An invitation to read book X of Euclid's elements (Q1194826)

Book X of Euclid's Elements, devoted to a classification of some kinds of incommensurable lines, is the longest and least accessible book of the Elements. This article presents a guide to help the reader through Euclid's text, especially in Sections 3, 4, and 6. Sections 2, 5, and 7 discuss the traditional interpretation of Book X in terms of manipulating surd quantities, and use this as an illustration of the illuminations and dangers that lie in the way of such an interplay between ancient and modern mathematics. Finally, in Section 8 the author adds some observations on the question: just why did Euclid, or the author(s) of his prototype, present the material in the way they did?