"If the motion of a particle is such that in equal intervals of time, however short, the displacements of the particles are equal and in the same direction, the particle is said to move with constant velocity. ...the path of the body will be a straight line, and the length of any part of the path will be proportional to the time of describing it."
January 1, 1970
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Matter_and_Motion