Snellius, Vieta, Marinus, Ghetaldus, and Fermat, attempted, from the description of the τόωος άναλυομἐνος in the seventh book, to restore several of the lost books of Apollonius, which made a principal part of that collection. Afterwards Schooten, Dr. Wallis, and subsequently Dr. Halley, pursued the same track; and thus a number of these ancient treatises were restored, with various success indeed, and with different characters of elegance and accuracy...
quotes about pappus