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Solid geometry: Book 11 Proposition 3

Translations

Ἐὰν δύο ἐπίπεδα τέμνῃ ἄλληλα, ἡ κοινὴ αὐτῶν τομὴ εὐθεῖά ἐστιν. Δύο γὰρ ἐπίπεδα τὰ ΑΒ, ΒΓ τεμνέτω ἄλληλα, κοινὴ δὲ αὐτῶν τομὴ ἔστω ἡ ΔΒ γραμμή: λέγω, ὅτι ἡ ΔΒ γραμμὴ εὐθεῖά ἐστιν. Εἰ γὰρ μή, ἐπεζεύχθω ἀπὸ τοῦ Δ ἐπὶ τὸ Β ἐν μὲν τῷ ΑΒ ἐπιπέδῳ εὐθεῖα ἡ ΔΕΒ, ἐν δὲ τῷ ΒΓ ἐπιπέδῳ εὐθεῖα ἡ ΔΖΒ. ἔσται δὴ δύο εὐθειῶν τῶν ΔΕΒ, ΔΖΒ τὰ αὐτὰ πέρατα, καὶ περιέξουσι δηλαδὴ χωρίον: ὅπερ ἄτοπον. οὐκ ἄρα αἱ ΔΕΒ, ΔΖΒ εὐθεῖαί εἰσιν. ὁμοίως δὴ δείξομεν, ὅτι οὐδὲ ἄλλη τις ἀπὸ τοῦ Δ ἐπὶ τὸ Β ἐπιζευγνυμένη εὐθεῖα ἔσται πλὴν τῆς ΔΒ κοινῆς τομῆς τῶν ΑΒ, ΒΓ ἐπιπέδων. Ἐὰν ἄρα δύο ἐπίπεδα τέμνῃ ἄλληλα, ἡ κοινὴ αὐτῶν τομὴ εὐθεῖά ἐστιν: ὅπερ ἔδει δεῖξαι.

If two planes cut one another, their common section is a straight line. For let the two planes AB, BC cut one another, and let the line DB be their common section; I say that the line DB is a straight line. For, if not, from D to B let the straight line DEB be joined in the plane AB, and in the plane BC the straight line DFB. Then the two straight lines DEB, DFB will have the same extremities, and will clearly enclose an area: which is absurd. Therefore DEB, DFB are not straight lines. Similarly we can prove that neither will there be any other straight line joined from D to B except DB the common section of the planes AB, BC.