How Jean-Baptiste Delambre read ancient Greek arithmetic on the basis of the arithmetic of ``complex numbers'' at the turn of the 19th century (Q2145722)

This is an investigation on the teaching and writing of arithmetic during the educational and scientific reform movement ushered in by the French Revolution, largely spurred by the need for textbooks of elementary mathematics and the reform of weights and measures. Lagrange figures prominently in this story, advancing new ideas regarding ``the fundamental role of arithmetic, his focus on the calculating modes, as well as his concern about the simplicity of calculation together with his interest in the Ancients' arithmetic'' (p.\ 161). Lending his authority to the teaching of the elements of arithmetic led to several of his colleagues and students at the \textit{École Polytechnique} becoming interested in the subject. A common interest in ancient Greek mathematical works brought Jean-Baptiste Delambre into Lagrange's orbit. Delambre published in 1807 the memoir \textit{L'arithmétique des Grecs}, which is the main subject of this paper. ``It provides an interesting and important case where different forms of arithmetic, including modern arithmetic based on the decimal numeration system and positional value, Delambre's reconstruction of the arithmetic of the ancient Greeks and the arithmetic of ``complex numbers'', which are concrete numbers with different measuring units, are compared.'' (p.\ 151).