The book
Introduction to Arithmetic (,
Arithmetike eisagoge) is the only extant work on mathematics by
Nicomachus (60–120 AD). It contains both philosophical prose and basic mathematical ideas. Nicomachus refers to
Plato quite often, and writes that
philosophy can only be possible if one knows enough about
mathematics. Nicomachus also describes how
natural numbers and basic mathematical ideas are eternal and unchanging, and in an
abstract realm. It consists of two books, twenty-three and twenty-nine chapters, respectively.