Sometime ago I resolved to read through a prodigious book collection known as the The Great Books of the Western World--a rather lovely collection which I would encourage anyone to read through, if they have not already read these books. In this collection are various literary, philosophical, and even mathematical and scientific works, such as Newton's Principia and Euclid's Elements
The most lovely feature of this collection is the historical ordering of these books, which gives one an perspective of how people have lighted upon ideas which we, sometimes, take for granted. This is something I am very interested, how one comes upon ideas and the reasoning that leads to these ideas or conclusions, as it tends to make the concept more comprehensible and reasonable.
My question for today is, does anyone know of a mathematical canon, or has anyone contrived of their own mathematical canon? After having scoured the internet for such a canon, I have not found very much. I ask, because I would like to experience mathematics from a historical perspective, to go through the deductions of history that lead to mathematics as it is today, which, I think, will furnish me with a grander appreciation and understanding of mathematics.
In short, what are important mathematical works, present and past (but more so from the past), and in what order ought they be read? The same request would apply to a "physics canon," if anyone knows of such a thing.
EDIT: If no mathematical canon can be found, I propose that the eminent users of math stackexchange create one!
