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At this time the notation was in an imperfect state. The publication of the Geometry of Descartes, which contains the application of algebra to the definition and investigation of curve lines , constitutes an epoch in the history of the mathematical sciences. Two years previously, Cavalieri's work on Indivisibles had appeared. This method was improved by Torricelli and others.
The play of words upon Cavalieri's name in the last line of the first sonnet, the evidence of Varchi, and the indirect witness of Condivi, together with Michael Angelo's own letters, are sufficient in my judgment to warrant the explanation I have given above.
The last line, which runs in the Italian thus Resto prigion d'un Cavalier armato, has an obvious play of words upon Cavalieri's surname. This he altered into Resto prigion d'un cor di virtù armato. The reason was that, if it stood unaltered, "the ignorance of men would have occasion to murmur." "Varchi," he adds, "did wrong in printing it according to the text."
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