"Arithmetic... teaches all the various operations of numbers and demonstrates their properties. ...The Greeks are said have received it from the Phoenicians. The ancients, who have treated arithmetic most exactness, are Euclid, Nicomachus of Alexandria, and . It was difficult either for the Greeks or the Romans to succeed much in arithmetic, as both used only letters of the alphabet for numbers, the multiplication of which, in great calculations, necessarily occasioned abundance of trouble. The Arabic ciphers... are infinitely more commodious, and have contributed very much to the improvement of arithmetic."
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Charles Rollin, The Ancient History of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Grecians and Macedonians (1754) as quoted in Vol. 2, p. 598, 1842 edition; originally published in French, Histoire Ancienne... in 12 Volumes (1730-1738).
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_mathematics
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Ancient Greek mathematics
Ancient was developed from the 7th century BC to the 4th century AD by Greek speaking peoples along the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean. The period following Alexander the Great is sometimes referred to as Hellenistic mathematics. The word "mathematics" itself derives from the ancient Greek μάθημα (mathema), meaning "subject of instruction". The use of generalized mathematical theories and proofs is the key difference between Greek mathematics and those of preceding civilizations.
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