Proposition XLVI. Problem.
[Euclid, ed. Lardner, 1855, on Google Books]
(201) | On a given right line (A B) to describe a square. |
From either extremity of the given right line A B draw a line A C perpendicular (XI), and equal to it (III); through C draw C D parallel to A B (XXXI), and through B draw B D parallel to A C; A D is the required square.
Because A D is a parallelogram (const.), and the angle A a right angle, the angles C, D, and B are also right (153); and because A C is equal to A B (const.), and the sides C D and D B are equal to A B and A C (XXXIV), the four sides A B, A C, C D, D B are equal, therefore A D is a square.
Book I: Euclid, Elements, Book I (ed. Dionysius Lardner, 11th Edition, 1855)
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