“He who understands Archimedes and Apollonius will admire less the achievements of the foremost men of later times.”

Simplified Meaning:

If you get to know the work and ideas of Archimedes and Apollonius, who were really smart people from ancient times, you will realize that many of the achievements of people who came after them are not as groundbreaking as you might have thought. Their discoveries set the foundation for a lot of modern science and math. For instance, if you study how Archimedes figured out how to measure the volume of an irregular object just by using water, you start to see how advanced his thinking was. Or consider Apollonius, whose work with conic sections (like circles, ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas) is fundamental even in today's astronomy and science. By understanding these ancient scholars, you appreciate how much modern achievements owe to these early pioneers, and it gives you a deeper respect for their original contributions. This can inspire you to look deeper into the roots of knowledge and value the hard work of those who laid the groundwork for today's advancements.