Wonderfull many places, in the Ciuile law, require an expert Arithmeticien, to vnderstand the deepe Iudgment, & Iust determinatiô of the Auncient Romaine Lawmakers. But much more expert ought he to be, who should be hable, to decide with æquitie, the infinite varietie of Cases, which do, or may happen, under every one of those lawes and ordinances Ciuile. Hereby, easely, ye may now coniecture: that in the Canon law; and in the laws of the Realme (which with vs, beare the chief Authoritie), Iustice and equity might be greatly preferred, and skilfully executed, through due skill of Arithmetike, and proportions appertainyng.
John Dee The Mathematical Præface to the Elements of Geometrie of Euclid of Megara (1570), at [12].