Quote#Wisdom
Although Cardan reduced his particular equations to forms lacking a…
Quote byDavid Eugene Smith · 1860–1944
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: History of Mathematics (1925) Vol.2, p.465.
English (original)
Although Cardan reduced his particular equations to forms lacking a term in x^2, it was Vieta who began with the general formx^3 + px^2 + qx + r = 0and made the substitution x = y -\frac{1}{3}p, thus reducing the equation to the formy^3 + 3by = 2c.He then made the substitutionz^3 + yz = b, or y = \frac{b - z^2}{z},which led to the formz^6 + 2cz^2 = b^2,a sextic which he solved as a quadratic.
— David Eugene Smith
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