"To find the area of a given figure, another figure is sought such that its subnormals are respectively equal to the ordinates of the given figure, and then this second figure is the of the given one; and thus from this extremely elegant consideration we obtain the reduction of the areas of surfaces described by rotation to plane quadratures, as well as the rectification of curves; at the same time we can reduce these quadratures of figures to an inverse problem of tangents. From these results, our young friend [Leibniz] wrote down a large collection of theorems (among which in truth there were many that were lacking in elegance) of two kinds. For in some of them only definite magnitudes were dealt with, after the manner not only of Cavalieri, Fermat, Honoratus Fabri, but also of Gregory St. Vincent, Guldinus, and Dettonville; others truly depended on infinitely small magnitudes, and advanced to a much greater extent. But later our young friend did not not trouble to go on with these matters, when he noticed that the same method had been brought into use and perfected by not only Huygens, Wallis, van Huraet, and Neil, but also by James Gregory and Barrow."
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History of calculus
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