For since the fabric of the universe is most perfect, and is the work of a most wise Creator, nothing whatsoever takes place in the universe in which some relation of maximum and minimum does not appear.

— Leonhard Euler, Methodus Inveniendi Lineas Curvas Maximi Minimive Proprietate Gaudentes (1744)

Source: https://www.dropbox.com/s/o09w82abgtftpfr/1933-oldfather.pdf

From the introduction to Additamentum I of his 1744 Methodus, in the 1933 Oldfather translation.

Topics: mathematics