Euclid also wrote several other books, some of which have survived to this day. However, it was the great geometry textbook Geometry Elements that established his historical position. The importance of The Elements of Geometry does not lie in which theorem is put forward in the book. Almost all the theorems put forward in the book were known before Euclid, as were many proofs used. Euclid's great contribution is that he sorted out these materials and made a comprehensive and systematic exposition in his book. This includes making an appropriate choice between axiom and postulate for the first time (this is a very difficult job and requires extraordinary judgment and insight). Then, he carefully sorted out these theorems, making each theorem logically consistent with the previous theorems. Where necessary, he added missing steps and proof of wooden feet. It is worth mentioning that Geometry Elements is basically the development of plane geometry and solid geometry, and also includes a lot of algebra and number theory.

The Elements of Geometry has been used as a textbook for more than two thousand years. It is undoubtedly the most successful textbook in word formation. Euclid's outstanding work eclipsed similar things before. After the book came out, it quickly replaced the previous geometry textbook, which soon disappeared from people's memory. The Elements of Geometry was written in Greek and later translated into many languages. It was first published in 1482, more than 30 years after Gutenberg invented movable type printing. Since then, the Elements of Geometry has been published in thousands of different editions.

In terms of training people's logical reasoning thinking, The Elements of Geometry has a much greater influence than any book on logic written by Beatrice Dodd. As far as the complete deductive reasoning structure is concerned, this is an excellent model. Because of this, thinkers have been fascinated by this book since its publication. To be fair, Euclid's book is a major factor in the emergence of modern science. Science is more than just collecting what has been carefully observed and what has been carefully summarized. The great achievements in science, as far as its origin is concerned, on the one hand, are the combination of experience and experiment; On the other hand, it needs careful analysis and deductive reasoning. We don't know why science was born in Europe and wood was born in China or Japan. But what is certain is that this is no accident. There is no doubt that the role played by outstanding figures like Newton, Flail Lilo, Baini and Képler is extremely important. Perhaps some basic reasons can explain why these outstanding figures appear in Europe, not in the East. Perhaps an obvious historical factor that makes it easy for Europeans to understand science is the Greek rationalism and mathematical knowledge handed down by the Greeks. For Europeans, as long as there are a few basic physical principles, it seems natural to deduce other ideas from them. Because there was Eurydice as a model before them (generally speaking, Europeans do not regard Euclid's geometry as an abstract system; They believe that Euclid's postulate and the theorems derived from it are based on objective reality.

All the characters mentioned above have accepted Euclid's tradition. They really studied Euclid's Elements of Geometry seriously and used it as the basis of their mathematical knowledge. Euclid's influence on Newton was particularly obvious. Newton's Principles of Mathematics was written in the form of "geometry" similar to "Elements of Geometry". Since then, many western scientists have followed Euclid's example and explained how their conclusions were logically derived from the original assumptions. So do many mathematicians, such as Bertrand Russell and alfred whitehead, and some philosophers, such as Spinoza. Compared with China, this situation is particularly prominent.

China has been ahead of Europe in technology for centuries. But there has never been a mathematician in China who can correspond to Euclid. Therefore, China has never had a mathematical theoretical system like that of Europeans (China people have a good understanding of the actual geometric knowledge, but their geometric knowledge has never risen to the level of deductive system). It was not until 1600 that Euclid was introduced into China. After that, it took several centuries for his deductive geometry system to be widely known among the educated people in China. Before that, China people did not engage in substantive scientific work. In Japan, the same is true. It was not until the18th century that the Japanese knew about Euclid's works, and it took many years to understand the main idea of the book. Although there are many famous scientists in Japan today, there were none before Euclid. People can't help but ask, if there is no Euclid's basic work, will science be born in Europe? Now, mathematicians have realized that Euclid's geometry is not the only internal unified geometric system that can be designed. In the past 150 years, many non-Euclidean geometric systems have been created. Since Einstein's general theory of relativity was accepted, people really realized that Euclid's geometry is not always correct in the real universe. For example, around black holes and neutron stars, the gravitational field is extremely strong. In this case, Euclid's geometry cannot accurately describe the situation of the universe. However, these situations are special. In most cases, Euclid's geometry can give a very close conclusion to the real world.

In fact, some scientists in China in the late Ming Dynasty have turned their attention to western science. Xu Guangqi has realized that geometry must be a subject that everyone will learn in the future; At that time, Tongcheng Fangjia, a aristocratic family, had in-depth research on European science for three generations. Zhong Fang systematically introduced the theory and application of logarithm under the guidance of Polish Munigo, whose mathematical monograph Several Degrees. It can be said that without the interruption of the Qing Dynasty's entry into the GATT, modern science would be produced under the combination of the East and the West, and the so-called false proposition "Why can't the Confucian cultural circle produce modern science" would not exist. In the face of historical facts, we can only lament. It can be said that geometry is the property of human beings, but before Newton and Boyle were born, China people had seen and had the opportunity to read the basic principles of geometry, and the dawn of modern science lit a lamp at the end of the Ming Dynasty. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, most scientists finally joined the anti-Qing struggle, and their academic tradition and tradition of communicating with western missionaries and scientists were also interrupted. It was not until 300 years later that Wei Yuan began to "open his eyes to see the world".

In any case, these latest advances in human knowledge will not weaken the light of European academic achievements. Nor will it belittle his historical importance in the development of mathematics and the establishment of an indispensable logical framework for the growth of modern science.