Calculus is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations.
Its use as the figure of the universe, of creation developing in evolution is found in various stylized representations in virtually every religious system of antiquity, whether of eastern or western derivation.
[Calculus] has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus; the former concerns instantaneous rates of change, and the slopes of curves, while the latter concerns accumulation of quantities, and areas under or between curves.