This discussion argues that the logico-mathematical (and modern) necessity of solving the problem of generality in Euclidean geometry risks overshadowing the pragmatic context in which the genesis of the text of the Elements must be imagined. The article suggests that this framework could be intuited by giving due prominence to certain linguistic features of the text: the resultative value of the perfect middle-passive imperative in the κατασκευή, the cognitive purpose of formular expressions, and the use of strings of letters with the article. These elements hint at a likely previous, oral practice of mathematics, where the interweaving of media was effective for the communicative success of the message: a concrete, creative exercise of the discipline, original but not isolated, with respect to which Euclidean activity stands in an innovative (and influential) discontinuity.