The Greek excellence in mathematics was largely a direct consequence of their passion for knowledge for its own sake, rather than merely for practical purposes. A story has it that when a student who learned one geometrical proposition with Euclid asked, "But what do I gain from this?" Euclid told his slave to give the boy a coin, so that the student would see an actual profit.
( Mario Livio )
[ The Golden Ratio: The Story of ]
www.QuoteSweet.com