Full Idea
Suppose that all things that are ...were rectilinear figures - they would be a number of figures, and unity the triangle.
Gist of Idea
If only rectilinear figures existed, then unity would be the triangle
Source
Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], 1054a03)
Book Reference
Aristotle: 'Metaphysics', ed/tr. Lawson-Tancred,Hugh [Penguin 1998], p.291
A Reaction
This is how they program graphics for computer games, with profusions of triangles. The thought that geometry might be treated numerically is an obvious glimpse of Descartes' co-ordinate geometry.