And Man. The Septenary Division In Different Indian Systems. Additional Facts And Explanations Concerning The Globes And The Monads. Stanza VI.—_Continued_. Stanza VII. Summing Up. Extracts From An Eastern Private Commentary, Hitherto Secret. Part II. The Evolution Of Symbolism. Section I. Symbolism and Ideographs. Section II. The Mystery Language and Its Keys. Section III. Primordial Substance and Divine Thought. Section IV. Chaos: Theos: Kosmos. Section V. On the Hidden Deity, Its Symbols and Glyphs. Section VI. The Mundane Egg. Section VII. The Days and Nights of Brahmâ. Section VIII. The Lotus, as a Universal Symbol. Section IX. The Moon; Deus Lunus, Phœbe. Section X. Tree, Serpent, and Crocodile Worship. Section XI. Demon est Deus Inversus. Section XII. The Theogony of the Creative Gods. Section XIII. The Seven Creations. Section XIV. The Four Elements. Section XV. On Kwan‐Shi‐Yin and Kwan‐Yin. Part III. Addenda. On Occult And Modern Science. Section I. Reasons for These Addenda. Section II. Modern Physicists are Playing at Blind Man’s Buff. “An Lumen Sit Corpus, Nec Non?” Section III. Is Gravitation a Law? Section IV. The Theories of Rotation in Science. Current Hypotheses explaining the Origin of Rotation. Hypotheses of the Origin of Planets and Comets. Section V. The Masks of Science. Physics Or Metaphysics? Section VI. An Attack on the Scientific Theory of Force by a Man of Science. Section VII. Life, Force, or Gravity. Section VIII. The Solar Theory. Section IX. The Coming Force. Its Possibilities And Impossibilities. Section X. On the Elements and Atoms. Section XI. Ancient Thought in Modern Dress. Section XII. Scientific and Esoteric Evidence for, and Objections to, the Modern Nebular Theory. Section XIII. Forces—Modes of Motion or Intelligences? Section XIV. Gods, Monads and Atoms. Section XV. Cyclic Evolution and Karma. Section XVI. The Zodiac and its Antiquity. Section XVII. Summary of the Position. Footnotes [Cover Art] [Transcriber’s Note: The above cover image was produced by the submitter at Distributed Proofreaders, and is being placed into the public domain.] This Work I Dedicate to all True Theosophists, In every Country, And of every Race, For they called it forth, and for them it was recorded. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. The author—the writer, rather—feels it necessary to apologize for the long delay which has occurred in the appearance of this work. It has been occasioned by ill‐health and the magnitude of the undertaking. Even the two volumes now issued do not complete the scheme, nor do these treat exhaustively of the subjects dealt with in them. A large quantity of material has already been prepared, dealing with the history of Occultism as contained in the lives of the great Adepts of the Âryan Race, and showing the bearing of Occult Philosophy upon the conduct of life, as it is and as it ought to be. Should the present volumes meet with a favourable reception, no effort will be spared to carry out the scheme of the work in its entirety. This scheme, it must be added, was not in contemplation when the preparation of the work was first announced. As originally announced, it was intended that _The Secret Doctrine_ should be an amended and enlarged version of _Isis Unveiled_. It was, however, soon found that the explanations which could be added to those already put before the world, in the last‐named and other works dealing with Esoteric Science, were such as to require a different method of treatment; and consequently the present volumes do not contain, in all, twenty pages extracted from _Isis Unveiled_. The author does not feel it necessary to ask the indulgence...

This is a limited preview. Download the book to read the full content.

Okay, let's get this straight: this isn't a novel. There's no plot twist or main character—unless you count Archimedes' brilliant brain as the protagonist. The 'story' is the recovery of his method. For centuries, everyone knew Archimedes was a math legend, but they only had his polished, final proofs. Then, in 1906, a palimpsest (a recycled medieval prayer book) was found. Underneath the prayers was this text, a kind of rough draft where Archimedes shows his work.

The Story

Archimedes writes a letter to a friend, Eratosthenes. He says, 'Look, here's how I actually figure this stuff out before I write the formal, airtight geometry proof.' He uses mechanical concepts—balancing shapes on imaginary levers, treating areas as if they have weight—to discover truths about parabolas, spheres, and spirals. He essentially invents a proto-calculus to find areas and volumes. The 'conflict' is his mind wrestling with infinity over two millennia ago.

Why You Should Read It

It’s a shockingly intimate look at genius. You're peeking over the shoulder of history's greatest mathematician while he doodles on papyrus. The translation is clear, and the commentary helps, but the real magic is feeling the connection. You see the 'aha!' moment when he realizes a curved shape can be balanced by a straight one. It makes abstract math feel physical and alive.

Final Verdict

Perfect for curious minds who love science history, or anyone who enjoys a good 'how did they figure that out?' puzzle. It's short, but dense. You won't breeze through it, but you'll feel smarter for trying. If you've ever looked at a parabola and wondered how anyone ever started to measure it, this book is your origin story.



🔓 No Rights Reserved

This content is free to share and distribute. Enjoy reading and sharing without restrictions.

Melissa White
3 months ago

Wow.

5
5 out of 5 (1 User reviews )

Add a Review

Your Rating *
There are no comments for this eBook.
You must log in to post a comment.
Log in


Related eBooks